Our Biggest HANG Up.....

...was finding clothes hangers in this hustling and bustling city! But, we'll get back to that in a minute....

After a sleepless night with our fellow peasants in economy class, we finally arrived in London last week with all our documentation in hand and our 316 lbs of bags in tow, prepared for whatever customs wanted to throw at us---which ended up being....nothing. It turns out our visas are regarded highly, as we faced little trouble through customs, at the bank, or even when we rented our flat.

That's right, it's been a busy busy week, as we hit the ground running the next day by 9am, getting our new mobiles, Oyster Cards (tube passes), opening accounts at the bank (where they're doing YOU a favor by holding your money), and meeting with plenty of estate agents (property management companies) where we saw 7 flats before we found the magical place.

Attached is a video of our new classy, cozy abode in Notting Hill (yes the same Notting Hill with Julia Roberts). In the end we opted for the medium sized studio on the top floor with a great view, instead of the larger studio with the separate kitchen in the dark and musty basement..a wise man once said, "everyone's s#*t runs from the top down." It's furnished with modern furniture including a small couch, a bed on a track that raises up during the day (not a murphy bed), a mounted flat screen tv, a quaint but fully functional kitchen, and a bathroom with all of the bells and whistles (well as many as you can fit in that size of a space). As far as crashing on the couch goes...you really only have one of two sleeping options - upright, or in the fetal position. But hey, it's a couch right?

There were a few things we needed of course, so we took the tube all over town--hitting up all of the prime furnishing spots; Mark and Spencers - we're now regulars there, as we've been every day since we arrived (and embarrassingly enough, run into the same store clerk each time!); Argos - a store full of just catalogs, where you choose what you want then they bring it

from the back after you've paid; IKEA - a funny scene watching us get on and off the tube with all of our huge IKEA bags (nevermind that in order to get there, we took a tube, train, and shuttle); and Robert Dyas - a home and garden store, where plungers are the size of screwdrivers - see photo to the left (but, perhaps not surprising, having been raised in America where just about everything is supersized). During all of this shopping we were searching for hangers, since half of our clothes need to be hung. This has actually turned out to be the biggest hiccup thus far. Either (a) Londoners don't hang their clothes or (b) EVERYONE hangs their clothes. After contacting over 10 different stores, IKEA finally had hangers, which is why originally went there, but everyone knows you can't just leave IKEA with one item, thus the fun tube ride back.

On another note, the tube is fantastic! One of things we were looking forward to most was the public transportation, and it hasn't disappointed. It's so easy to use, I think that the baby from the Etrade commercials could probably do it. The only problem is, as my cousin here said, you kind of turn into a gopher, just popping up and down all the time. So we may try and learn the bus system to see more of London while we're moving from spot to spot, but either way, it's extremely easy and efficient to get around.

Finally, we bought some groceries the other day, another somewhat interesting experience; their mustard doesn't say spicy, so when we made a sandwich with it, we weren't expecting that tingly feeling in your brain that you get from wasabi sometimes, their OJ has "bits" in it, not pulp, deli turkey is a bit hard to find, but ham comes in all shapes, sizes, and flavors. That said, the food we've eaten has been great, amazing kebabs, good sandwiches, and new tasty flavors of apples. Ironically, contrary to Bryan's worries about a lack of Mexican food, we have seen a Tex Mex restaurant/pub in the area, though we haven't tried it yet.

For those of you possible skeptics...having spent four nights thus far in our cozy flat...we've come up with the following:

The Top 5 Reasons You Should Try Living in a Studio:

5. Only takes about 2.5 minutes to heat up the entire place.

4. You can see the gorgeous city view, from just one window, standing almost anywhere inside.

3. By the time you are finished cleaning the bedroom, the whole house is basically clean.

2. You can brush your teeth (and spit), wash your face, and almost turn on and warm up the shower, all while sitting on the toilet (not necessarily recommended practice, but nevertheless still possible).

1. And, our personal favorite - Not only can you eat breakfast in bed...but you can literally just about make breakfast from bed!

Well that brings us up-to-date. We do want to give a special thanks to Bryan's cousins; Lori, Marlin, Devon, and Thomas for graciously welcoming us in their beautiful home before we found our flat. Looking forward to watching some Rugby with the boys and some delicious home cooked meals by Lori.

We finally have access to internet, though its not always up to par, so keep the emails coming! Back to the all-important job hunt.....

Cheers!

P.S...Day 8, and it still hasn't rained here!

"The time to enjoy a European trip is about 3 weeks after unpacking."

-George Ade