Rubber Legs

Wow, I did a lot today! This is going to be a long post. I wanted to do some museums this week, so I decided to finish off the Natural History Museum. I took the long way there by deciding to walk almost the whole way. I walked from home through Primrose Hill (pictured below) and it was so nice out that I sat down and sun tanned for a bit on the hill. Through Regent’s Park next (third pic) and walked to Marble Arch and along Hyde Park to Knightsbridge. I had to hop on a bus the rest of the way, my legs were tired!



I got off at the Natural History Museum and there was no crazy lineup like the last attempt at coming here! I had already seen the dinosaurs, so I did the mammal and Earth sections today. It was neat but there were so many kids! By the end I just wanted to get out of there.



I was starving when I left so I stopped at Pret (my fav café) to have a breadless sandwich (they are so good). Then off to Harrod’s. I spent quite a while in there! I had been in there a little while ago, but this time I saw rooms that I hadn’t seen last time (it’s huge!) I treated myself to a cuppa and a pain au chocolat; Soooooo good! I also bought some tea ( blend 49); I’ll try it out tonight! I know I like their assam tea so I’m sure it’ll be good. (Harrod's below)



What next? Then I caught a bus to Piccadilly Circus and walked around Soho towards Oxford Street. I got a phone call about a little temp job for Thursday and Friday! It’s not the job I mentioned in the last post but it something. It’ll be my first UK job! I’ll be a receptionist at an Audi car dealership. I’ve never been a receptionist, so it’ll be interesting! They’ll teach me how to use a switchboard. Yikes! I hope it’s not really busy.

Piccadilly Circus

I guess that’s it! I’m at home resting my poor rubber legs and I’ll try out my tea, oh, and Gareth brought home so hot cross buns! I haven’t tried those before! Mmmmmmm.

M

Pleasant

Today I went for a run/walk through Primrose Hill and Regent's Park. It was a pretty nice day! Warm in the sun but still chilly in the shade. There were a bunch of people out and about because of the holiday.

Later I went to Starbucks to study some Greek. I'll try to take some more pictures this week and I'm going to hit up the museums! I also have a job possibility! It's not for sure; I'll find out this week hopefully. It would be great if it happens! I'll write more about it if I get it.

M

Easter Sunday

I had a nice Easter today. I went to Hillsong Church in the morning and it was sooo entertaining! There were about 5 songs sung by different people in different styles including R&B. It was like going to a concert! There was a guest speaker named J. John and he was so hilarious! Everyone was laughing out loud. In the lobby people were holding silver plates full of chocolate eggs.

After that I went with Gareth for an Easter dinner at a cute restaurant on Primrose Hill. It was very good food! The meal made me sooooo tired though. I walked home and fell asleep on the couch. It was a relaxing day.

M

Hanging Out

Today was a social day (a nice change)! During the day I met up with Gareth and his friend James. They wanted to look around the City area to find a venue for a party they are throwing in May. The area was interesting (near Brick Lane). I probably wouldn't have looked around that area if I wasn't with others. It's not too pretty and it's more of a working area (quite dead since it's Saturday and a holiday). But I'm glad I saw a different part of town other than the popular touristy spots. We looked at a couple pubs and stopped at a German Beer House for some food and a pint of weißbier. It was soooooo good! German food always hits the spot!

I left them after dinner to hangout with my friend Helle. I went to her place and we bought chocolate cookies, drank tea, and watched a movie. Perfect end to a day of walking about the town!

M

It’s a Beautiful Day!

This morning I woke up at 7am to the loudest clattering noise! It sounded like bad hail or very heavy rain. I finally got up to look out the window and there were tons of horses trotting up the street! It was a group about 20 horses long and 3 horses wide. The riders were on the middle of the 3 horses and lead the 2 on either side. The horses where the exact same color, size, and shape and the riders looked the same, it was like a looping movie clip. By the time I fumbled for the camera they were gone and I went back to sleep. Weird.

Today I was set on going to some museums since it was rainy and icky out. I decided to finish the Natural History Museum, since I had to leave because I was sick last time. I finally made it there by bus (45mins) and the lineup was incredible!!! I knew it was going to be busier because of the holiday but this was ridiculous! So I scrapped that idea and just headed down a side street and decided to get lost in the Chelsea and Kensington area; It’s very easy to get lost since all the streets are winding all over the place and quite a few have no street signs. It was beautiful! The sun ended up coming out and it was warm, I had to take my jacket off! (the first time that has happened!) Here are a few residential streets, very posh!



Then I ended up at Hyde Park and walked from one end to the other. I made it to Speaker’s Corner, where people will take turns on the soapbox and rant about things while others argue with them. It was quite entertaining! The guy on the soapbox was a Christian and saying how Jesus is the son of God and others were arguing with him (one was a Muslim and another, an Irish man who thought that Jesus was Irish) The Christian made the best points and had the best arguments of course! (the group of people in the third pic below is Speaker's Corner)



I found a bus that took me to Oxford Street and I walked all through Soho and up Carnaby Street. I was soooo tired and hungry and wanted my favorite café (Pret) but I couldn’t find one that was open. I didn’t care if I saw anything else I walked right by Piccadilly Circus because it was now 7:00 and I was starving. Finally I found an open Pret and wolfed down a sandwich and headed home. Over 8 hours of walking today! Again, my feet hate me…

M

Learning Greek

It ended up being quite dark out today so I didn't really feel like going outside. I wrote a few emails, job hunted, and watched some TV. Then I got antsy and decided to go out to the local Starbucks (around the corner). I brought my "Greek for Beginners" book and had a Caramel Macchiato and studied Greek for a few hours till it closed at 7:30! I'm still a total beginner since it's not very similar to French or English, but I'm starting to get some basics down. I know how to greet people, ask their name and where they are from, ask if they understand, tell them where I live....stuff like that.

Then I headed home after stopping at the grocery store and made some dinner and watched a movie. Tomorrow I plan on going out all day and look around Soho since it's supposed to be sunny!

A few tidbits of useless info:
1. Apparently Tim Burton lives around the corner; I guess I won't be able to miss him with his crazy hair!
2. I wasn't sure I'd be able to drink the tap water here, but I'm glad you can. It just tastes a little funny (apparently by the time the water makes it to London, it has been used and recycled 7 times!) I'm getting used to the flavor though.
3. They don't have Cinnamon Dolce Lattes at Starbucks! (my favorite flavor)

M

Busy Day!

I did a lot of stuff today! This morning I went for a run...I want to start running regularly to get in shape and to look good in my bikini for Greece! It's so nice to have these big parks so close by (Regent's Park, Primrose Hill, and Hampstead Heath). There are more green areas close to my flat then there were at home in Vic! It's nice because it'll make it easier for me to get out there and run.

Then I had an appointment at 12:00 at the Adecco recruitment agency. I ended up having to run the last couple of blocks there or else I was going to be late! I had to do some computer and typing tests and ended up doing very well! The guy there said that they should be able to find me a job. So I'm happy! I have someone else searching for jobs for me as well as my little job hunts online. After that, I decided to check out the area around there (Swiss Cottage). It's about a 20min walk from home but I hadn't been to this area yet (so much to see!) There are shops and a big mall type building which, inside, has huge fish tanks, trees, and the walls are made to look like rock.

I went home and had some leftovers for lunch. Then I headed out again! I decided to look around Soho. I ended up getting distracted in some stores and it was getting dark by the time I started walking around and exploring. I want to go back tomorrow but I hear the weather is supposed to be crappy, so we'll see.

Since there are no outside pics, I thought I'd throw in one of myself I took and hour ago, a little blurry though!



M

Curry Dinner

I was going to go down to Soho today and look around but it ended up being very grey, wet, and dark out so I stayed in and did some more job hunting (tomorrow is supposed to be nicer!) In the afternoon I made myself face the wind and rain and head out to do some errands and I also visited a recruitment agency nearby called Adecco. I registered with them and they said that it was slow right now for jobs but that they may have a job for me in 2 weeks. A very simple part-time job, but it’s something. I’ll keep my options open!

Then I came home and was set on creating some sort of dinner (besides pasta and English muffins with cheese and jam which I’ve been eating a lot! Lol.) I ended up making Greek salad and a Thai chicken curry accompanied by Indian naan bread. It turned out very well!! I was very proud of myself since I had no recipe! Yay! I can cook! The picture does it no justice… Gareth brought home some cake from work, so I’ll have that for dessert, if I can fit it in!
There is also 2 pics of a cute church that I passed on my way to Adecco.



M

Job Hunt

Today wasn't too eventful. All morning I checked out jobs and recruitment agencies online and applied to some of them. In the afternoon I was getting sick of working on the computer so I braved the cool weather and headed up to Hampstead to do a few errands and go for a walk. I had a Starbucks and studied a bit of Greek too!

In the evening I did some more online job hunting and worked on some Flash animation for my website. Now I'm going to bed!

M

Football and Shopping

Today I didn't go to church since Hillsong was set in a different venue that was far to the east and it would've been a trek to get there. So I went with Gareth for a Sunday lunch at a nearby pub. It was very good! Roast beef, yorkshire pudding, veggies, yams, potatos...mmmm! Then I took off to Oxford Street where I wanted to buy a few more things and ended up buying some skinny jeans, black leggings, and an embroidered long shirt. That's the end of my shopping sprees, for now. I've gotta find a job and save for some traveling!

After shopping, I met up with Gareth and his friend Glen at a local pub to watch a football (soccer) game. Our local team is called the Arsenals, but unforunately they lost!

Now I am at home and will watch some TV and get my resume together for some serious job hunting this week!

M

Camden Market

I tackled the markets today! I was a very bad girl because I ended up buying a bunch of stuff...I couldn't help it! There are so many neat clothes and things! And I'm getting so sick of wearing the few things that I packed; I need more variety. I bought a necklace, bracelet, a few shirts, a black blazer type jacket, a dress, and some really nice vintage brown suede boots - the boots were my splurge, the rest of the stuff was pretty cheap. I would look around in a store and some of the sales people would pounce on me and make me try on stuff; So I did, and then I'd say, naw I don't think so... then they would lower the price and it would go on until it was quite a deal... then I just gave in. But other places were quite aggressive and I had to be rude to get the point across that I was just looking!

There was a big crazy clothing store which looked like a UFO inside complete with life-sized human figures attached to the walls in capsules and the floor was metal. It was like a dance club too with blaring techno and black lights! Even the people who worked there were all dancing and in the strangest outfits, they looked like aliens!

I ate a late lunch in the market and as I was eating, a pigeon dropped a load right infront of me on the picnic table just missing my food. It was pretty funny because there were people all around; We had a laugh!

Here are some pics of the crowd around the markets and the last two are of things I bought today:




M

Hampstead

Today I thought I would probably stay in since it was yucky, grey, and rainy. I also wanted to look up some jobs online. But I ended up feeling guilty staying in when I could be out exploring. So I decided to check out the neighborhood some more. So far I’ve just checked out the southern area (Primrose Hill) and towards town. I didn’t even know what was north up the hill.

I was still grey and wet out but I ended up having a great walk! I walked up the street past Belsize Park (where I live) to Hampstead Village. It’s very posh and beautiful with cute churches and lanes. Lots of nice shops including a designer second hand shop called Exclusivo which I went in a saw second hand Chanel, Mui Mui, Armani, and Versace among others. The second hand stuff in that store was more expensive than brand new regular clothes! I ended up buying a sketch book, since I want to start drawing more and updating my portfolio eventually.

I didn’t know this very nice area was just up the road! I’m glad I found out about it. It’ll save me from heading into town to do errands (although the stores here aren’t exactly cheap!)

Below are a few photos: The first is pretty much right across the street from my flat. The rest are on the way up the hill towards Hampstead Village (about a 10min walk). The trees in the third pic seem quite popular here; They have their little branches chopped off so they look kind of like big cacti. Strange, but it looks cool when there is a whole block full of them.




Tonight I am home alone since Gareth is staying at a friend's after helping him move. So I made a little dinner for myself. Here it is and it was soooo good! It would be nice to actually meet some people and go out and eat more often but I guess for now my little dinner will do! Now I'm going to have chocolate and tea and curl up and watch a movie.



M

Job Huntin

I went to the BUNAC offices to spruce up my CV and print a few out. Then I headed to the Recruitment Show in Holborn. It wasn't that great for me though because a lot of the agencies there were geared toward the financial industry which I'm not interested in at all! So I didn't stay too long. I need to find agencies that are geared toward multimedia. I'm also going to apply to an agency called Office Angels, apparently you don't have to have experience to join, so we'll see.

I went home after that and looked for some jobs online. I applied for a really cool one! It's for a Photo Retoucher for fashion photography; Some of their clients include: Versace, Estee Lauder, Burberry, Vogue, and Vanity Fair. So wish me luck for that one!

Now I'm just eating some pasta and we are going to watch Grey's Anatomy tonight. It's just starting here in the UK and tonight is the first episode.

M

Sunny Day

Today was awesome! (by the way this post is a day late, this happened on the 5th). I found out the Recruitment Show wasn’t till tomorrow, thank goodness! Because it turned out to be so sunny today! I had to go out in the nice sun, so I headed out in the morning and walked through Primrose Hill and all the streets in that area. There were some very nice houses and mansions! I got to the top of Primrose Hill then headed toward Regent’s Park. It was so beautiful! I stopped at a little café and had some tea and a croissant.

Then I found a patch of grass to sit down so I could tan my legs. I almost went blind when I rolled up my pant legs! How scary and white they are! I need some major color before I go to Greece!

There was a really annoying part of the day: seeing all the couples frolicking around in the sun…couples having picnics, couples sitting on benches, couples going for walks!! I miss you Tones!

I took some nice pics of the day, but I forgot to put the memory card in my camera and I left the cord at home to connect to the computer! So I can’t get them onto my comp which is a shame!

After that, I headed home. My new friend Helle then invited me over. So I got over there in a little over an hour (2 buses + walking to Pimlico). And we had a good time chatting, eating thai takeout, drinking wine, and watching 2 movies! I ended up staying over because it got too late and I didn’t feel like attempting the long journey home at night. Now it’s Thurs morning and I just got home. The Recruitment Show is today, so I’ll check that out.

M

Not too too much

It wasn’t too eventful today. I watched a movie and did some stuff around the flat and on the computer in the morning and left at around 2:00. I headed to the BUNAC offices to look at some job postings and get some CV tips. I think it may be a little hard for me to find a job that ends in June so I guess I can’t be too picky! I found out that tomorrow there is a recruitment show in Holborn, so I’m going to check that out. Maybe I can sign up with an agency or two.

What else did I do? Hmmm, I went to Pret again and got a yummy brie and tomato baguette; So good! Bought a few colored scarves and headed home.

It was chilly out today and I found it quite funny that when I was waiting at the bus stop, I would actually look forward to a passing bus because the exhaust would warm me up a little; Am I sick or what!? Haha! That’s how much of a wimp I am when it comes to coldness!

Here are two random pics. The first is of a pair of shoes that I bought earlier, yes they are gold; they look cute with jeans though! And the second is of me in my flat.


M

All over the place

I had a late start to the day (a lazy morning) and headed out a little after 12:00. I did an errand, then walked through Soho to Trafalgar Square and down Pall Mall to St.James. I kept going till I hit Hyde Park and Kensington High Street. I caught a bus to Notting Hill and walked through Holland Park and back to Kensington High Street where I finally stopped and had a well needed break at a popular café called “Pret a Manger”; They are everywhere! I had a yummy salad with motza, olives, tomato, and avocado….It was sooo good!


Pics Above: Trafalgar Square, Pall Mall, and St. James Palace (where Prince Charles lives).

Next I walked up Billionaire’s row (where Kensington Palace is as well as what’s called the most expensive house in the world (worth over 100,000,000 pounds!) Then hopped on a bus to Tottenham Court where I bought a few things including a big mug for my assam tea (which I’m addicted to!) I finally got back home at 7ish and made dinner and watched a movie. Wow, another day full of walking! My feet hate me right now!


Pics above: Holland Park and the most expensive house.

PS: I really recommend taking the buses here. Most of them are double-decker so you get a great view. I never take the Underground if I can help it because you can’t see anything and it’s hard to get the feel for the city when you are underneath it! Buses are also cheaper and less crowded and there are so many of them!

M

Lazy Sunday

I made some yummy cereal and headed off on the bus to Hillsong Church. It's at the Dominion Theatre in Tottenham Court. There were tons of greeters and in the theatre there is a whole light setup and screens and the sounds system is crazy too! The music was awesome and it was a lot of fun! I'll definitely go back again!



After Hillsong I had a few errands to do, I stopped at Boots and got a blow dryer and PC World to get a hub so I could connect my laptop to the internet. When I got it home it wouldn't work, the computer here is set up differently, so I don't think I'll be able to connect my laptop. It's not a huge deal right now since I can borrow this one anyways and transfer my pics.

The rest of the day I just read the paper at home and made some dinner (scrambled eggs and wine...mmmmmm). We are both having a quiet night (Gareth and I) We'll probably just watch some TV. Tomorrow I want to start job hunting. Even over here I'm getting antsy and want to start working (what's wrong with me?)

M

Forgot

Here are 2 pics that I took at the Natural History Museum the other day:

The Flat

Ok, here's the flat: living room, kitchen, dining room, bathroom, my room, the view from my room (at the front), and the view from the living room and dining room (at the back).

In my new flat

Well today was nice! I left the hostel early and headed to my new home with all my stuff in tow. When I got there I set up my room and put all my stuff away, it's nice not living out of a backpack anymore; It was getting kind of annoying! I think I want to buy a few little things to make it more homey in my room. The flat is nice! It's on the third floor and has a living room, dining room, bathroom, kitchen, and 2 bedrooms. I'll post pics later.

I decide to go to Camden Market next since it's just down the street! I couldn't believe how many shops there were! So many crazy fashions and cool furniture. I bought a little wooden jewllery box for my earrings and necklaces (better than a ziploc bag which housed my jewllery earlier!) I also had a crepe for lunch, just like the kind I had in Paris a few years ago, very yummy and messy! There were all kinds of food stands: West African, Thai Curry, Moroccan! It smelled sooooo good!!! I'll try those next time.

On my way back I stopped at Sainsbury's to get some groceries (my first grocery shopping venture since I've lived on my own - aren't you proud of me! lol!)

Now I'm home and I did some picture editing to make them small enough for the net and will look online for any interesting jobs. Gareth is away for the rest of the evening, so I have the place to myself. I think I might have a bit of wine make some dinner and watch one of the many DVDs he has here.

M

Pics finally!

OK, I'm finally moved into my flat which means I can now post my pics! I havn't taken that many but here are a few from the past few days:

This is my hostel room:

Around London: Camden Market and Buckingham Palace

Stuff

I did a bunch of stuff today. First I started with some shoe shopping on Oxford because I've been wearing the same shoes for the past few days and my feet are starting to hurt (I'm walking way too much in them!) Perfect excuse for a new pair or two! It ended up being two because I found a ''buy 2 for 40£'' sale, that is very cheap! They are cute little shoes that are kinda metallic goldy with beading. Different than what I usually wear but they are popular here and I think they're cute! Anyways....

Then I met up with a Norwegian girl named Helle. She's very nice! We went for lunch and I went to her place after for a quick visit! She showed me the ropes for riding the bus, which I want to get more into since the Tube is expensive and you can see more of the layout of the city on a bus.

Then I headed to the Natural History Museum. It was interesting a quite large! For some reason I was feeling nauseous most of the day, so I had to leave early and head back to the hostel. I had time to see the Dinosaur and Human Biology exhibits though.

After I was feeling a bit better I was craving some tea! I headed to Starbucks; yes I know, I should be boycotting it since it's soooooo North American! But it was the closest place to get a cuppa! So I curled up in a comfy chair and studied some Greek.

Now I'm back at the hostel and I'm going to get my things together and organized since I'm moving into my flat tomorrow! That'll be nice! I think I'm going to check out Camden Market too since it's right down the road from my place.

M

In the Parks

Today I walked all over the place again! I took off to Regent's Park which is beautiful! There are rows of mansions lining the park on the right side and the park is full of beautiful trees and english gardens with fountains and statues. It was very windy today but nice because it wasn't cold at all. I headed up to Primrose Hill and had a great view of London from the top! There was this cute little kid (about 2 yrs) at the top named Thomas who tried to climb onto my bench (his mom was there, don't worry!)

I decided to check out my new neighborhood (Belsize Park); I'll be moving to a flat there in a few days. The area is very cute and hilly. There are some really beautiful old houses with strange looking trees in front. There is also a very village feel to the area with little shops and restaurants.

I eventually made my way back to the hostel, had a quick nap and then set off to Holborn for a bank meeting. I had an appointment at 2:00 to set up an account. I now have a UK bank account and I get my debit card sent to me in the mail in a week or so. Yay! Now I can find a job! Well, maybe not quite yet!

I also met up with Gareth, my soon to be roomie. We met at our flat and it's very cute! I have my own little room and I'll get a hub, so I can use the internet from my laptop. We went out to a local pub and had a drink. I think we'll get along fine, he's very nice and easy going. So on Sat I'll move my stuff over there and buy some food and settle in!

Now I'm back at the hostel and will have a shower and fall asleep! Tomorrow I think I'll hit up the Natural History Museum and Holland Park.

M

Shopping

Today was a more relaxing day (sort of). I had to go to a SWAP orientation at 10:30. They gave me a bunch of info on job searching, traveling, finding accommodation, and I set up an appointment at a bank tomorrow so I'll soon have a UK bank account!

I was still quite jet lagged so I went back ''home'' and slept for a bit and met another roomie from NY. I decided that I wanted to do a little shopping so I headed to Oxford Street and shopped my little butt off! There are so many cool stores! I bought some black dress pants (for job interviews) at Top Shop and a beige leather bag at H&M. It was hard to control myself! These stores are huge and have so many floors full of fun things to look at and try on!

Oh! I also bought a cell phone today! Let me know if you want the number; any incoming calls I receive are free including international calls.

I think that's it for now! Tomorrow I have the bank appointment and I'm going to meet my future roomie and flat to check it out and see what I'm in for.

M

walking walking walking

Today all I did was walk. My body wanted to just sleep all day but I forced it to go for the longest walk possible! In the morning I took off outside and had no map, since my luggage was still gone, so I just left and picked a road (I was also a dork and thought ''I'm practically a local now, I have no need of touristy maps!'').

I ended up hitting Oxford Street and was overloaded with clothing stores! I wanted to buy everything, but ended up with nothing (usually the case because I'm cheap and like to save). I got approached by a model and talent scout who wanted me to do some modeling and extra work (something I'd be interested in anyways) so that could be fun. Don't worry, if I do, I'll make sure they're the real deal. Then I ended up at Buckingham Palace and Big Ben. Had a snack and headed to Harrods and Hyde Park and some how ended up back at the hostel 5 hours later where I collapsed for the second time and made sure I still had feet instead of worn stumps.

The weather was nice today too. I was never cold (which says a lot!) partly sunny and cloudy. It was windy though and near the end I got drenched, but it wasn't cold, that's the main thing.

I think tomorrow I'll walk around my new future neighborhood and Regent's park. I also have to go to a SWAP orientation. Oh, and my luggage was waiting there quietly for me. I'm going to loose it more often! You don't have to lug it around, it just shows up for you. Convenient!

M

FINALLY!!!

Well I'm finally here in London! It was an interesting trip over and I'm glad it's done!

I had 3 flights and the second one (Seattle to Copenhagen) was delayed over 2 hours, which caused me to miss my third flight to London. So I had to get a different flight booked and that one was also delayed! So by the time I got to London I wasn't suprized when my luggage was lost too (what else annoying could happen?) It was actually a blessing in disguise because it took me 2 hours to get to the hostel from Heathrow and I didn't have to lug my backpack with me. It should get delivered to the hostel today (I hope!)

It's 9:30am on Tues now and I'm dead tired! I got to the hostel at 10 last night and crawled into bed and collapsed! I didn't sleep on the plane at all. I still had a cough and hoped I didn't wake the poor girl up that I was sharing the room with. This morning I found out that she is an Australian named Amanda and she didn't hear my coughing at all. Good! She's moving out today so I'm the only one in my room at the moment (it holds 4 people).

I think today I'm going to just wander around and get used to my new home. Although, as I'm writing this, I think I want to have another nap before I head out! I won't be able to post pics till I get my laptop hooked up (beginning of April).

I guess that's it for now! So it's all good, my luggage should arrive today and I'm fine and in one piece!

M

Welcome!

I'm finally starting to send this address out to people. So feel free to see what I'm up to when I leave. I have a little over one week left so it's pretty crazy! Lots to do still! I've been very busy with work (3 jobs at the moment and one of them is full-time!) but by the end of next week I should be finished at all three; then I take off on Sunday, March 26th.

Feel free to leave comments or email once in a while. I'll try to email as much as I can but this will be the main source of info for my shenanigans in the UK.

M