and we seem to be getting the hang of things. Our first morning was a little rough--lack of sleep and having to walk around for about 4 hours in the rain before we could get into our flat left everyone a bit testy, but the girls were troopers and we survived so I'm calling it a successful.
Since the first day we have:
-figured out the tube and used it. A lot.
-gone to the theatre (Wicked at the Apollo Victoria--quite entertaining and I loved the fact that, even on the London stage, you could see mic lines taped to backs and lace-front-wig lines)
-explored Covent Gardens and thoroughly enjoyed the magicians, comedians and other street performers)
-bought groceries
-cooked dinner. It's going to take some getting used. No microwave, no sharp knives, everything is in funny measurements.
-cleaned the electric kettle. It took a full bottle of vinegar to get rid of all the nasty hard water scale that was on the inside. Pretty sure no one had ever thought to look inside the thing. It was nasty.
-hailed a taxi (the girls were excited to sit the jump seats).
-found a place for Libby to get some exercise, other than walking all over the place.
-made friends at the little coffee shop down the street. 3rd day and they remembered us and our order. They might be disappointed that we've got the kettle working now.
-gotten really wet.
-stepped in several large puddles.
-gotten splashed by cars driving through large puddles (note to self: stand further away from the curb).
-bought go phones so we can make local calls, they're super cheap.
-discovered we shouldn't leave the flat w/o a map, but if we do, most people are willing to help.
-started the girls' schooling. So far, so good.
-gone to Trafalgar Square and taken the obligatory photos on the large brass lions.
-gone to The Shard to see some pretty amazing views of London. It was cool, but I wouldn't pay to do it again.
-discovered that Will's pocket knife is illegal in the UK and he could be arrested for carrying it (thanks to the metal detector at the Shard. Luckily the head guard was fairly understanding and after a bit of conversation decided to not confiscate it or call the police.) It will reside in the flat from now on.
-visited the Tower of London. My favorite so far. I went when I was 7 and it's changed a little since then. For one there is now a glass and metal coffee table looking sculpture where there had been the block of wood used behead a couple of people. Our Beefeater guide told us that all the guards and employees hate it and wish the wood was back. You can also wander around checking out the Crown Jewels. Last time I was there you couldn't stop to look at anything, now there's a little escalator that takes you past them and you can go back and ride it as many times as you want. There are some serious stones in that vault. And a seriously huge solid gold punch bowl. Julia could have taken a bath in that sucker. We also took a bunch of photo's of the ravens. Including a great shot of a raven and Ella, the raven having just hopped onto the bench Ella was sitting on and thereby scaring the bejeezus out of her. I'll post it soon.
I'm sure we've done more but that's all I can think of right now. I was going to give a serious blow-by-blow accounting but as I was writing it, even I got bored. I hope this listing didn't suck too much.
All in all, we're settling in nicely. The smaller space of the flat requires some getting used to but we're pretty confident that we'll manage. If you want to see pictures of it go here: http://www.thelondonagent.com/super-nice-clerkenwell-home-for-short-london-lets.html.
I'll try and get some pictures downloaded from my big camera and posted.
Cheers,
Libby
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