First week in London....

Whew - not only was the last week in the US hard, but whoa - the first week here was difficult as well.

We were all exhausted from the hour change and the disruption to routine.  The flight was overnight, and of course nobody sleeps well.  Thus you arrive in a comatose state.  I must say everything went smoothly, the plane ride, traveling with a massive - the maximum - amount of luggage, finding our transport at Heathrow - all of that was without incident.  We even got to take the classic black "London Taxi" type vehicle to get to our lodging.

 We have been place in temporary accommodations at Prince of Wales Terrace near Kensington Gardens in London.  A beautiful, convenient spot.  We've got 3 bedrooms, all with en-suite bathrooms and a separate WC as well.  There is a living area and a kitchen and out the window, a lovely view of Kensington Gardens.

Here's the play-by-play of our 1st week here:

It took us a while to sort through our things once we got here last Monday (about 3:30 pm).  Those who saw the sheer amount of STUFF we brought can understand that one!

Then we walked in Hyde Park - the kids really loved the Princess Diana Memorial Play area (there's even a huge pirate ship to explore). 

Dinner was scavenged at the conveniently located Whole Foods Market about 3 blocks away.

We were Exhausted. 

We were happy to be away from snow - here it is very green - trees are flowering and gardens are planted.  The greenery is renewing.

Tuesday Dave was home and we sort of tried to establish a "home" temporarily here, getting groceries we needed and unpacking our belongings and setting up internet, etc.  I've established an internet phone service which allows us to maintain our phone number from the US for a monthly fee.  This way, family and friends can call us directly and we can also call them.  The only hitch is the tricky hour change!   And, it wasn't that simple to set up.  We didn't have an extra internet port, so we had to buy a port splitter and then figure out the wiring.   Not our specialty!

Wednesday I had an agent from the relocation company take me out to look at houses and visit the American School.  It was a full day, and I actually was able to line up a sitter through a reputable company, and thank goodness. 

Thursday and Friday were filled with more running around looking at some schools, neighborhoods, and apartments with 3 kids in tow taking public transportation and that is totally exhausting on all of us. 

I've come down with a terrible cold, no one is sleeping well, we run out of necessities like water and toilet paper and have to run out or do without, I can't get our dryer to work and everyone is out of sorts.

However, every day is going so much better and we put an offer on a place to rent to day, so now we'll wait to see their response.  It is small but in such an awesome location.  We decided to prioritize location over space....we are here to enjoy the city after all!

We've enjoyed the green grass and going out with just light jackets.  The kids love the parks.  We know that once we get settled and get in a routine we will really love it here.