I am here! I made it. I am officially a resident of the UK. Can you believe that actually let me into the country? There is so much to say that I don't know where to begin!
After a sad goodbye to my family in Knoxville, I spent a very short 24 hours in Charlotte. It was very surreal driving away from our house to the airport. I was sad, happy, exctied, and nervous at the same time. The flight was smooth and I was literally smiling as I walked (I had to control myself from running) through the airport to meet Jiggy. I exited the terminal to see Jiggy waiting with flowers! He had been waiting for over an hour!
My firts day in London was rather unevenful. I was tired from the trip but we did manage to end the day with some exploring around our neighborhood and a great dinner of pasta and wine!
Yesterday (Monday), Jiggy left early for work and I headed to the Heath for a run. The Heath is an amazing wooded area/park with ponds, pools, walking/hiking trails, tennis courts, and even a track! I cannot wait to take Schlopy there...there are dogs everywhere and they are allowed to run free! He is going to be one happy little guy (Mom, give him a wet one for me!). We are very lucky to have this just steps away from our flat. Later that day, I ventured the the grocery store and quickly learned that I have to buy small loads as I struggled back the to the flat with all my goods. After spending almost 45 mintutes figuring out how to turn on the oven, I finally made a great dinner of pizza and salad.
Today, Jiggy left for Rotterdam so I am on my own for the rest of the week. I again headed to the Heath and proceeded to get very lost. My 45 mintue run turned into almost 2 hours. Wow! That place is huge. We are still settling into our place. We did get our air shipmet of mostly chothes but will not receive the sea shipment unit the first week of July. At least we have rental furniture until then. We don't have tv or internet (I hate to admit that I am at McDonald's for the first time in almost ten years right now....hey, they have free internet acess) but do have a home phone (thanks to the phone guy that woke me bright and early this morning). Although our flat is small, I think we got a great place! We have an incredible sunroom and garden that is quickly becoming our favorite place. With the help of creative storage and our own stuff, I am confident that our flat will be very comfortable. Oh, I am going to make sure we have room for visitors so book those tickets!
I am quickly learning that it is going to take time to adjust. Everything is so different. The accent (am I am Disneyland?), the transportation (you better have comfy walking shoes), and the shopping (no Target here). However, I actually like the differences. I like the fact that there are not 20 different types of peanut butter in the grocery store or that people are not too lazy to walk 1/2 mile to run errands.
Umm...I guess that is all for now! I will post some pics soon. Thanks for all the comments. I love reading them.
Cheers!
1 comment:
Kat,
So glad you made it safely to London. Jiggy is so sweet -- flowers! Sounds like your neighborhood is really great. I can't wait to see pictures. Bet you were glad to see the air shipment, and it's only two weeks until July, so you'll have the sea shipment before you know it.
On a different note, there have been several people looking at your house so,hopefully,it will be rented before too long. (Gary said he is trying to finish up his work so his equipment is out of the way.)
Good luck with settling in and meeting your new neighbors! We already miss you as our neighbors :(
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