I have been wanting to blog for a few days now, but haven't found the time. I'm working right now, but an Excel file is taking quite a long time to open, so I finally found a few minutes free!
It has been a blissful few days here in London. The weather has been blessedly sunny and relatively warm. I caught a little cold, likely from the stress of moving and air travel, but I'm on the mend now, and luckily even though sniffly and congested I had a great weekend.
Thursday, 22 September
We've arrived! After a long time in the customs line, waiting for the Uber, and a trafficky drive from Heathrow, we arrived in our flat in the City of London. Our flat is comfortable, and though a bit small, perfect for our temporary needs. It's so close to everything, although the shops immediately in our vicinity close very early (some don't even open on the weekends) since it's a business district and they're banking on people being in the neighborhood just for work. After we put down our bags, we were starving and took a 10 minute walk to Leadenhall Market (right next to The Leaky Cauldron in movie 1) and had our first back-in-London dinner at none other but Pizza Express. I had a Middle-Eastern-inspired pizza with lamb meatballs and arugula; Alex had a calzone stuffed to the gills with Italian cold cuts. We promptly crashed that night.
Friday, 23 September
First work day. Since I didn't have to start until about 2pm, we took a wee walk around the neighborhood in the morning, hitting up our old favorite Twinings, weaving up through Soho/Covent Garden, and grabbing a quick lunch at Dishoom ("Bombay bistro" - really amazing curries and daal, would so go back in a heartbeat). Sadly, as we were coming home I started feeling icky, and it did not abate as the day went on. I actually signed off in the evening, went to Sainsbury for a quick grocery shopping, and we cooked our first meal in the apartment, a very simple spaghetti, chicken with Nando's marinade, and arugula. We promptly crashed again.
Saturday, 24 September
Weekend! We crossed over the Thames into Southwark and into one of my favorite places in all of London: Borough Market. Borough Market is a gastronomical feast for all the senses. There are plenty of stalls for cheesemongers, bread bakers, sweets makers, and a ton of international street foods. This is also where Alex and I had...kangaroo burgers six years ago! I think I'll try to come on weekday mornings to buy some fresh produce, which seems kind of hard to come by in the supermarkets.
Then, we had planned to meet my coworker at his home in Hampstead Heath. We took a nice ~3 hour stroll from Southwark through Soho and Covent Garden, our old stomping grounds of Bloomsbury, the very "alt" neighborhood of Camden, and finally the prim and proper neighborhoods of Primrose Hill and Hampstead Heath. It was great fun for us to see all the enclaves along the way, especially the very chic and sophisticated areas up north.
Sunday, 25 September
More weekend! First, we had a glutinous full English breakfast at a greasy spoon in Southwark. To walk it off, we wove through Southwark and across the river again at Westminster, then through the gorgeous rows of embassies in Belgravia. I hadn't walked through this area much, and I loved wandering through the rich marble facades. Our destination was Harrods, which did not disappoint. We meandered back towards Soho/Chinatown and had dinner at Belgo; I had a big ol' pot of herb & garlic mussels and fries and a raspberry beer. Yum!
Monday, 26 September
Real work week. I started off the morning with a run by the Thames, down to Tower of London and through St. Katharine's Docks. We had visited this area with my architecture class in 2010, and it was fun to reacquaint myself. I also walked around the Spitalfields Market area, until coming back to the apartment at about noon to shower, eat, and start work.
Tuesday, 27 September
How is it the 27th of September already? I started this morning with a run in the opposite direction, also along the Thames but towards Charring Cross. My ankle was a little sore, so I kind of gave up running and just went for a nice long walk along Regent Street, Oxford Street, and across the British Museum and back for work.
Can't wait for more exploring time in the mornings and this weekend. In the meantime, signing off so I can sign on to work. Cheers, friends! :)
It has been a blissful few days here in London. The weather has been blessedly sunny and relatively warm. I caught a little cold, likely from the stress of moving and air travel, but I'm on the mend now, and luckily even though sniffly and congested I had a great weekend.
Thursday, 22 September
We've arrived! After a long time in the customs line, waiting for the Uber, and a trafficky drive from Heathrow, we arrived in our flat in the City of London. Our flat is comfortable, and though a bit small, perfect for our temporary needs. It's so close to everything, although the shops immediately in our vicinity close very early (some don't even open on the weekends) since it's a business district and they're banking on people being in the neighborhood just for work. After we put down our bags, we were starving and took a 10 minute walk to Leadenhall Market (right next to The Leaky Cauldron in movie 1) and had our first back-in-London dinner at none other but Pizza Express. I had a Middle-Eastern-inspired pizza with lamb meatballs and arugula; Alex had a calzone stuffed to the gills with Italian cold cuts. We promptly crashed that night.
Friday, 23 September
First work day. Since I didn't have to start until about 2pm, we took a wee walk around the neighborhood in the morning, hitting up our old favorite Twinings, weaving up through Soho/Covent Garden, and grabbing a quick lunch at Dishoom ("Bombay bistro" - really amazing curries and daal, would so go back in a heartbeat). Sadly, as we were coming home I started feeling icky, and it did not abate as the day went on. I actually signed off in the evening, went to Sainsbury for a quick grocery shopping, and we cooked our first meal in the apartment, a very simple spaghetti, chicken with Nando's marinade, and arugula. We promptly crashed again.
Saturday, 24 September
Weekend! We crossed over the Thames into Southwark and into one of my favorite places in all of London: Borough Market. Borough Market is a gastronomical feast for all the senses. There are plenty of stalls for cheesemongers, bread bakers, sweets makers, and a ton of international street foods. This is also where Alex and I had...kangaroo burgers six years ago! I think I'll try to come on weekday mornings to buy some fresh produce, which seems kind of hard to come by in the supermarkets.
Then, we had planned to meet my coworker at his home in Hampstead Heath. We took a nice ~3 hour stroll from Southwark through Soho and Covent Garden, our old stomping grounds of Bloomsbury, the very "alt" neighborhood of Camden, and finally the prim and proper neighborhoods of Primrose Hill and Hampstead Heath. It was great fun for us to see all the enclaves along the way, especially the very chic and sophisticated areas up north.
Sunday, 25 September
More weekend! First, we had a glutinous full English breakfast at a greasy spoon in Southwark. To walk it off, we wove through Southwark and across the river again at Westminster, then through the gorgeous rows of embassies in Belgravia. I hadn't walked through this area much, and I loved wandering through the rich marble facades. Our destination was Harrods, which did not disappoint. We meandered back towards Soho/Chinatown and had dinner at Belgo; I had a big ol' pot of herb & garlic mussels and fries and a raspberry beer. Yum!
Monday, 26 September
Real work week. I started off the morning with a run by the Thames, down to Tower of London and through St. Katharine's Docks. We had visited this area with my architecture class in 2010, and it was fun to reacquaint myself. I also walked around the Spitalfields Market area, until coming back to the apartment at about noon to shower, eat, and start work.
Tuesday, 27 September
How is it the 27th of September already? I started this morning with a run in the opposite direction, also along the Thames but towards Charring Cross. My ankle was a little sore, so I kind of gave up running and just went for a nice long walk along Regent Street, Oxford Street, and across the British Museum and back for work.
Can't wait for more exploring time in the mornings and this weekend. In the meantime, signing off so I can sign on to work. Cheers, friends! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment