So I picked up and moved to London last Friday...admittedly, its a very strange feeling. I had been staying in Buffalo for the past month recoving from shoulder surgery - great timing in a way as I got to spend time with my family before I took off for new adventures...Thursday afternoon my Dad drove me up to Toronto so I could catch my flight up out to London on Air Canada...tried to check in but no luck, had to wait a few hours before I could and then when I did it was a heart attack in the making - my passport is a bit too "teathered" to be acceptable so they weren't going to allow me to go - that would have been quite the surprise! But, thankfully, because I had a work permit, all was good and I was sent off to the Air Canada lounge - which, by the way, was great....all the food and booze you want!! I boarded around 730 and we took off at 830, and I have to say, business class definitely spoils you - it was wonderful!! A nice dinner, a movie, a little snooze, some light breakfast and then a big Welcome to London Heathrow airport.
I deplaned and then headed up to immigration, obviously, after Air Canada almost not allowing me on the flight, I was a bit nervous but apparently I was the least of their worries because after 30 seconds at the desk, I had my stamp and I was on my way..I picked up my luggage (by myself as there was no one there to help - not a really good thing for a girl in a sling to do!) and headed out the door - those of you who have been through Heathrow know that customs seems to be more of a hallway than a government agency! Keith from Egham Cars was waiting to pick me up and immediately recognized me with my lovely black brace. He delivered me to the Richmond Hill Hotel about 20 minutes later where I checked in, showered and prepared to go househunting with Claire from the settling in service...
The Richmond Hill Hotel - my new home for the next few weeks...
The view of the River Thames from my hotel...beautiful!!
I was a bit tired but certainly excited to go out and see the new world that was I was about to become a part of.
Claire and I started off at the bank - good tip for any of you that are considering moving here - open a bank account asap - it typically takes 2 weeks for the UK government to ensure you are not here to start a money laundering scheme!! So after filling out tons of paperwork and trying to figure out postcodes/addresses/phone numbers...we were off to see some apartments or flats as they are called here. I saw four flats throughout the afternoon, got caught in a shower or two and then headed back to the hotel - I was exhausted!! The flats were quaint and each had their charm but there wasn't one that said "Liz and Lucy...welcome home!". When I returned I was starving so I decided to walk down to High street - each town center has a high street - its the equivalent of main street.
On the road down into town...about a miles walk.
After a bit of dinner at a sicilian place, i walked next door to see Mama Mia! the movie - an attempt to keep myself awake. I learned that the seats are reserved in the movie theaters here!! Who knew! After a rousing and entertianing ABBA concert witha theater full of 45 year old british women dancing, I headed back up the hill, popped into the bar for a quick night cap and met my first friend here - Michael Scott - aka Scottie - Mike is a consultant who flies in and out and stays at the hotel quite a bit....he knows the area so he gave me some quick pointers and I headed to bed...what a day!
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