Out And About Town

We've had some housing woes in the last week which put me into a pretty decent funk.  When we left The 407, I figured we'd be in our house long before now and starting up a home routine.  We left on November 15, and as of December 1 we still have no where to live.  That's a whole other post.  Despite cloudy skies in my head & outside, being out and about has been the best medicine.

On Wednesday I was searching out different London travel blogs to see if there were any free or inexpensive places we could go.  I came across Coram's Fields, which is just a short walk from our apartment.  The kids were content with the play structure just inside the gates.  They have no idea what the rest of the park holds.  I'm holding that in my back pocket for later in the week.

Today we went to the London Zoo.  I had a bit of sticker shock when we paid for our entry.  One adult and two kids was £51 ($83!).  A small disclosure, I'm working off a London travel book from 2006, and the prices have increased quite a bit.  I've ordered the newest edition.  I can apply today's admission to a family pass so we don't have to pay that again!

I think all of the families in London were shopping or elsewhere today because we had just a few people with us at each exhibit.  The animals were eager to be photographed today and many readily came up to the glass to check us out.

These are the bearded pigs.  They were adorable!

Oldest Kiddo was excited to visit the Reptile House because Harry Potter visited the same location in the first book.  No parseltongue was spoken today.

On our way to the edge of the park we had to cross a bridge over the Regents Canal.  This is a beautiful gem in the city.  If we were super gutsy, we could rent a houseboat on the canal instead of a flat or house.

Early last week we visited the London Transportation Museum in Covent Garden.  I've always enjoyed the shop here but never toured the museum.  The kids got in free so the £15 admission was not too bad.  The museum starts at the beginning of London's transportation roots to present day.  My kids were engaged the entire time!  They got to see carriages, trains, and busses.

Even the props are realistic, ew

We walked back through Covent Garden to find a cool Lego snowglobe.  It is comprised of over 120,000 Lego bricks put together by one guy.  One guy.  He's the only certified Lego professional in the UK.  I wonder if that's for a reason :)

 

Cheers to bright days and more fun family outings!

House Hunting.......again

When Matt and I house hunted back in October, we found the perfect place for our family.  It was a stand-alone house in the 'burbs.  It was a two story house with three bedrooms, a huge reception room, and a huge yard.  The amazing piece to this house was that the owner was replacing all of the carpet and appliances.  He was even going to add a dryer.

You have no idea what an amazing find it is to have a separate washing machine and dryer.  

Within two minutes of being inside this property I knew it was the place for us.  Then we walked out to the back yard.  Oh. my. gosh.  The back property line had a creek running through it!

The owner needed about two weeks to finish all of the improvements, which worked out great for us.  We hoped to move in on Monday, November 18 after spending a few days at a hotel in London.  However, that was not to be because we knew before leaving The 407 that he did not have all of the improvements completed.  Our new move date was to be Friday, November 29.  

Today is November 29, and we are still in the apartment.  

Mr. Owner decided he does not want to rent the property anymore.  I'll let Adam Sandler share my feelings.  

I think I would have preferred two weeks ago, but maybe I'm splitting hairs.

So we are back to the beginning of house hunting, and we've decided that we no longer want to live in the 'burbs.  I know I've enjoyed our time in the city, albeit in a small corporate apartment.  The access to the Underground and busses is a convenience we would not get in the 'burbs.  We've lived that life and maybe Mr. Owner's indecision was just what we needed to realize that.

I'm back to spending mass amounts of time on Rightmove and Zoopla house hunting yet again.

Contemplative

I love listening to my kids mimic the accent on the underground & elevator announcements. Their approximation is improving. 

I realize that getting outside makes the homesick blues not so bad.  There's not a lot if sun, but the fresh air really clears my head. 

I wonder when we will solidify permanent housing.  A corporate apartment is nice, but having our own belongings will make it home.

After an hour in the "dryer," I still have to hang most things to finish drying

We are still waffling between living in the city or suburbs. We can live in either, but they both have significant trade-offs. Today is the last day we will wait to hear about availability of the suburb house.  If it's a no, then we start the search all over.  

I'm planning for a weekend while Matt is at a trade show.  Three full days alone with the kids is a challenge, especially when cultural and retail options are mobbed on the weekend.   

We are trying to keep the kids engaged until they are enrolled in school. Fearful that it may take longer for them to start than we'd like. 

Always thinking about dinner.  I should investigate some websites that have helpful meal ideas for camping since my kitchen supplies are extremely limited.

The go to meal

Some days I am hesitant to drag my kids all over town in search of a store that might not pan out to have everything I think it might have.  They figured out "Let's go on an adventure," really means Mom has no idea where we are going.  I really need paper towels, bread, milk (for the 20,000th time), a frying pan, spaghetti sauce, and Q-tips.  As far as I know there is not one store nearby to get all of those things.  I miss Target.  

The whole family is thrilled to have the SlingBox for access to American TV.  Sometimes it's nice to see Matt & Savannah, Jimmy Fallon, Ree, and even just a little bit of news from the US. 

Finally, we are all so thankful for Skype and texts with family and friends. We love to hear what's happening on your continent.  

My Observations - Food

The family is settling into a routine now that we've been her for a week.  

I still struggle with making dinner.  I have many ideas but not the proper tools & ingredients to make them.  Since our temporary housing is a few blocks from the absolute center of London, our food options at the supermarket are limited.  The markets have what a city-dwelling person would need at lunchtime or on the way back to their small flat after work: ready to cook meals, grab & go sandwiches, small sized sweets, and basic beverages.  That does not help me when I'm looking to make beef stew or a big pot of soup.  I still have to get accustomed to the brands and what the bigger supermarkets offer.  The types of foods offered are drastically different than what I've bought in the US.  The amount of preservatives allowed in foods is minimal.  Take a look at the low fat yogurt.  Do you see any chemicals on the ingredient list below?  I feel better about my purchases, but they take a little longer to figure out.

On the plus side, the family has enjoyed several of the ready to cook meals.  We loved the chicken and asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, and tomorrow we will have a beef & vegetable stir-fry that was on promotion at the Marks & Spencer for £6.  

At least we are eating healthy and at home as a family.

Figuring Things Out

The apartment we're in has the necessary appliances to keep the household running.  The thing is that while I'm quite a domestic goddess, I know these appliances are not quite the same as back at The 407.  The property management company kindly left a binder with information about the area and the operating instructions for the appliances & technology.    

The first order of the day was to make dinner.  I have not cooked a meal in over a week.  While that does not sound like a horrible thing, eating out for 3 meals/day for six days stinks.  The family was looking forward to a nice dinner of pasta with a nice marinara & bread.  I procured the necessary cooking vessels and proceeded to turn on the stove.  At least I tried to turn on the stove.  The stove in this apartment is not the one pictured in the binder.  Their picture indicated it should have knobs on the cooktop, but ours has images on the cooktop that I figured worked like a touchpad.

Tap - nothing

Tap, Tap - nothing

TAP, TAP - nothing

I happened to be on Skype with my mom & sister right around the time I started to cook.  Whenever I have any cooking question I always call my mom.  So I turned the computer to the stove to show them the stove.  They both suggested a tap of the images, but it still did not work.  Then mom brilliantly suggested that instead of tapping I should hold on the image for a few seconds.  That was it!  Dinner was on the table in no time.  

Washing Machine

I am not a fan of laundry (really who is?), but we've accumulated quite a mess-o-laundry in the past week.  We referred to the handy binder for instructions.  The thing is the binder only told us what the buttons are for but not what we should use.  I let Matt take control of this project and set the wash cycle.  

Started the first wash at 7:30, and at 9:30 the washer finally stopped.  Not before I thought it was going to jump out of the cabinet like in Mr. Mom.  I will try the quick cycle tomorrow and see if that's any better.  

Jack Versus the Appliances
Mr. Mom — MOVIECLIPS.com

Those had better be the most clean clothes on Earth.  Apologies to the people who live below our apartment, we had no idea the washer would make that kind of noise.  The dry cycle is the next bit of fun.  

Revolving Accommodations

When we arrived in London we knew that we'd be in a hotel for a bit before our rental was ready.  Our relocation person emailed us on Tuesday right when the movers arrived to let us know the rental would not be ready for Monday, November 18.  Apparently the owner had difficulty getting the gas supply lines inspected as required by some rule.  That pushed our move in date to Friday, November 29 at the earliest.  There was really nothing we could do about it if we wanted this specific property.  The relocation person immediately sent us some rental apartments so we did not have to spend weeks in a hotel.  

Originally Matt made a reservation at the Hilton London Metropole weeks in advance knowing we needed some accommodations before our original move in date.  We stayed in a standard hotel room with two queen beds.  Apparently it was difficult to find a hotel in London that had two double beds.  I suppose many hotels are smaller, boutique variety and can only sustain one bed (a la NYC?).  The Metropole is just down Praed Street from another Hilton we stayed at with Oldest Kiddo last winter break.  The Edgware Road Underground stop was two blocks across the street.  We were thrilled to know Pret A Manger & Starbucks were across the street.  It was a great starting point for our daily touring of London:

Trafalgar (Tra Fall Ger) Square

Buckingham Palace & The Changing of the Guard

Tower of London

Youngest Kiddo marching like the guard

Hardy's Sweetshop - a tiny but cute shop near St. Paul's Cathedral with loads of hard candies in jugs behind the counter & softer sweets under the glass.  If you come to visit and really want a Pop Tart you can pick up a box for £4.99 (approx $8.00).  

By the time Monday rolled around, I was done with staying in a hotel.  It is not ideal trying to put kids to bed when the adults are not ready to sleep.  Sitting in the dark while the kids claim to not be tired, need a tissue, or any other excuse is exhausting.  By the way as soon as Youngest Kiddo wound down and actually put his head on the pillow, he was lights out.

We checked out on Wednesday morning and traversed our way across town to the corporate apartment for the next 10ish days.  One bonus of this apartment is that Matt's office is approximately a 2 minute walk away.  That's great for dinner time, he calls when he knows he's leaving in 30 minutes and then we eat at a kid-friendly time.  When he went to work while we stayed at the Metropole, his commute was over 45 minutes.  Now it's just as fast as his feet can take him.  

This is quite a lovely place inside and out.  Outside, it's right on the thick of the city on High Holborn.  We have immediate access to daily needs outside our door: an Underground station, grocery shops, drug stores, plus many coffee shops & pubs.  


Inside, it will fit our needs much better than a hotel room.  The kitchen is fully stocked with dishes, utensils, and a few small appliances.  We bought a Nespresso machine a few days ago, so that will find a nice spot on the counter.  The dishwasher is just to the left of the oven and the combination washer/dryer is the very far left cabinet in the photo below.

The fridge comes up to my neck and the microwave is on top.  The freezer is separate, and it even came with ice cube trays!

  

The main living area is opposite from where I stood in the pictures above.

We have two bathrooms.  This one is for the kids.

Matt and I were relieved that we have our own bedroom.  After being in the hotel for several days, we could not wait to shut the door!

The kids share the second bedroom.  We will see how long the peace lasts, but for now it is happy days.  

The best part? A patio!  I can't wait to spend time out there with the kiddos so they can run in circles.  There is also a fully-functioning construction crane across the street; that's kid gold in our house. 

We will call this home until we get the signed lease agreement for our new place.