Camel Burgers..Mmmmmmm

About a month ago I visited Borough Market, one of London's largest food markets.  It has a vast array of delicious desserts and cheeses and also some interesting meat products...

Tourist in London, Take 1

My first weekend here, I covered a handful of the main touristy destinations - London Eye, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace. More interestingly though, I also visited London's oldest wine bar - Gordon's Wine Bar. The building has been in its current form since 1890! A friend and I shared a bottle of wine and I ordered a side of two delicious cheeses with a baguette.

After the wine, we went to see Yayoi Kusama Exhibit at the Tate Modern. My favorite parts of the exhibit was the ordinary living room/dining room covered in florescent multi-colored polka dots and the infinity mirror room (please ignore my bucked teeth in the second picture - not sure what happened there...).

Herbie now pees in Royal Parks

Despite the incredible hassle of getting Herbie from New York to London (at times I thought that smuggling drugs into the UK would be easier than bringing a dog here), it was of course entirely worth it. The parks here are perfect for dogs-- they can go off leash at any time of day and there is so much open green space to explore. So he is keeping busy-- running like a maniac, meeting dogs that bark with British accents, and becoming acquainted with the Queen's beautiful white swans.

The Most Dazzling and Disorienting Bathroom

On Sunday, I had planned to meet some friends for brunch at Nopi. Unfortunately, I got so lost that I missed the meal altogether (sadly for me, London was not built on a grid). I did arrive with enough time to enjoy some conversation and check out the glamorous mirror-wrapped bathroom. Had I located Nopi early enough to indulge in a few mimosas, I'm sure it would have taken me some time to find my way out!

Tea and Machine Guns

On my walk from the Tube station to the office, I pass by the Saudi Arabian Embassy. There are two British police officers that stand on the sidewalk outside the tall black iron gate holding some very impressive-looking machine guns. This morning, I noticed cups of tea in their non-machine-gun-holding hands. Ok, they may have been drinking coffee or even hot chocolate for that matter, but I would much rather imagine that it was tea. I would have taken a picture of them but there's something about their fully-automatic firearms that doesn't seem to welcome photography.

Five Snaps

Here are five snaps from my time in London these past two weeks. Enjoy!

{A Gingerbread man by the name of Godfrey! Too cute.}

{Escalator to the Tube}

{Sooooo many coins here! I need to invest in a serious coin purse.}

{Outside St. Paul's Cathedral-- where Princess Diana was married}

{Another snap from outside St. Paul's Cathedral}

Find a Flat - Check!

I am excited to report that I have found a flat in Central London that has agreed to allow Herbie! I will be in Kensington and just a 20-minute commute to the office.  Although I will have a flatmate (I had been hoping to find my own place), it is a BIG step up from the studios I went to see-- one of those studios boasted a futon for a bed, a closet that could hold 8 outfits max, and a "shower" that consisted of a shower-head fixed on to the wall and a drain on the bathroom floor (as in no enclosure) all for 25% more than I pay for my Manhattan studio. Anyway, I can't wait to move in!

From Midtown to Mayfair

I know I haven't posted in a while but it has taken me some time to take everything in. Today marks the end of two work weeks completed and so far so good. My office is in Mayfair which is in London's borough of Westminster and steps away from the beautiful Hyde Park. It is land of hedge funds, private banks, and wealth managers and rents are among the highest in London. In many ways, the neighborhood is nothing like Midtown Manhattan where I used to work-- no skyscrapers, no traffic, and no bustling crowds of people. Instead, think cobblestone lanes, tree-lined squares and Georgian townhouses converted into offices. And yet I'm still within a short walk of many of the same lunch/snack spots-- Pret a Manger, Starbucks, a New York style sandwich stop, and Chop'd (London's version of NY's Chop't).

I'm Here (There)!

I arrived in London yesterday. The flight here was great. I had never flown business class before and wow was it wildly different than flying coach. I had barely stored my carry-on in the overhead luggage compartment before I was offered some champagne. And the 4-course dinner was great-- I had the pumpkin bisque, mixed greens salad, pan-seared sea bass, and a vanilla ice-cream sundae! It was definitely a step-up from my usual in-flight "meal" of a can of diet coke and crappy pretzels...though I imagine you get something a bit more substantial than that on an international flight anyway.

Once I got out of the airport, I took the Heathrow Express to Paddington and then took a taxi to the apartment where I am staying in Kensington. I really like the apartment-- it is small for sure (though bigger than my New York City studio) but it is new, clean and bright.

I found my way to the Tube and went into the office for a few hours. I met some of my co-workers and had "lunch" at 5pm (I'm obviously still getting used to the time difference). After work I watched some programming on a channel called "VIVA". The lineup was Teen Mom, the Fresh Price of Bel Air, and Two and a Half Men. Random? Perfect? Both.

New York, NY (JFK) to London, UK (LHR)

Today is the day. The next time I write, it will be from across the pond. Wish me luck!

One Week From Today

One week from today I'll be en route to London...

Two Weeks from Today...

It is unbelievable to me that in two weeks from today, I will be in London for three weeks to work and apartment hunt. It's all coming so fast!

                              Source: weheartit.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Tea Time!

I've never been much of a tea drinker and I'm not even a fan of coffee-- in fact, I prefer a refreshingly cold Diet Coke with my breakfast (a guilty pleasure of mine that would no doubt make some people cringe). But, perhaps I will try to embrace the British tea culture once I move. There does seem to be something so warm and comforting about tea...

Almost There!

I am now finished with ALL of the paperwork to apply for my UK work visa. It will be submitted to the British Consulate first thing Monday morning!!!

Love Actually

With the holidays fast approaching, I can't seem to watch enough Christmas movies. One of my favorite Christmas movies is "Love Actually" which just so happens to be set in London Town. Below are the frames from one of my favorite scenes. 

 

Now, how cute is that?

A New Dream

“Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”
- Miriam Beard

Will I wear fancy hats?

Who could forget the elegant and elaborate hats worn by the guests at the Royal Wedding earlier this year. I hope I get the chance to attend some hat-worthy events once I am in London. Here are three hats I certainly would not mind wearing.

 

1. Hat by Nerida Fraiman, 2. Hat by Phillip Treacy, 3. Hat by Phillip Treacy (from left to right).