My London excursion is off to a bustling start. After four work days came the weekend, and with it a chance to explore this beautiful city and get some logistical paperwork errandy things out of the way. Errands were a nuisance. Let's not linger too long on it; we were directed to a "dodgier" area of town to get a card that allows us to stay here and had numerous (7? I lost count) snafus on the bus system. We just got unlucky; one driver told us the bus was unwell and she's not taking it anywhere. "I'm not going anywhere, it's not well!" She kept saying. Then we got going and went in the wrong direction, which led to us doing a U-Turn on one of the less narrow London roads. Community involvement was required, and the back of the bus was helpful in assisting with avoiding the sidewalk. It was a scene. But, after a few more transfers and wrong turns, we got safely back.
We ventured out to Trafalgar Square! Our other errands (get a phone plan, go to the bank) were thwarted by this and that reason, so we weren't equipped with proper navigation, but did just fine without.
Our dinner was at an Italian restaurant L'ulivo. I ordered spaghetti bolognese and a green salad with house wine. Overall very tasty, spag bol was forgettable, but I think I knew it would be going in. Not every meal is going to be the best of my life, and this one was pretty good. Pierre and I had discussed the essence of French snobbery the other night, in that it is more or less finding what you like and pursuing it. On work, his advice was "Just be yourself. That is the most important part."
London has shown itself to be a visitor-friendly city by its grid-like outline and comprehensible tube system. When we have trouble, we've done well asking the people around us. All good things.
I expected myself to have more ambition for this lazy Sunday, but so far I've made the tortellini on the stove top (which I got to work successfully!) and tried to do a laundry. Laundry was washed with equal parts dish detergent and laundry detergent, so it is extra sparkling clean. Presently I'm awaiting the dryer cycle to actually finish drying the clothes -- the washer/dryer and I are off to a rocky start, but I think we are starting to see eye to eye.
The apartment provided us with all of the manuals for the appliances, except, that is, for any manuals for appliances that have functions you might not know how to work. There is a manual for the refrigerator, toaster, microwave... Not the foreign stove top or washer/dryer which are all new to us. Fortunately the internet has been good blessing us with videos. God bless YouTube!
What's in store for the rest of the day? Nails maybe? Definitely working out once the dryer is complete. I've finally "moved in" and organized my belongings into the closet and drawers such that I am no longer living out of and falling over my suitcases. This is nice.
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