the london love affair begins...

Flight to London was sweet, didn’t get much sleep though. The weather was fine over Europe so we could see city’s like Copenhagen from 30,000 feet. Touchdown, Sarah’s friend Libby was waiting at the airport for us, so it wasn’t too daunting. Had our first experience on the famous London tubes from the airport and surprise, surprise we were delayed for an hour with signal failure. Got out at the Hammersmith stop, it was very awkward lugging all our gear. First thing we noticed when we walked out of the tube station was not the number of people, but the ethnic diversity. We also noticed the famous London black cabs, the monopoly board place names, and the police cars with sirens blearing speeding around every corner. With rough directions in hand we eventually made it to Claxton grove. First thing Sarah wanted to do was go to the Pub with her mate, but I was really jet lagged (close to 22 hour without sleep) so unpacked and crashed after saying a bleary hello to the flat mates. We are staying in a flat in Hammersmith with about 6 others (I think!) who are mainly Aussies. Nice digs and the kitchen overlooks a graveyard.
Since being in London we have either been checking out the sights, catching up with mates or applying for jobs (in no particular order). The sights are definitely like walking around a postcard; West Minster Abbey, London Bridge, Parliament Buildings, Big Ben, Tower of London, the London eye, St Paul’s Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, the list of iconic sights seems endless. The weather has been outstanding in our first week, but I have heard that it does rain in London sometimes! ;-). The days are really long at the moment and the temperature has been as high as 28 deg. Negotiating the tube system has been fun and it doesn’t take long to pick up, as long as you have your Oyster card your home and hose!
Sarah has already scoped out some of the markets. From the endless food stalls at Burough market to the weird and wackey at Cambdon, to the trendy and quaint at Portabello. London’s got it all.
Hammersmith is a really nice area and we are lucky to have mates and family (Jen) close by who can give us a few handy tips. We have already had a few traditional Kiwi BBQ’s and English style ciders on the lawn in Hyde Park. London is surprisingly a really pretty place and there are Parks everywhere and lots of running tracks up and down the Thames. The inner city is modern yet still retains its historical charms. It would be hard to get bored in London, because there isn’t a shortage of things to do, places to see, or people to catch up with. I am still waiting for my invitation to have tea with the Queen!