Cheerio!

The Badens have landed.  I repeat, The Badens have landed.  We survived our journey across the pond with 2 adults, 2 kids, 7 suitcases, 4 backpacks and a stroller.  We were shuttled to our corporate apartment by a very nice gentleman who pointed out a few things here and there during the drive.  He did not however know the reasoning behind the random fireworks we saw while driving.  I think the Brits were just welcoming us to their great city.  :)  Or showing off since I'd previously mentioned that we were considering a tri-fecta of Canada Day in Toronto, Fourth of July in New York City and possibly Bastille Day in Paris!  Wouldn't want to be bested by the French!  I'm sure that's why we saw fireworks the night we arrived.  :)

And in case I forget to mention this later, or for whatever reason I seem to forget this fact with my rose colored glasses.... it's bloody hot here.  And the only place I've found with A/C is the grocery store.  I'm not joking.  Hell, even Princess Kate had to retreat to her parent's house in the country because at 9+ months pregnant -- she couldn't take her place in the city that was without A/C.  I don't blame her in the least!!  (Totally unrelated, but it would've been really nice had Prince George been born on the 20th...)

The first few days in London -- ok, the first week -- was a bit of a blur.  The TUBE!  We had to figure out exactly how and where to buy our initial Oyster Card.  (If you're wondering why exactly it's called "oyster" you can learn about that on the Wiki page referenced earlier!!)  Where and how to tap in and tap out... and of course learn all the kazillion tube lines and where they go!!  On our own, before meeting up with the relocation folks, we did a bit of recon work.  The four of us headed to Notting Hill and Bayswater on morning.  We went to St. John's Wood another day and down to Clapham as well.  We wanted to walk around and get a sense of the different neighborhoods before seeing actual flats and houses.  Then -- it was time to tour with the relo agent and see some places up for rent.  Looking for housing in London is a tad like it was in NYC, but much less stressful.  It's true that each neighborhood has it's own feel -- pros and cons.  It was just a matter of weighing current priorities.  I truly loved the greenery in St. John's Wood and I loved being so close to Regent's Park.  I also loved the quirkiness of a small house we saw in Notting Hill that happened to be doors away from a fantastic public primary school... But, the places in St. John's Wood and Notting Hill would have cost us way more than our ultimate choice and there wouldn't have been any place for guests!  We chose a house in Clapham, specifically in an area called Between The Commons.  It's close to the top primary school in the area (fingers crossed that they have a space -- we're currently on the wait list) and the exiting tenant had glowing things to say about the house, the neighborhood, the direct neighbors, the landlord...   And truth be told, the high street in the area just felt a little more real than up across the river.  I do have champagne tastes, but I'm not buying my kids Gucci shoes.  They're doing just fine with (what I used to think were pretty fancy for kids) Stride Rite!

Our lease starts next week and we're ready to get out of the corporate flat and into the house.  It's huge. Bigger than we need probably - but the kids will love it.  4 bedrooms, an office, 2 living spaces (one for the adults and a separate play area for the kids), lovely kitchen with huge sky lights, a true utility room, a small backyard and GARDEN - woot woot.  There are 2 full baths and 2 additional half baths spread out over 4 floors.  It's awesome.  We actually have so many rooms we're not sure who will occupy which room.  Not exactly a terrible problem to have!  The moral of the story -- there's plenty of room for you to come visit.  Really.  Do come.  If you're feeling adventurous, you can even catch the train from London Heathrow and end up relatively close to the house!  Not too shabby!!