Happy 1 month anniversary London....

...and what a month it has been! Our lives have completely changed with many first as a couple, new jobs, new home, and a true culture immersion in London :) I still have to pinch myself sometimes to realize everything that has happened and to embrace the changes that are yet to come. This past week has been bitter sweet as I realized it is my last week before I start my new job and it is back to reality! haha So I tried to make the most of it... and the weather was so beautiful it was easy to do.

I found a very lovely yoga studio that is right off the tube line that I will take to work. It has classes early and late, all with varying levels and styles. There is a very large skylight that fills the studio which is very lovely. I have been twice and know that I am going to fit right in! 

Wednesday Jeff and I met a friend from his work to watch a movie in Hyde Park. Pirates of the Caribbean was playing on the big screen. It was really funny to see everyone sitting around with the huge headphones on! There were so many other events going on around the park, they only channeled the sound to those who paid and got a headset. We brought a blanket and a picnic dinner to enjoy the movie.... And of course there were some characters dressed up as good old Jack Sparrow that were quite entertaining as well.

Thursday I went on an adventure to find a GP (General Practitioner) for Jeff and I to register with. The health care is different in the sense that you have to register with one doctor and that doctor does everything for you.  The GP also has to service the area that you live in. I was able to find a GP that was less than 1 mile away from our flat. I was able to pick up the paper work to complete and now all we have to do is 'post' it back to their office. Yes, everything is posted not mailed :) Also on that side note... the post office to pick up a package is different than the one that you mail things. There are similar bins to drop off mail like at home, only they are red. 

Friday I meet Jeff for lunch and we enjoyed food from a very American establishment... Chipolte! and it was just as good here as it is at home :) The prices were every similar as well, only they were in pounds not dollars. One thing we have noticed when eating out is that there are no fountain drinks. All drinks come in a bottle or can. One exception we have found is that subway seems to have fountain drinks (but we haven't been there yet).

After lunch I enjoyed a very leisure  afternoon in the park across from his office. The weather was too good to resist laying out to read some of my kindle and the local paper. The local paper can be found everywhere on a daily basis. People will pick them up and just leave them on a seat on the tube or bench. After giving it a read through, I attempted to complete my first set of british puzzles. They had the normal word search, sudoku, cross-words and a few others I had not heard of. I ha success on a few... but the cross words were hard! haha While we have been here a month, I am still not completely up to speed on the lingo here. A friend recommended a book, Watching the English, by Kate Fox, to help with some of the cultural differences. Stayed tuned on how the books goes!

Here is a view of the London Eye from the park.... LOVE it!

Later that evening we checked out a new neighborhood pub, The Eagle. I saw it was rated with one of the best beer gardens in London, so we just had to check it out... especially since it was pretty close! There was a company event going on that evening, so we could not really appreciate the full beer garden; however, we were able to snag a table and enjoy the sunshine for a little bit. I think we will be back :)

Saturday was a very busy day! After walking around for lunch on Friday, I realized there were so many squares that we still hadn't visited yet.. so I put them on the list to check off! First on the list was Trafalgar Square. They had a huge literacy event going that was sponsored by Nook. There were famous people there doing reads... including Hugh Grant and several West End plays. 

This is the stage where they were reading from and there were screens on each side for the kids to follow along. 

We even saw some 'wild pigeons' hanging around :)

Next on the list was Leicester Square.... and there was lots going on here. We visited the M&M store and dropped our names into the Book of Moron lottery. Apparently every day at 5 pm you can put your name in a pot to get tickets for 20 pounds! That is a steal!!!! The show is sold out until the end of August and they are never half price. Unfortunately luck was not on our side though... 

The M&M store was pretty awesome though!!! They had everything you could think of in there... and of course we had fun with the pictures!

It was 4 floors!!!! 

The wall of goodness... tunnels of M&M to take home with you!

After our sweet visit, we moved along to Bedford square with a little detour through Chinatown. 

Even the street sign was in Chinese!

When we finally got to Bedford Square, we realized it was closed to a private event. Everyone was all dolled up for a Great Gatsbyish evening... so we didn't even attempt to make it in. However we did find a random gem on the way. We happen to stumble across the UNC house for their study abroad students. 

And if that wasn't enough for our Saturday... we carried on into the evening at the Hidden Film Festival in London. It was our first film festival so we had no idea what to expect. On top of that, it was one of the first Hidden Film Festivals meaning they didn't reveal the names of the films they were viewing until that night. For a brief re-cap there were 6-7 short films that were all excellent! The first one had the guy from Napoleon Dynamite and several others had the film directors present to discuss their films after the viewing. 

Phew that was a busy day! Sunday was much calmer with us visiting the Borough Market for the Bastille Festival. It was the only free event to celebrate the French National day. It was much calmer than normal, which was vey nice. Here is a picture of lunch :) YUM!!!

After such a busy week, these two kiddo's were ready for a relaxing afternoon at the flat after our Borough Market visit:) The tv shows are limited but we have found a few that are rather entertaining... 'Don't Tell the Bride' and 'An Idiot Abroad'. I think you can tell who likes which show ;) It was a perfect afternoon to relax and get ready for the week ahead though. 

Stayed tuned for updates on my first week of work. Cheers!