The royal baby has arrived... Prince George of Cambridge!

Time is flying by!!!! I am super excited to have started work and get on a somewhat regular schedule (vs sleeping till i wake up). The first week of work was the usual... trainings, meeting tons of people and trying to remember everyone's names, and then getting through more on-line training courses :) The best part of getting to know all the other newbies that are joining at the same time as me. Luck would have it that there is another girl from Raleigh that is joining on the same day as me! I have meet some really awesome people from all over the world and we have already hung out several times since then... It is a great feeling to start making connections right away. 

After the first week, we had a pretty relaxing weekend and meet up with some of Jeff's work mates. Saturday we went to a new area of London for us, Barnes Pond. It is a little bit further south than we have been before and it was totally worth the extra effort to see it. We have found that each area/neighborhood that we visit each has its own very unique personality. This area was very peaceful and calming. 

Here are a few pictures near the bus stop...

Here are a few pictures at the pub we meet Ryan at and grabbed some dinner.

And yes, London has enjoyed so much beautiful, warm weather the River Thames is drying out. Have no fear... it rained all day today and it appears the typical London summer is back. I am sure the water will be back to normal levels soon... and I will be taking my vitamin D to supplement my sunshine :)

Sunday, I dragged Jeff out of bed and we went to get a proper english breakfast. We walked over to the Holland Park area and found a fun store to explore....

And of course they had one of Jeff's favorites :) Texas Pete... he puts it on everything, so good thing it is close by!

We picked up a few other things... some treats for a few fellow american friends and some betty crocker cake mix (which was a total disaster... i blame the oven! haha)

Later on Sunday, we meet up with Jeff's friend from Raleigh who is wrapping up his secondment in August. It is always great to hear the stories, tips, and tricks if you will, of everyone that has been here for a while. We meet up in Shoreditch at a lovely beer garden. Then it was back to the grind at work Monday morning.

Week 2 started out great! Tuesday was pints after a market event for my team, Wednesday the royal baby arrived and then Thursday it was 'pond hopping drinks' for a fellow Raleighan moving back home :)

The announcement of the royal baby was big news! The news was all over BBC and facebook, so it was hard to miss. BBC was down at the Palace interviewing people that went to look at the royal announcement. I thought it was super funny that half the people they talked to were Americans. In some sense it seemed to be just as big of a deal at home as it was here. I think the English were more excited at the possibility of an extra holiday for his 1st birthday than the actual birth! haha Non the less it has been a very exciting time to be here and witness history! This british summer is starting to be epic with Wimbledon, the royal baby, the beautiful weather.... what more could you ask for. Well one could say it is hard to top the Olympics that were here last years, but we thought no better way to find out than to actually visit the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park for the Anniversary Games and Open Festival! Stay tuned for more details and pictures to come soon.