Battersea Park

Today Laura and I checked out the nearest public park to us; a short 10 minute walk across the Thames.

A really cool fountain...

 and a track event. 

Tea in the tea garden.

Peace pagoda built by Buddhist nuns and monks.

We had a lovely day, sunny and warm, and no major chores that needed to be accomplished!  

Our flat

We are finally feeling settled. These first few days Adda, our landlady, had been bringing over a variety of items needed for us to feel more comfortable. She also had an electrician come hook up a TV, phone, and turn the power to the stove on. Everything had been newly purchased, so I needed to unpack and wash each item. I was forced to learn asap how the washer dryer unit and the dishwasher worked; somewhat challenging when suffering from jet lag. Our new and improved living space...

Office: not sure why the listing said 2^nd bedroom, there's no bed.

The living room has a sofa that pulls out to a bed and there's a stylish dining table for us to eat at.

The TV is on the wall across from the sofa and the loft above the kitchen turned out to be a perfect space for Laura.

Dwarf size appliances in the tiniest kitchen I've ever been in!

The flat is christened (literally)

Woke up on Sunday morning feeling rested. St. Gabriel's Catholic church, circa 1850, is only a block away from our flat. We went to the 10:30 AM service, described as the "youth" mass, but it felt very traditional. Perhaps too much so, as it seemed sparsely attended, with few young people. The organ however sounded great -- a real pipe organ, not electronic -- and filled the church.

Then we walked to the Google office as a practice run for my first day on Monday. Seems like it will be about a 15 minute walk. The office is decorated in appropriately British attire.

We had the office to ourselves. Caught up on our eMail in the cafeteria while Laura explored. 

Looks like it was a fun TGIF on Friday.

Back at the flat, we realized we had no wine opener for the bottle of wine we had bought on the way home. (The flat had wine glasses, we assumed it would have a corkscrew). I tried to open it using a knife - big mistake. Pushing down on the cork, it suddenly gave way, and wine sprayed everywhere - including the ceiling, which was painted with flat (not glossy) paint. Result: the kitchen ceiling now has a lovely embedded pattern of wine spots...

We're here!

An uneventful flight with not much sleep. We arrived into Heathrow at 9:30 AM and collected our bags.

We took a cab to the agency (Foxtons) that handled our rental and were given a packet that "had everything we needed". In my sleep-deprived state, I didn't open the packet to verify the accuracy of this statement. We got to our flat and discovered the packet did not contain a key. Laura and Mary stayed with the bags while I took another cab back to get the key.

Meanwhile our kind landlady who lives nearby had been informed of our predicament and came by to let us in. I returned and we started settling into our flat, which we love! We then decided to explore our neighborhood, but first we really needed a nap... 

After dragging ourselves out of bed, we set off. We like our neighborhood too. Lots of character with tall stately row homes and Georgian architecture. Quiet too, but close to shops and activity. We went wandering through narrow and sometimes busy streets, with cars weaving in and out. We have to remember to look to the right when crossing streets.

We wound up at a pub called the Queens Arms:

Our meal included fish and chips, sausage, and a couple of pints: All in all, our first day was great.