Bo-ring

I'm boring. I've been trying to come up with something to post about but I've really just been working and adjusting to my new early shift this week.

On Tuesday we had movie night after work and watched "Juno", which I enjoyed much more than I expected to...I had been warned about it trying too hard or being overwritten and I think because I was expecting the worst, I was really pleasantly surprised. I'm sorry but the line "this is one doodle that can't be undid, homeslice" is pretty awesome, especially when delivered by Rainn Wilson.




In prepping for movie night, we were encouraged to bring beverages or extra snacks - they ordered pizza for us but we pitched in on everything else. So anyway, since I'm on the early shift now I had plenty of time to head over to Sainsbury's, the nearest grocery. I bought juice, a little thing of vodka, and some soda. What I did not realize was that the juice was actually "squash". Basically it's super concentrated sugar juice that you need to dilute 4:1. Of course I realized it when I tasted my first sip of the giant glass of cranberry juice I had poured myself. Blech. Later, I realized I should have put out a sign because one of the other Americans did the same thing I did. So that was my lesson on squash.

Also Sainsbury's related, I got my first grocery delivery Wednesday night. That's fantastic! I mean, in LA, I would just feel super lazy ordering groceries to my house. But it's a whole different story when it's about a mile to the nearest large supermarket and it's all being carried by the arms of yours truly. So I got all the heavy stuff delivered - beverages, canned goods, and some nice weighty produce - and maybe a few extras too. I mean, if I'm paying for the delivery why not toss in some pasta, rice and cereal too, right? Anyway, I'm not going to do it all the time but when I'm working long hours, it's a great resource. For the day by day stuff, the Tesco Express down the street is still the best.

So that's my boring news for tonight. Also, I'm definitely going to Paris this weekend. Can't wait! Will fill you in on all the details once I get back!

Knight and Days

I met a very famous musical knight today. It was pretty exciting. It only lasted about 11 seconds, but it was really awesome that he took the time to meet everyone in the office. Certainly someone of his magnitude doesn't have to take the time to do that. He was wearing fantastic purple patent/metallic shoes and a very sparkly diamond-encrusted watch, which I noticed when I shook his hand.

So that was great.

In other news, my hours are shifting up through the screening, so I'm now working 7am-6pm. This means I'm going to do my darndest to get to bed a little earlier, so I have to shorten calling hours during the week to end at 10pm. Sorry about that but thanks for understanding!

It looks like I might get the whole weekend off, so I'm going to try to use the fantastic going away gift my dear friends got me and take the Eurostar to Paris. If anyone has any favorite spots, hotels, restaurants, let me know. The Musee d'Orsay is at the top of my list...it was my favorite museum last time I was in Paris.

Top of the Shops?

I can already tell I'm going to have a love-hate relationship with Topshop.

On Helen's recommendation (and because I was coveting her purse at dinner the other night) I went to the Oxford Circus Topshop today. She said it was the only one worth going to becuase it's the flagship store. It's immense. Huge. Ridiculous. It has wondeful things but I got there and was instantly overwhelmed. It kind of feels like Urban Outfitters as a department store. So a little messy, very eclectic (in a great way!) and pretty chaotic. In addition to all your regular departments there was a sweet shop, a mini nail salon, an itsy hair salon, it connects into Miss Selfridge's (which I still haven't figured out), there's Top Man, Topshop Boutique, and at least 2 different shoe dpeartments.

I think I need to just take it half a floor at a time. Because the idea of trying to conquer even a whole floor at once is too much. There's just so much to look at!

What will keep me going back though, is that they have tons of different styles, price levels, colors...it really is an amazingly hip store with stuff for 10-60 year olds.

The problem is that it requires a time commitment I wasn't quite prepared for. To sort through all the different styles and merch...and deal with some of the more competitive shoppers....well, today wasn't the day for me to handle that. I just had no idea what I was in for. But I did accomplish one task - apologies to Helen, I totally bought her same purse but with a scarf of a different color. She has great taste, what can I say?

As requested by Miss Kate, here is the bag. Helen, please don't hate me. I promise not to carry it whenever we go out together. Also it's way cuter in person than in this pic.

Visiting Hours-Updated 2/16

Hurrah! I have my first confirmed visitor!

(aside from Robyn who sadly, but understandably, had to cancel her trip that was supposed to be last weekend)

Anyway, hurrah!

So I thought it might be helpful to keep a running post about what dates I have visitors booked. A lot of people have mentioned coming out in the spring and I really want you all to come! However since my flat is pretty isty bitsy, it's probably not a good idea for more than one or two people to be here at once unless you're okay with sharing a bed and/or the floor, or don't want to stay at my flat (but you should!).

Any time someone tells me they're coming, I'll just keep adding on to this same post. As I've told most of you, my schedule is going to be pretty bad up through our screening in mid-March, but people are welcome any time. I just can't promise you lots of attention until after the screening. =) I did find out that I get both (Sat & Sun!) days next weekend off so if anyone wants to make a quick trip for the weekend of Feb 2-3...(hint hint)

Dates I have visitors coming to stay:

March 11-17, 2008
March 19-25, 2008

Fab Food &...Domino's?

Last night, Helen and I ate the fabulous Boxwood Cafe, one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants. Apparently the wait to get a reservation can be 3 months or something ridiculous, so I was thrilled to be able to go (thanks to a well connected co-worker) and even more thrilled that Helen wanted to go too!

Our table was available right away, which is always nice and the whole evening the service was fantastic. Everything was timely without being intrusive. I could see people checking on us throughout the evening but they never interrupted, just a quick glance and a presence so that if we did need something, they were there. Water & wine glasses always refilled, etc etc. It was lovely and unassuming.

Now what about the eats?



I started with the "Potted salt beef brisket with grain mustard, pickled cucumber and buckwheat flour crackers", which was delicious. You can't see it too well in the goofy picture but I promise it was great.

Helen got the "Fried Irish rock oysters with fennel and lemon" which were served in these two fantastically large shells that looked like the shells mermaids wear in cartoons. A ridiculous reference, I know, but that's the first thing that came to mind when I saw them.

For my entree, I got the "Risotto of Scottish lobster with roasted artichoke and herbs" - a shocking choice since we all know how I feel about seafood, BUT I figured this was the place to go for it, and that my love for risotto could conquer any lobster fears. I was right on both accounts. Yum!

Helen got the "Pan fried fillet of black bream, crushed potatoes, Cornish crab and basil" which she seemed really pleased with and I just took her word for it, since I'd never even heard of black bream before.

The dessert I really wish I had taken a picture of, but I was getting full and lazy and forgot. We split the "Valrhona hot chocolate fondue, marshmallows, biscotti and bananas" - so perfect for me, right? And so delish!

They had warned us that the next seating for our table was at 9:30 (our reservation was at 7:30), so if we were still finishing after dinner drinks or coffee, we may be moved to the bar. But I glanced at my watch when were chatting over coffee and it was after 10 no one ever mentioned it again. So it was doubly great because we had bee

It was a ridiculously expensive meal (even by London standards) but it was a wonderful dining experience and a needed break from all the pre-made sandwiches, salads and ready-meals that I've been depending on for most of the week. Also, I had great company - I'm sure Helen and I could have been anywhere and had a good time, she's so fun! - but it was nice to have an excuse to turn it into a posh evening with my fave Londoner.

This is us leaving the restaurant, bellies full, wallets somewhat empty, and very happy.



Oh, and no, I didn't see Chef Ramsay (he's the patron chef and has about a dozen other restaurants to run so I doubt he stops by much) and I didn't send anything back just to amuse my "Hell's Kitchen" fandom. =)

Today's lunch was slightly less gourmand but worth a quick aside. So, they were nice enough to order in pizza today while we were working and one of the artists wanted Domino's so that's fine. Two things amused me about Domino's here:

1. We got the largest size possible and I'm pretty they were the size of the smallest ones available in the US. I mean, there was plenty, but it was just interesting how small they seemed compared to the XL portions in the states.

2. One of the pizzas ordered was a veggie. Now what was on the vegetarian delight here in London? The normal things - peppers, mushrooms and onions and then two surprises...pineapple and corn. Corn. The corn was weird. I'll give the pineapple a pass because it's not completely foreign on a pizza (usually Hawaiian style) but I'm pretty sure even in England it's still technically a fruit. So that was interesting.

Satisfaction

It's unbelievable how excited I was this morning when I walked to the bus stop and 10 seconds after I got there, the 220 bus showed up. Totally silly, because it is 100% luck. There's an approximate bus schedule, but more often than not you'll wait 20 minutes for one and then 2 will come right in a row or you'll just miss two that were 5 mintues apart and then you're the lucky one who has to wait for 25 minutes. But this morning, I got lucky and it made me sooooo happy!

I'm trying to assemble a playlist of great songs to listen to when I'm walking - to and from work, or just around town. I walked the whole way home tonight and these were my 4 favorites that shuffled into my life:
"Super Duper Love" - Joss Stone
"Everything's Just Wonderful" - Lily Allen
"Elevation" - U2
"ABC" - Jackson 5
I like songs that make me feel like Sydney walking through the airport in the pilot of Alias. We all know I don't strut when I walk, but it's fun to walk around London listening to songs that make feel like I could if I really wanted to.

(And yes, I'm going to end it on a preposition. So there. And if you haven't seen the "Alias" episode of which I speak, that should really be a top priority in your life.)

Faves of the Day

During the week, most of my entries will probably be a little boring since I'm working and don't get out much. And yes, there will probably be a good number of TV show mentions.

I watched a show called "Mile High" over the weekend. It's not quite as raunchy as it sounds. Certainly PG-13 at worst. It's basically a soap opera about flight attendants on an airline called Fresh. According to IMDB is was only made from 2003-2005, so I'm guessing that what I've seen are all repeats. Anyway, the plot lines are pretty much exactly what you'd expect from a soap opera-y show about flight attendents: one was part of a prostitution ring that was being run on the flights, she's now in charge but she's a bitch so now that some of the underlings found out she used to be a prostitute, they're all planning on using it against her. Another one was married but had an affair with one of the pilots and then got pregnant. When that all came out, her husband left her, she had a breakdown, got fired and tried to kill herself by walking out onto the runway. Let's see, another flight attendant was offered a hefty sum if she convinced a prince, who was one of the passengers, to sleep with her. Meanwhile the prince's fiancee was sleeping with one of the male flight attendants. It really just goes on and on. And yet, I'm completely sucked in. It's like the more predictable and salacious it is, the harder it is for me to turn the channel. Ack.

I've also fallen in love with a car. The new Fiat 500.


So cute. It's like all the best bits of a Mini and VW Bug, and obviously, the classic Fiat 500. The official launch is today and as I type this, there is a Fiat 500 floating around in its own private pod on the London Eye. Obviously I won't be buying a car while I'm here. And it won't even be available in the US until at least 2010. But there's been a lot of press for it and if I were going to buy a car here, I think that would be the one.

Hmm...what else do I love today...
Oh so there is this fantastic Italian market just around the corner from our building. Sundrica - they bill themselves as Italian with a bit of French and Spanish tossed in. Whatever they are, I could get food from them every single day. During the week at lunchtime, they always have a homemade soup, some kind of veggie dishes (roasted fresh veggies, broccoli salads, green beans with goat cheese and roast peppers), fresh made sandwiches on their own focaccia and baguettes, and all kinds of amazing looking fresh desserts. Plus if you're looking for stuff to take home, they have an incredible assortment of cheese, olives, italian meats, and sweets too. Yum! Their website doesn't have any pictures and I haven't thought to bring my camera over there, but if any of you come to visit, we'll pick up some treats from there one day and have a picnic or something. I also frequent Pret a Manger and the Marks & Spencer foodhall which are both nearby, easy to takeaway and also delicious.

And yes, you're right. Even with all the extra walking I'm doing, it will be amazing if I don't gain about 50 pounds while I'm here with all the deliciousness. The cheeses are killing me. Maybe I should start the cholesterol pills now?

Great Tate

Today I went to the Tate Modern with a few folks from work. It's a really fantastic museum. Most of the galleries are free, which is really nice because you don't feel rushed. If you don't see everything today, just come back next weekend.

The two special exhibits right now are Doris Salcedo's Shibboleth (aka "the crack") and outside, Louise Bourgeois's giant spider.

Here's the thing about Salcedo's Shibboleth - it is an amazing feat of engineering. Apparently she won't reveal how it was constructed. Basically it is a long snaking crack that runs through the floor of Turbine Hall. Granted, I never saw Turbine Hall's floor before the crack, but I'm told it was a similar but uncracked cement floor. The part I take issue with is that it concerns (and I quote from the museum pamphlet): "power's devisive operations as encoded in the brutal narratives of colonialism, their unhapppy aftermaths in postcolonial nations, and in the stand-off between rich and poor, northern and southern hemispheres."


Really? This crack is a symbol of all that? It's an epiphany about colonialism, post-coloniasm and international economic disparity? Oh, and north v. south? Really? Look, I'm very impressed with the scale of the piece and whatever labor and engineering must have been involved to create it. But I can't buy into everything else. I'm sorry Ms. Salcedo.

The picture I took is just a teeny tiny part of the crack which runs for probably about 50 yards.



However, the giant spider was awesome. It was Dali, Miro, Tim Burton and a Japanese monster movie all in one. I'm not sure if you can see it in the picture but there are also little white eggs in its lower abdomen. I couldn't decide whether to hug its leg or be totally creeped out.

The regular galleries were fab as well. Granted, I only really saw one and a half...after that we were all hungry and thirsty and ended up staying in the Museum Restarant/Bar until closing...but I can't wait to go back to see more. The breadth of work and the exhibition spaces are wonderful. More Miro, Picasso, Francis Bacon, Magritte, Jackson Pollock (non-splattery Pollock) than you can shake a stick at. For reasons I can't explain, I adore Magritte so I was thrilled to see a couple sprinkled in with the other greats. There were also plenty of other new (to me) artists that I was really excited about. So, like I said, I'll be back soon.

Really?

Only one person has book recommendations for me? Come on, people. You're a literate bunch, I just know it.

The Only Post I Will Ever Write About Work

This isn't a blog about my job. But, since that's what brought me to London, I thought I should give it a quick mention.

Basically, things are going really well. I love getting to edit all day, the movie is going to be fantastic, and I'm working with great people who have been very helpful and welcoming. The hours have been pretty intense so far but I think I'll get my Saturdays back once we make it through the screening in March. Then I'm going to start taking weekend trips like mad all over Europe.

So if you don't want to come to London, but might go somewhere else in Europe, let me know! I could meet up with you for pizza in Venice, tapas in Barcelona, waffles in Brussles....

Have a good weekend everyone!

Pots of Gü & Fake Royalty

This is the first of many posts to follow which will probably sound like product placement. But I love discovering things that are only available here that I love - whether they're cheesy TV shows or cheesy deliciousness.

...Which reminds me, Wallace and Gromit are right on - England has fantastic cheese and it should be eaten regularly. And none of it is an un-natural uber-processed orange color.

Anyway, so one of my favorite things at my nearby Tesco Express is called Gü. They are little tiny glass dishes of chocolate deliciousness. There are all different flavors. The company also makes a line of goodies called Frü which are fruit-based. But between chocolate and fruit? Gü.

Another of my favorite things is - no, not brown paper packages tied up with string, although those are lovely - Freeview. Freeview is what they call the free TV channels available with your aerial receiver. There are so many channels! Now reception can be a little dodgy (my new favorite word) but when it's good, it's the clearest picture I've ever had next to HD. So far this week on Freeview, I've watched "Project Catwalk" - the British, Kelly Osbourne-hosted version of "Project Runway" - "Weeds", a ton of "CSI", 2 different Jamie Oliver health/cooking shows, "Little Britain", "East Enders", and "Bring It On" (yes, the Dunst one). No cable bill, no satellite bill, it's pretty great.

My top new TV show, though, is "The Palace".

It's basically "The OC" but about a fictional British royal family. There's only been one episode so far (the king dies and his party-hardy son is suddenly king) but I'm already hooked. The wikipedia page bills it as a West Wing for England's royal family but...um, well, no. It's way too soapy to be compared to anything Sorkin. Soapy and super!

Next Friday I scored a reservation to Boxwood - one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants - I can't wait. And by "scored", I mean received through the generous goodwill of one of my co-workers.

(*the pics today were all borrowed from other sites)

Book SOS!

With all the time I spend on buses and tubes and not having to navigate a car, I've gone through about 4 books in two weeks. So please, if you have any great book recommendations, let me know!

I'm going to start utilitzing the Fulham library, so I can be thrifty and environmentally friendly as well as more literate, all in one go.

As far as genres go, I tend to be a plot-driven, fiction girl. Obviously I'd prefer things to be well written, but I've been known to read my share of airport books too. As long as the plot isn't too predictable nor the writing too insultingly simple, I'm in. And if you have good non-fiction recs, I'm up for those too...it's just not usually my genre of choice.

Thanks all!


Now here's a rec from me to you: I just finished reading "The Gum Thief" - Douglas Coupland - and really liked it. So there you go.

Touristy Things, part 2

A couple of Sundays ago, I went to my favorite tourist spot so far: Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. It's so campy and fantastic. Plus, you can touch them?!? Did you know that? You can go up and hug them and pose with them and it's just really amazing. Plus, there is something for everyone...movie stars, rock stars, world leaders, historical figures, sports heroes, even a little dungeon of the most famous English criminals, if you're into that sort of thing. And I'm sure they only have about 2% of the collection out at any one time. So I'll have to go back lots!

What was the most interesting was how dead-on most of them were and then how every one out of 20 is just really odd looking. And the fact that the wax Hitler was one of the most popular photo opps.

For example, Susan Sarandon was absolutely stunning and so lifelike.

But Will Smith and Tom Cruise...not right. At all.

I was particularly excited that they had stipper-pole-Britney out on display since it was the week of her crazy breakdown/standoff. They're very timely over there at Mme. Tussaud's.



I took pics of some of my favorites...

Patsy for my brother:


For my DW friends:




And for Susan:


Please know that whoever comes to visit me will be required to go to Madame Tussaud's. And I promise, you will LOVE it!

Touristy Things, part 1

Most of these pictures won't be new to you worldly people, but I thought it was worth a post. The Sunday between Xmas and New Year's, I took a day to do one of the hop-on hop-off bus tours around London, to kind of get all the necessary sights out of the way. And also, so that when you emailed me and asked "have you seen Big Ben yet", I could say "yes, and I took about 50 pictures from every angle".

So here's my day of playing tourist. It started in Trafalgar square, with a very distant view of Big Ben. That's where the National Gallery is (the building with the red banner) as well as a lot of cool statues. Unfortunately because I was there the day before New Year's, they were putting boards up all around the statues so that nothing would get damaged (nor people get hurt...from climbing them and then falling off) so I didn't take any pictures of the plywood.

Then of course there's Buckingham Palace - otherwise known as my second choice flat. The queen wasn't in residence at the time and it's a good thing, because the guards that were posted outside looked to be about 16 years old. From the palace, you can see the London Eye off in the distance. And I included a picture of myself so you know that I didn't just buy these pics off some London website. I don't really look as awful as the picture might lead you to believe. It's impossible to take your own picture and a) not have a double chin b) get decent framing and c) smile in any way that's remotely natural-looking. But anyway, there you go.

Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and the Houses of Parliament followed up. Because I went on a Sunday, Westminster wasn't open to the public, but I think I remember what the inside looks like from last trip to London. I'm guessing it hasn't changed too much in the last 9 years.

Then I went on the London Eye, which is like a giant ferris wheel except the little pods hold about 20 people. It's a half hour long ride and the wheel never stops, so you get on and off as it's still moving. I really enjoyed it but the lines - both to buy a ticket and then to get on - were RIDICULOUS. I highly recommend buying a ticket online beforehand and doing it first thing in the morning. I got there around 2pm and as I waited in line forever I was worried that I wouldn't make it on before sunset. The sun sets at about 4pm here right now. But I just barely made it during daylight. Of course, when when I passed by the London Eye later that night, I realized it's probably equally beautiful at night because the city is all lit up. Still, it's more picture friendly during daytime.


By the time I was done with the Eye and waiting for the next bus, nightfall was swinging in. So there's a picture of the Tower of London, but it was too late for me to go visit it. So when someone comes to visit and wants to see the sites, I will definitely be game for the Tower of London tour - and I've heard you can just borrow the crown jewels whenever you want, so we can get some of those when we go.

Okay, back to work for me. Talk to you soon!

The Flunkie

I can't think of any more fl- words for titling my posts. Sorry about that. But if anyone wants to come up with a new naming convention, I'm taking suggestions.

So I've been at work pretty late these past 3 nights and I'm too tired to do a whole long post today. But the big excitement was that I got both a working phone line and a television today - that's a huge day for me. By the end of next week I should also have broadband and my Vonage phone working at home, so there will be a CA number you guys can call and get directly to me. Exciting! I'll send an email once that's all up and running.

My first weekend here, I went to the Winter Wonderland. Someone at work told me about it and it sounded odd and interesting. It's in Hyde Park and there's an outdoor skating rink,carnival rides and a row of about 10 little German booths selling food and crafts.
The pictures will give a general idea - it was cool to see so many people out enjoying the ice rink and the rides, but it wasn't quite as big as I was hoping.
Also the rides were a bit odd. Aside from the Bee Movie ride, which reminded me that DW will truly always be a part of my life (and yay for that!), there was a haunted Christmas mansion funhouse, which was just like a Halloween Haunted fun house but they had put a Santa cap on the scary guy outside and spread some tinsel and ornaments around. Hmmm.

The Flat - Bonus Material

So I realized this morning that nowhere in my post did I talk about all the awesome stuff about my flat and why I picked that one.

First - for my parents' sake - it's really safe. It's a small street off of a main street (Fulham Road) my building has a secure front entry door, plus I'm on the first floor and have a couple very sturdy locks on my door.
*Ed. Note: here in England, the first floor is actually one floor off the ground. So it goes ground floor, 1st floor, 2nd floor*

Also, the stretch of Fulham Road that I'm near, is pretty awesome. It's full of lots of little boutiques, restaurants, salons, and a couple of pubs. For the essentials, there's a Tesco Express - which is like a mini grocery or a super nice 7-11, or for those of you in Silverlake and Echo Park, like a mini Tesco - only two blocks from me and a wine shop actually on my corner.

My favorite stores so far on my street are Cath Kidston and Oliver Bonas, which are both pretty girly. Oliver Bonas also has some clever gifts and home stuff. I dorked out and bought a couple of mugs there: one had the periodic table on it and the other had weights and measurement conversions. (i told you i dorked out). My favorite name of a store is Sweaty Betty. It makes me laugh every time I pass it - they sell workout wear. My favorite restaurant is Sukho Thai - a little expensive, but delicious and I will take all my visitors there for at least one meal.

As far as transportation goes, it's a short walk from my flat to the Parsons Green tube station and about the same distance to the bus stop on Fulham Palace Road. From the bus stop, it's a quick (10-15 min) ride to work. Or I can walk to work in about 35 minutes, which has pretty much been my only source of exercise since I've been here, so I do the walk as often as my shoe choice will allow. I'm also not too far from the Fulham Broadway tube station which has all kinds of goodies, like 2 big groceries, a movie theater, a Barnes & Noble and (gasp!) TGI Fridays.

Lastly, as much as I joke about how small it is and the lack of storage (Ikea fixed that, thank you very much), it's the perfect size for me and my limited time here. And prevents me from shopping too much. Ha!

Tomorrow is a big day - BT is supposed to come finally install a phone line, and I'm renting a TV and DVD player which are getting delivered in the morning. Very exciting stuff. More later....(with pictures, I promise)

The Flat

I've gotten a lot of questions about where the hell I'm living (Fulham), what it looks like (small and neutral), does it have a pull out sofabed (yes!), etc.

So post 2 will attempt to answer these questions and provide proof that I actually am in London in a flat and am not just avoiding people and/or living on the streets.

My second day in London, a lovely lady housing agent took me to 9 different flats and cottages in the neighborhoods of Fulham and Putney. These are in the southwest part of London and adjacent to one another but Putney is on the other side of the Thames. It was totally overwhelming to have only been in London one day and then go see 9 places and basically have to pick one on the spot. Luckily there two I really liked and I finally (as in, 20 minutes later) narrowed it down to the one. 13 Rostrevor Road, Fulham, SW6 5AX. If you like, you can just type the postcode into google maps and it'll show you exactly where I live. That's why I like about the postcodes here - very specific. Although probably not good if you have a stalker. But I don't think I have any.

This is a picture of the type of building I live in. These two are across the street from me and I borrowed the picture from a real estate site. (thanks random site!)


Anyway, my flat is on the middle floor of 3 and it's a very small one bedroom. I joke that the kitchen sink is about the size of an airplane sink, but it's very very true. I'll just post all the pictures below and you can see for yourselves. I brought some artwork (Dr. Seuss and Matt O'Connell), bedding and couch pillows from home which - if I do say so myself - was an excellent call. It's really helped make the place feel like (a temporary) home.

Living room:


Kitchen:

If you're wondering where the fridge is, it's on the left in the cabinet next to the combo microwave/convection oven under the counter. If you're wondering about a washing machine, it's straight ahead in the other cabinet under the counter. There are no drawers in the whole kitchen, which is very... interesting.

Bedroom:

(thanks for all the artwork, moconnell!)

And, in case you care, this is the best shot i could get of the bathroom. The most awesome part is the built in heated towel rack. So good.


In the next episode, I'll tell you all about the awesome touristy things I've done so far. And hopefully, by then, I'll actually have a working phone line at the flat...maybe even internet if I'm super lucky. =) Miss you all!

Also, I'll leave it open for comments but keep in mind that family and all kinds of friends will be reading this, so be gentle, dear readers.

The Flight

This blog is because inevitably I will get too lazy to email everyone individually and send pictures and updates. So I'm just heading that off at the pass and making everything public access from the start.

We begin with my freaking awesome Virgin Atlantic flight here from LA. Due to union rules, they had to fly me over Upper Class, which means I'm pretty positive this was the nicest plane ride I will ever have.

I had my own little pod. (exhibit A)

Complete with loungey seat that converts into a bed for sleepy time. My own sleep suit to change into - basically black cotton comfort pants and top. *Sorry Susan - that probably hurts your germ-concerned ears but they looked really clean* Personal TV with more channels, games and movies than I have ever owned at my own home. A lovely dinner and snacks whenever requested. And, of course, all the booze you'd like. The best thing about the pod was having absolutely no contact with my plane neighbors. Didn't hear them, didn't see them, certainly didn't have to talk with them. Delightful!


Exhibit B shows the rows of pods. I love them. I wish I could only fly in Virgin pods from now on. =)