Yesterday we completed seven weeks here in London. Hard to believe, isn't it? We arrived on Saturday, 8 September and since have been getting used to living here and settling into work routines and the like.
There's lots to tell and many observations to be made about our life here and since there is no way to get current without a lot of writing, I thought I'd just pick a topic or two every week or so to compare/contrast life here as well as highlight some of our favorite activities. Maybe I can be more consistent at writing that way.
We've pretty much mastered how to get around London. Lots of walking of course as well as the tube, buses and trains. While that may sound like a hassle, the mass transportation here can get you just about anywhere and wait times are usually no longer than 5 minutes. The customer I'm working with is located near London Bridge and luckily for me is on the same tube line so I don't need to change trains and it's about a 30 minute ride.
Tube rides cost £2.70 ($4.35) each trip and buses are £1.35 ($2.15). Sounds expensive but you don't want to own a car here. Besides driving on the other side of the road and all the associated risks, cars are just plain expensive with insurance, gas, etc. but you also need to buy a parking permit to park outside your own house. And if you drive into the center of London, there is a congestion charge which is pretty steep and is in place to keep people from adding to the the cities major traffic problem. I've taken a taxi twice since here and on the advice of my colleagues that was at 6am and 9pm going to from the airport. Not much traffic at those hours and a short ride.
I take the tube daily and based on my schedule, sometimes I take 3-4 trips a day. Geoff often takes the bus down to one of the grocery stores he likes. It's not that far it's a steep hill back and often carrying alot of stuff. We wear our backpacks like another piece of clothing. Most grocery stores charge for a bag and you never know when you'll buy something and need to get it home. Also keeps things dry when getting around in the rain.
So far the weather has not been a major factor though in the last few days it's been a bit cold and windy. We've had some real downpours that have lasted a few hours. You can count on it to rain almost every day, you just don't know when. So you need to be prepared and keep a positive attitude - it's just water!
That's enough for one day. I will be back with more frequent updates.
