11/12/10

    Things are slowing down a bit so I think tonight is the night that I will finally get myself caught up here.  I have some photos to post but this laptop is so old and slow that it is almost impossible.  I am planning on publishing some more visually stimulating posts once I get my new computer shipped over and iPhoto won't crash the entire system.  I also tried starting up a Tumblr blog by the requests of Emily but again it was too hard to navigate on this ancient system.
   Friday was the first full day that Sean and I had to ourselves.  There were no appointments scheduled and nothing really to do so it was hard to convince our bodies out of bed.  I had coffee waiting for me down in the dining hall but it really is getting harder and harder to wake up in the mornings.  We have been staying up til midnight without a problem and forcing ourselves to close our eyes by 1 a.m. Imagine that! Sean easily staying up past 9!!! Quick! Everyone to London to party! But I digress.   So here we have our first full day, our rainy cloudy full day, waiting on the edge of our seats to hear about the flat.  Not wanting to venture too far from Lindsay in case she called with good news to rush to the office to sign papers, we pulled out the map and headed to a mall.  Yup, our first full day to wander and we go to the mall.  It was Sean's suggestion which made the whole day even more surreal.  I looked at him with amazement over our breakfast coffee and tea making sure my ears weren't still clogged with airplane pressure. "You want to go the mall?????" His reply "yes, let's go to the mall, we can walk around". Sure ok Sean if that's what you want to do.  It made sense though I guess.  We would be close to the real estate place, we could walk around and get some exercise out of the rain, explore a new part of the city, and the main reason: Sean needed clean socks.
   The mall was a 3 mile walk from our hotel so it was a good opportunity to get some more power walking in.  Guidebook and mini map in hand we headed out despite the desire to climb back into our beds and give in to this odd and subtle jet lag.  But not before long we were at the mall.  It was HUGE.  It was like nothing I have ever seen before.  I wish I didn't sound so amazed by a shopping center but I was honestly taken aback.  The place was so modern looking, clean and new, stylish and sleek. We picked a direction to walk in and started our day of window shopping and daydreaming.  The window displays themselves were quite impressive and eye catching, like works of art.  We found cheap stores, sports stores, furniture stores, and the very expensive stores.  At first we were wary of going into any as if they were some mystery that you needed a secret password to get in to but after a couple of hours we got gutsy and just jumped in.  The clothes were gorgeous and dollar signs flashed in our eyes which the idea of completely new wardrobes and styles.  I may need to get a few jobs here just so I can go on a shopping trip now and then.  We looked at a lot of things for Sean.  Some new sweaters, trousers and shirts but didn't buy anything big, just scoping it out.  We did walk away with a new journal/sketchbook, two huge umbrellas (keeping with the bigger is better mentality), a scarf, and of course a pack of socks for Sean.
   Other than the mall the day wasn't too exciting.  We walked a lot and did some shopping then came back to the hotel and parked our butts in the cozy lounge.  I caught up on some blogging and Sean caught up on some work things.  Since this blog post isn't 5 hundred pages long I will take this opportunity to comment on some of the things we have noticed since we've been here.

    Crossing the street while on foot is hard to get used to.  You come to a crosswalk and habitually look left then right. WRONG! That is what you do if you want to get hit by a car.  Traffic is coming from the opposite direction so you can't just walk out and glance in the direction you're used to.  Luckily a lot of the major intersections have labels glued on to the road surfaces that tell you which direction to look.  "Look right" or "look left".  Cheers thanks you just saved my life!

   Bikes make me nervous.  Like I said before, roads are narrow with little to no shoulder and people drive like they own the road.  I know in JP they were trying to figure out how much room they needed for a bike lane and well, after seeing these guys ride, it's easy to say that yes, there's plenty of room on the streets of JP.  Not many cyclists wear helmets here either which really makes me cringe.  But, people ride, it's great exercise and if you have the guts then it is probably a great way to get around.  I will leave my bike in the POD and stick to walking and the subway.

   Little kids here love their three wheeled scooters.  They are like the razor scooters back home but with three wheels not two.  Sean commented that these tykes must be wimps since they all need that extra stability but it makes sense once you see them riding while holding an umbrella.  I'd like to see some kid on a razor riding while keeping dry from the rain.

   I have to comment on the weather.  Yes, it's been cloudy and drizzly but not that bad.  It's warm enough to go out in a light jacket and jeans and once you get walking the coat is almost too much.  The forecast is rain and clouds so we'll see how quickly that gets old.  It could be worse. It could be icy and snowy and below zero. 

   The Tube is very comfortable.  It is clean, graffiti free and the seats are comfy!  People are quiet and polite but I'm not sure if that's because we are travelling through the same areas and haven't headed into the not so great areas of London.  Just like in Boston I'm sure some lines aren't as safe and fun but hopefully I don't discover those.  Next, I would like to learn the bus system since this seems just as extensive and usable.

   I am ready to leave this hotel!!!!!!