12/12/10 Barcelona: Day 1

          Taking an early flight out of London seemed like a good idea at the time of booking.  It would give us an extra day of sightseeing and exploring but then waking up at 3:30am was not a good idea.  We had a cab pick us up at 4 am then drive us 45 minutes to Gatwick airport.  They call Gatwick London's airport but it seems like it's no where near London.  We got to the airport nice and early and getting through security was a joke.  This was our first experience flying Easy Jet and what an experience it was!  Easy Jet is a really cheap, bare bones airline company but with the cheapness  you sacrifice some other features like assigned seating.  You also aren't assigned a gate till last minute so you have to be constantly watching the tv screen.  Once they announce the gate everyone runs to stand in line to get their first pick of seats.  Sean bought us something called "speedy boarding" which meant we could move to the front of the line with the other speedy boarders.  Airports make me nervous enough, I'm always so anxious about missing flights, so these added unknowns made the morning even tougher to get through.  I could've fallen asleep standing up in that line.  We got on the plane and were quickly grateful that the flight was only about 90 minutes long.  The seats were really uncomfortable and Sean barely fit in them.  There were no frills with this flight.  Just a plane taking us to Spain.  I fell asleep against the window but woke up here and there to catch views of the Pyrenees and then Barcelona spread out below along the sea.
        We landed and moved quickly through immigration then grabbed the first cab we saw.  The sun was out and the weather was warm enough to barely need a jacket.  The cab driver tried to be a tour guide and point out buildings, monuments and major roads but we didn't have the heart to tell him we didn't speak the language.  We got to the hotel around 11 and were lucky that they let us check in early.  After dumping our bags in the room our first stop was the top level of the hotel where there was supposedly a great view of the city.  There was also a nice pool and lounge area which is probably awesome in the summer.  Here's the view from the top:

The view from our hotel roof. 

         It was a gorgeous day out so we set off to do some walking and exploring.  What a city! The Cathedral was right across from our hotel and I somehow managed not to take any photos of it.  It did look like it was being renovated or cleaned and was covered in netting so maybe that just didn't appeal to me.  There was so much to look at while we walked.  All the buildings were masterpieces and there were scooters flying everywhere.  Even the sidewalks were tiled with flower motifs and Gaudi styled hexagons.  Sean and I quickly got lost and needed some food.  Nothing seemed to be open on a Sunday afternoon so we settled for the first little bar/cafe we found.  I won't comment on that meal.  Let's just say we watched them microwave our food. It was also a bit of a shock to see people smoking indoors. Now that we had a little bit of food and a new plan of attack we wove our way through the streets and headed towards La Rambla.  La Rambla is huge street running down the center of town filled with food, souvenir stands, and street performers.  It was alive and jumping even on a Sunday afternoon.  The most interesting vendor was the one selling birds, turtles, hamsters and fish. Hmmmm...interesting.

The start of La Rambla.

Cactus for sale! There were lots of gorgeous flower shops along the street. 

         Sean and I stopped to get some gelato then walked on.  We found ourselves standing in front of Guadi's  fluid Casa Mila.  You could take a tour of the interior but we opted out of the crowds and stayed on the street staring up at the wavey lines of this apartment building.

Casa Mila.  When you see photos of it in books they leave out
the construction vehicles parked around the corner.

My attempt to capture some of the details. 

The sidewalks on the main streets were paved
with these hexagons designed by Guadi.  I loved them. 

        A little more walking and we came across our next Gaudi building: Casa Batllo which was designed to represent St. George defeating the dragon.  I have discovered that it's quite hard to take photos of buildings when you're a short 5 foot 4 person standing on the street. 

   

Not my photo, I pulled it off the internet but I wanted to show
the details of the roof top which is to resemble the scaley back of
dragon.  I just love the colors of the ceramic tiles. 

  
        We spent the rest of Sunday walking and walking and walking.  Sean and I were both pretty quiet during our walk.  We were exhausted from waking up so early then walking for hours and trying to take it all in.  We headed back to the hotel for a nap before dinner.

Scooters and palms.  In the left hand corner you can see
some of the bikes you can rent all around town.  

Just some fabulous architecture.

Just some more fabulous architecture.

Even more fabulous architecture.  So much detail to take in.

We walked and walked.  I didn't want to take too many
photos. I just wanted to soak it all up. 

       Exhausted we slept for an hour or two then decided to head out for dinner.  Oge and Snowflake suggested a tapas restaurant so we looked it up and headed out.  Things here don't open till late which is quite an adjustment for us.  Eating dinner at 9pm? That's our bedtime!  We got to Tapas 24 and found that it was closed on Sundays.  We had plenty of other places to choose from and quickly sat down to paellas, tapas and bread with tomato.  Feeling refreshed from our naps and tasty dinner, we walked around enjoying the lights and Christmas decorations.  It was a long first day in Barcelona and getting two hours of sleep the night before flying out was probably the worst idea ever.  I had the day planned out for Monday even though Sean wouldn't be joining me.  His schedule was even more packed than what he had thought.  Work in Barcelona!?? but I guess that was the real reason we came out here.

They love their decorations here!

Sean enjoying the night lights.

16/12/10 We have dial tone!

      Hello! Before I get into my long winded recap of our Barcelona trip I wanted to share the good news that we have a dial tone now!  Sean and I have both caught some kind of bug and I had plans to stay in bed all day sleeping it off.  Sean left early for a bunch of meetings downtown and I was left with a quiet house until 9:30 when someone was knocking on our door.  It took me a couple of minutes to wake up and make my way downstairs.  Oge was out in the alley with two BT guys discussing the phone situation.  They had good news! They could fix it!  I wasn't really up for standing around in the cold so I went back inside, left my door unlocked and sat on the couch with my book.  All morning long these BT guys came and went, testing wires, hooking up wires outside on their ladders, calling in another guy to help.  Even our landlord showed up!  The wiring situation really confused the BT engineers and luckily Fergal, the landlord was there to help.  It turns out our place was wired to the outside but the interior was not connected to anything.  So, the BT guy hooked up as much as he could and we now have a dial tone in the laundry room!  Early tomorrow morning the electrical engineer will be down to finish wiring up the house. Oge's flat had a little more completed wiring job so our flat was the tough one. How silly that someone wouldn't wire up these flats! But hooray!!!!!!!!! Internet! Phone! And it all came quicker than we thought! What a great early Christmas present!!!

11/12/10 Updates

         Money, tickets, passports! Money, tickets, passports!  It's 11 pm here, or I should say 23:00, and we have to be up in about 4 hours to get ready to leave for Barcelona.  Our bags are packed, my guidebooks are weighing down my purse and my camera is charging.  I can't wait!  Unfortunately Sean told me that he has to do more work than planned while we are there so now we'll REALLY have to be strategic with what we see.  I don't want to see any of the really good stuff without him. Although it all seems like good stuff!   We are both excited to see Sagrada Familia, Guadi's basilica that's been in the making for the past 128 years (I think it's something like that) with hopes of it being finished by 2026.  It reminds me of reading 'Brunelleschi's Dome' then getting the opportunity to climb to the top of his masterpiece.  Or walking through St. Peter's in Rome and being just blown away by that grand, massive, Holy space.  I am sure Guadi will not let me down.  I can feel it.   There's something about these giant churches and their feats of architecture that just wildly tickle my soul.  They make me giddy.
       It's a two and half hour plane ride from Gatwick airport to Barcelona and I think we'll spend that time flipping through the books together, picking out the places we need to hit in our short visit. I have my good walking Pumas packed and I've been trying to study Google maps to get a feel for the layout of the city streets.
     Sean was gone the past two days to do more cases in Southampton.  I did some much needed painting and drawing.  Warming up for Barcelona ;)  Last night, Friday night, hooligan night, was actually really quiet. I was only woken up once at 3 am by someone knocking REALLY loudly on the building next door. I thought someone was at MY door.  Come to find out Oge thought someone was knocking on their door too.  It was a loud knock that shook the 303 flats.   All in all though, a quiet night.
       This morning, a guy from BT stopped to look at our phone lines!  Jerry checked every phone jack, looked in our closets and hooked up all his fancy instruments to every exposed wire.  What he found was dead dead dead wires.  I showed him the lines out in the alley that were sticking out of the ground. He tested those. Those were dead too. He told me they weren't phone lines but I think he was lying.  I'm pretty sure they're phone lines.  Even I know they're not for cable tele Jerry!  But anyways, we both explored the alley trying to figure out if there were any more phone lines. They're weren't.  The whole time he had that look on his face, the look that reads "you're F'ed, you're screwed".  Squatting down in the corner with his little meter readers he made the comment "you Americans and Japanese, you like you're phone lines". What? Yes, yes we do Jerry.  We also think it's silly that some Irish guy would rebuild four flats and just bury the phone lines somewhere deep in the ground and say "screw it".  So anyways.  We made a plan of action.  Jerry was going to put in an order to BT to get a surveyor out to see how lines could be run to our place. Yeah, that sounds like it won't take long at all. Then once they figure out how to run lines they'll get someone to come out and run them.  THEN we'll be hooked up.  Oh ok, sounds easy.  I asked if running new lines would be easy and Jerry replied, with that same look on his face "yeah, they'll probably just have to dig up a trench in that alley and lay new ones". Easy peasey.  Jerry and I  made a plan of action, I took notes so I could tell Sean what happened, he even tried to call the landlord to find out more info about what was going on with these little stupid wires in these four flats.  My heart sank.  We NEED internet and a phone. Sean NEEDS internet and a phone line.  Gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!! So, what I'm hoping is that Jerry, who just happened to be in the neighborhood, doesn't really know what he's doing, and the next BT guy will just see the wires out in the alley and just hook them right up.  Jerry was really nice though, he asked me lots of questions about New York City and Macys and American sports.  He may not have fixed our phone lines, and he may have crushed any hope we had, but at least he was a pleasant Londoner.
       Sean came home and I gave him the news.  He called one of the landlords who said "oh yes, oh yes, we'll get this sorted I'll call you tomorrow". ugh.  Our hopes of getting internet by the new year is melting quickly, seeping out to meet with the churning muddy waters of the Thames, washed out to sea then sucked back in by murky tide waters.  Two steps forward, one step back.
       Trying to push this bad news behind us we headed to a late yoga class. I am HOOKED on this sweaty, 90 minute retreat into hellish heat.  For 90 minutes you push your muscles and tendons, staring yourself in the eyes in the mirror and focusing. Focusing. You are tempted to gaze out to Turnham Green and the buses passing by but instead you stare straight ahead and ignore the gallons of sweat dripping off the tip of your nose.  You kick your leg back harder, stretch your spine, coax your shoulders down away from your ears, open up, breathe deep, sweat,  and forget about Jerry and his mumble jumble of phone lines.  Bikram yoga is the same 26 poses every class which may sound boring at first but it's a good way to challenge yourself to go an inch further than what you did last class.  It's easy to set goals when you know what pose is coming up next.  I love it even though I have always been skeptical of hot yoga classes and pushing those strong tendons and muscles to their breaking point.  But it's not like that.  It's focusing and listening to your body and what it can do and what it wants to do.  It's loosening up your joints and your fascia and melting away all those stuck spots while your heart beats against the heat in the room, the blood flowing into all those open spaces you've just created.  I love it. Sean looks like he's a bright pink candle melting but he says he loves it too.
       We came home and started packing.  I think Barcelona will be a little warmer than what London is.  But I just threw whatever I could in the bag.  Sean was out doing some errands and decided to head into "Ochre" the Lebonese restaurant directly across from us.  We had been thinking that this place is just a front but really, it's a night club.  It's busiest days are Friday and Saturday.  AHA!  That is where the hooligans are coming from.  That is why we never ever see people in the street level restaurant!  The owner, Shaw, was very nice and gave Sean a tour of the place.  Apparently there's a whole basement night club where he packs a hundred or so party people into.  He also explained how the toilets back up and if Shaw doesn't fix them asap they cause our toilets to back up.  There was a water truck out front fixing the sewers tonight.  Awesome. But at least we're aware now.  It was probably a good plan to meet the owner of this nightclub and discuss the shenanigans that have been going on in our alley. He seemed more than happy to make amends and promised to keep the noise down.  I'm sorry, I'd love to believe this guy, but everyone we've met here has just blown smoke up our asses. Told us exactly what we wanted to hear to shut us up then never follow through. I'll believe this Shaw guy when I get a good Friday night's sleep.  On the other hand, it may be fun to go out on a Friday night and check out this club.  If you can't beat them, join them. Right?
        Oge and Snowflake stopped by later in the night and we updated them on our BT visit.  I think this will work better if we form a big army of angry Americans who want internet!  Again, we had a nice visit and we neighbors shared more stories of what we've discovered that week and made plans of attack.  We've got an army of four now, with alliances with Shaw and Jerry.  All we want for Christmas is a working phone line.  That's all.
      Ok, so things aren't going as smoothly as they could be going.  We've discovered that the idea of  customer service here is a joke.   Whether its dealing with someone from Dell or a landlord.  These guys over here have become experts at blowing smoke up people's asses and making them feel like everything is going to be ok.  Then a week later you realize nothing has happened and that they all lied.
     But, we need to stay positive!  Hey, we're going to Barcelona! We have awesome neighbors and a great city at our fingertips.  I've busted out my art supplies and I feel inspired.  We've discovered Bikram yoga which is less than a five minute walk from our flat.  Sean and I discussed making a date every week where we go out exploring into the city, trying new restaurants and cafes, just getting out for the evening and peeling him away from work for the night.  We've both been stressed and it's been such a challenge to try to keep each other calm.  At times I feel like we need to remind each other where we are.  When we sit all cramped up in our flat it feels like we never left Boston.  Then we say hey we're in LONDON! Let's get out there!
        I tired to get tickets to see James.  They were playing Thursday night in Hammersmith which is the bourough next door.  I probably could have walked to the venue. It was sold out. Of course.  But I tried and he's been the soundtrack to my days lately. My fascia and muscles are nice and loose and I can dance like he does.
     Oh boy. I need to be awake in 3 hours.  It's an hour cab ride to the airport though.  I will guarantee that I sleep the whole way.  Cheers! Goodnight! I will try to blog from Barcelona!!!! ooooohhhhhhhhh I CAN NOT WAIT!!!!!  I will leave you with a James video from youtube. Makes me want to dance.  Getting Away With It

9/12/10 Winter Wonderland

          Well today was nothing too special.  I went to yoga and almost died and Sean worked.  The day seemed to fly by so quickly.  After dinner Sean suggested we go out and do some sightseeing but instead going to see Big Ben at night like we had planned we headed down to Hyde Park and got lost in the Winter Wonderland.  We thought it was just a little Christmas village set up for the kiddies but were quickly proven wrong as soon as we entered.  Every five feet there was a little stand selling mulled wine, beer, spiked coffees, and if you didn't want any of those you could just order a shot of whatever.  There was booze everywhere.  I mean everywhere. We bought ourselves some hot mulled wine, which is actually really good, and strolled through the park.
           A few weeks ago Sean and I visited Hyde Park and saw them setting up this huge affair.  We were impressed that they were hammering shingles onto these make shift pubs.  When I think of a fair I think of stands that can be pulled behind your van and rickety rides set up in an afternoon.  This was an actual village, constructed and overflowing with alcohol, candy, sausages, and all those good bad foods.  In one section there was all food and drink, then crafts, then the rides and amusements.  But, in between all the rides and amusements were more booze shacks.  Am I making it clear how much alcohol there was? We did a loop through and after two glasses each of mulled wine and a belgian waffle smothered in powdered sugar we headed home frozen and sleepy and a little closer to feeling that Christmas cheer.

The entrance to the Wonderland.

Some of the huts where you could grab some drinks.
They had high tables set up so you could stand and drink and hang out.

This booth sold wooden dragons. Obviously.

Aw a Christmas fairy.

The lighthouse thing was a slide.  It actually looked pretty fun.

A view down one of the little streets.  I think this was the craft section.

Balloons and the giant ferris wheel!

Sean, Santa,  mulled wine.

When I think of Christmas I think of pirates and sharks and haunted houses. 

This ride had a creepy feeling to it.

Sean in line for our second helping of mulled wine.
The cups got smaller at this end of the park.

Merry-go-round ferris wheel.

Sean in front of the giant talking tree.  The tree told jokes and welcomed you
to Hyde Park but it looked like it wanted to kill you. 

The ice rink. 

Really long pieces of candy.  So much candy there. Candy and booze. 

Sean buying my sweet tooth a waffle ;)

    

8/12/10

A view from our bedroom window. I think I was pretty much hanging out the window.  It's looking right deep into the alley.  To the left out of view is the entrance.

Sean in front of our place. 303D.  

Our telephone cables dying in the ground.

Sean hard at work in our kitchen/reception room/office. 

          It was a gloomy day in Chiswick today.  Sean woke up too sore to go to yoga and I found myself with a splitting headache.  He spent the day at his computer knocking off work and putting his new office to good use.  I sat back and started writing out postcards. Finally!  The charity next door was busy moving out so we watched the movers fill the alley with boxes and computer chairs.  I only ever saw three people at that place but they had at least a dozen rolly chairs out there. Where did they come from?
      Around 2pm the sun came out and our whole alley was lit up with the setting sun.  I grabbed my camera and went downstairs and dragged Sean away from his work.  We needed to get out and go for a walk.  With Sean's iPhone guiding us we zigzagged through the neighborhood and made our way to the riverside.  We had to walk fast though, it seems the sun sets instantly here.  I'm glad I had my camera but I wish we had left earlier.  I don't have much to write about the walk so here are some photos instead!

Just a house. I loved the light here and the contrasting planes of the building,
the silhouettes of the chimneys against the blue sky. 

Another house that caught my eye.  I didn't want to waste time stopping though.
The sun was setting and we needed to get to the water. 

Here is where we met up with the River and began our short walk.
I love the little battered row boats just out of reach from the edge.  

A little further down the path heading West.
Notice to the right the houses with their cute brick walls.  

Here is Sean standing by one of the pubs.
I think this one was something like "River Barge Pub".
Not a very attractive name.  You can see how
muddy the pathway is.  I suppose when the
River floods or during some really high tides the
water comes up and all the way to the houses.
The pub had a big steel door they shut to keep water out.
It was pretty slippery and now I understand why a lot
 of the little kids wear rain boots down here.  

Stone stairs, a dingy and a train.

A cautionary word outside one of the other pubs.
A good reminder to the drunks who can't swim.  

Sean in deep thought,  pondering at the shore of the mighty River Thames.
Questioning life and mysteries that swirl under the surface.
I think he was really just watching a boat or a duck.  

The houseboat Sean was watching.

They are missing half of their door.  You can see the water line against the black paint.
It would be neat to see the River that high. 

Waterfowl.  They drift quickly.
The current was quite strong.

A willow tree.

All packed up for the winter.  I wonder what sailing on this River is like?
The current seems pretty strong at times and there's a lot of bridge.

          Well there is a little peak into our short walk tonight.  It got dark and cold quickly.  We almost stopped at a pub for a beer but power walked home instead.  I checked the weather and I think it will be mostly sunny for the rest of the week.  I need to take my camera out to practice for Barcelona!

          

7/12/10 It's been a while!

   Wow I had no idea it's been so long since I've logged on and tip-typed away!!  I hope I can remember some of the things that have been happening here.  After our Christmas party fun we got down to work and took care of some projects around the flat.  Our spotty internet has made it quite challenging for Sean to get work done but I've been trying to help where possible.   I woke up one morning and came downstairs to find that his scanner/printer/fax machine got delivered at the most perfect time.  We sat down and attacked his mountain of receipts and credit card statements and did his expense reports.  It took forever but it was a huge weight lifted off Sean's shoulders.  The kitchen/living room has quickly turned into his office and I counted the days till our Ikea order came with his desk.  He really needed a proper set up and I needed to ship him downstairs out of my kitchen!
    The rest of the week was nothing special.  Sean had to travel but plans were delayed and cancelled because of a "snow storm".  Chiswick didn't get hit too hard but I guess other parts of the city got 6 inches or so.  We just had icy sidewalks and big pretty flakes! It sure wasn't a Dunkirk snowstorm but it was enough to really put a damper on the city.
     One of the biggest highlights of week was getting our boxes.  All nine!  It was like Christmas unpacking them, ripping off packing tape and spilling out the contents.  Everything arrived to us safe and sound but we're still working on where to put everything.  This flat doesn't really have any closets and we don't have dressers yet so our clothes are folded (most of the time) in piles on the floors.  We aren't too motivated to buy clothing storage so it may just stay this way till we leave!  I'm more motivated to buy baking and cooking things.  Later that day I got to work cooking up a big dinner for Sean with all my reunited cooking things before he left for more travels. The cooker is taking some getting used to but so far I've produced some tasty eggplant parm bake, a lasagna, spicy asian turkey meatballs and since we are sans microwave it's also been used for heating up leftovers.  The really nice point about cooking in this flat is that you can close the kitchen doors and create a cozy sauna. I haven't done any baking so maybe later this week I'll make some cookies or something easy. Mmmmm a cozy sauna that smells like cookies!!!!
     Sean travelled Friday and Saturday to Germany then down to Southampton in Southern England.  I stayed home and enjoyed the snow outside my windows.  I felt pretty lazy and just hung around the apartment and read.  Friday night I was tired from being so lazy and hit the hay at a decent hour.  I've been on a bad sleeping schedule...going to bed late and waking up super late.  So finally I thought I was going to get myself on a good schedule. WRONG. Friday night meant hooligan in the alley night. I was woken up at 11:30 to some loud screaching and laughing.  It wasn't too bad so I went downstairs to make sure our outside light was on. It was but I don't think it made a difference.  I also turned on the lights to the office.  Maybe people would realize that people are now living there and it's not a construction site anymore.  I'm sure everyone has that sense of reasoning even if they're piss drunk.  I managed to fall back asleep but was rudely woken up at 2:30 to a fight right outside our flat.  It was a really drunk girl and really drunk guy fighting over god knows what.  I spied on them from the bedroom windows and in my sleepy haze wished I had a beebee gun to shot at them.  I was at the perfect angle to hit them right in the back.  Further into the alley towards the street there was another group of drunks hootin and hollarin.  Where is that beebee gun????!!! Then I felt guilty for wanting to shoot people so I thought maybe waterballoons would work. No, they wouldn't. These freaks are standing out in the cold icy rain so I doubt water balloons would do anything. It must have been warming up outside because I could hear all the ice sliding off our roof.  Maybe a big chunk will hit them.  I crawled back to bed and pulled pillows over my head.  I made a mental note to research if there was some sort of noise  ordinance around here.  I don't understand where these people are coming from.  I mean there's a bar across the street, a liquor store and an all night pizza place right out on the high road so I guess our alley is that one center meeting point.  Holy Moly!!! It was so frustrating!!!! I hope foxes come out and eat their faces.  Maybe we can attract a whole pack of foxes and use them as security.
  Saturday when I woke up it seemed pretty sunny and warm out.  I saw people running on the High Road in shorts so I mustered up the motivation to head out myself.  It wasn't too bad out! I ran down towards the river and crossed on the Kew Bridge.  I found the Kew Royal Botanical Gardens.  The place looks awesome!!! I could only peak in through the big gates because there was a charge to get in but now I know where it is.  On the way home I noticed stairs that led down to the bank of the river where there was a foot path.  It was perfect! Exactly what I had been looking for.  The path was gorgeous. It was narrow with the most beautiful little houses butting up against it.  The only thing separating these houses from the path were mossy brick walls overflowing with herbs and shrubs.   There were also quite a few cute pubs which either had tables outside right on the river or big windows looking out over the water.    I even found a sailing club and a rowing center. Further up the river there was a regatta, rowing, not sailing.  I ran off the path and then got a little bit lost trying to head back to the high road but found some amazing houses.  They were like mini castles! I also found a cemetery, a school and a woodsy area where I bet all the foxes lived. I couldn't wait to show Sean all my discoveries.  I take him on runs through  secret gardens and to rivers.  He gets us lost in industrial parks and breweries.
    Sean came home later Saturday night and I warned him about the weekend hooligans in the alleyway. We had plans to sit in the living room and watch the shenanigans unfold, see where these drunks are coming from.  Maybe we could stand in the window and look shadowy and creepy and scare them away.  Well, we ended up going to bed pretty early. Sean was exhausted from traveling and I was tired from being up so late the night before.   I slept pretty sound for most of the night but heard a ruckus around 12:30.  I got up and went to the window to see what was going on.  All I could see were feet.  Then I heard someone yell, in a very American voice "don't make me come down there with my baseball bat!!!".  Hahaha it was Og next door! I tried waking Sean up "Sean Sean I think Og is going to beat someone up with a bat!"  After that, things got quiet and I went back to bed.  I had to laugh, I wonder if those two next door were also dreaming of things to throw down on the hooligans.
     Sunday Sean and I went for a run and I showed him all the things I found the day before.  We even discovered a little place under the bridge that rents out kayaks.  That would be so fun to do!! Kayak around the River Thames! When we got home we made plans to go out for Sunday roast with Snowflake and Og.  I like this Sunday roast thing! Meat and potatoes! I had the pheasant, it was tiny but really tasty.  It was so nice to sit for hours and share stories with our  neighbors.  We traded horror stories about Visas, packing, and all the dead ends we've all been hitting since getting here.  We wallowed and laughed and brainstormed things we could throw down into the alley.  I liked Snowflake's idea of tossing down firecrackers.  We also thought that maybe we could get a big guard dog and leash him up outside our front door. Oh the possibilities now!  Og and Snowflake also gave us some good advice on things like health insurance and taxes and all those other fun things.  I think they have us beat though with overseas hardships.  Their two cats that they brought over are stuck in quarantine till March!!! Those poor kitties! They get to go on weekends though and visit them. But how sad!  We had a great time during Sunday roast and after three hours of chit chatting we parted ways.
   During our roast Og and Snowflake mentioned the yoga place down the street and how much they loved it. Sean and I made the decision that we would go to yoga and do some other exercise than running in the cold.  Well Monday morning we went from icy cold to boiling hot.  The yoga class was 90 minutes and in a room that reminded me of the time we went to NYC to the Turkish Bath Houses.  I was nervous I'd get dizzy and just pass out but I did pretty good. At one point I looked over and I thought Sean was literally melting.  Luckily we bought in on the 30 day unlimited new student deal so hopefully we'll be able to get our money's worth.  Afterwards we hydrated nonstop and I felt so tired but so stretched!  I went out later in the day to the bookstore and picked out a couple of guidebooks for Barcelona and a book about Gaudi.  Sean has to be in Barcelona for Tuesday so we're flying down on Sunday and making a mini trip of it.  We don't have many days so I'll have to go through the guidebooks and do some precision planning so not a minute is wasted.  I can't wait to go to Barcelona!!!! It was my job to look for a hotel and do the booking.  I think I got a good place.  I also figured out flights and trains for when we're home over Christmas.  I'm not a very good travel agent and wouldn't want that job full time.
   We got a call Monday night informing us that our Ikea delivery was the first on their list Tuesday and that we needed to be up at 7 and ready to answer the door.  Well, of course, they didn't come till 8:30 and we did a speed assembly of a few items before the sweaty yoga class.  It's so nice to have two cute little arm chairs and an ottoman in the living room.  We moved the mini couches up to the bedroom to use as things to put clothes on.  Sean's office is looking really good right now! His desk is set up and already littered with office supplies.  He has it facing so he looks out through the alley and out to the High Road. Hopefully that's not too distracting!  The futon is down there too. It's nice but a little hard right now.  It too will need more pillows and cushions.  I guess you have to think that when you try these things in the store they've been broken in by hundreds of customers testing out the furniture.  The brand new stuff is quite firm right now but I'll sit in it a lot so it'll be perfect for visitors!!!!!
   Well, leaving blogging for this long is too hard.  It's too hard to think back on the things we've discovered.  I can't stop drinking water. I think I sweated out three gallons during yoga class. Oh! I was spying out the upstairs windows and I saw that the girl across from us has an easel set up in her kitchen! She was painting Sunday and I decided that I would also set up my art stuff so she can spy on me.  Maybe we can have an art night some time! The office directly across from us is moving out. I guess they were a charity but now they're gone. I wonder who will move in there!  They weren't too exciting to watch.  While we were out with Og and Snow we discussed the sketchy restaurant below the charity.  We can look right into their kitchen and we see people making food, not really busy.  The weird thing though is that we NEVER EVER have seen people in the restaurant.  We think it's a front.  But maybe that's just us wanting some mystery and suspense.  Maybe Chiswick isn't all babies and kids. Maybe it's also drunks and weird, empty Lebanese restaurants.  My loving fiance, Sean, just went to the corner store to buy us a little chocolate.  He also brought back the December National Geographic which has a little article and free poster of Gaudi's The Sagrada Familia!!!!! I already looked into what time tours start and how much it costs to take the lift to the top of one of the spires.  I can't wait! I'm so excited!
     Ok, I can not neglect this blog for as long as I have. I will write. Even if it's boring.