Me Time

It's chilly and cloudy here today, feels like Fall. It should be a nice day to walk around. I have a much-needed hair appointment (I'm not fooling anyone right now!), which I plan to follow with lunch at Taqueria. The rest of the day is mine, so there may be a little retail therapy at Selfridges. And if I'm really brave, I could make my way to Harrods for its BIG sale...not sure I have the mindset for that today, but we'll see where the day takes me.

Bordeaux

No words needed, I think these sum up the weekend quite nicely! When can we go back?!? Next stop, Shannon, Ireland for my birthday weekend in early July.

Gone Fishin'

We're headed South tomorrow evening. Should be a fun weekend. There will be wine, lots of wine where we're headed. The tour kicks off at 9:30am on Saturday. Are they serious? This will be interesting. And, hopefully we'll be able to find a spot to watch the USA vs. England game on Saturday night.

What do I miss?

I get this question fairly often. To be honest, I don't miss NYC. In a way, our time there had expired. We lived and worked in the City, but there wasn't much about it that got me excited every day. We do miss our house in WH, and escaping on the weekend to the peace and quiet. We know we are lucky to have this opportunity to live abroad, work and travel. Will we ever go back to NYC? Yes, and I predict we'll feel renewed and energized. But there aren't any plans to return until we feel ready.

That said, I miss some really silly things. Here goes...

• Ice. Europe isn't in to ice. I seem to always forget this.
• Boars Head cold cuts. We were a honey maple turkey and ham family. Your only cold cut sandwich option here is Subway. Blech. We move on and find alternatives.
• Nail salons on every corner. A pedicure will set you back £45. Eek!
• Air conditioning on public transport. There is no AC on the tube here. It gets pretty stuffy and smelly. I could write a whole post about personal awareness and hygiene, or the lack of for that matter.
• Dunkin Donuts coffee. I'm an addict. I hate espresso, which is the drink of choice here. I predict the stash of french vanilla I shipped over will run out in about 2-3 weeks.
• Equinox. Don't get me going on the gym situation here. As my friend Adrienne put it, "It's all about finding the best of the worst."

That said, there are so many things that make life wonderful here. I can't really complain. If these are the sacrifices we're making, I think we're doing OK.

Polo in the Park

I'm missing my UVA reunion this weekend. What I wouldn't give for a drink at Coupe's and a sandwich from Take it Away. Flying all the way back to the US from London wasn't in the cards so soon after arriving here. Matt is missing his B-School reunion next weekend at Cornell. We'll be there in spirit.

So we carry on enjoying life here! We spent the day at Polo in the Park here in London. It was really hot and humid, but I've learned not to complain about sunny weather since I know it won't be around later in the year.

Life is Good

We spent Memorial Day Weekend (called May Bank Holiday here) in Marbella, Spain. We spent our days on the beach, and ate our way through Puerto Banus and the old town at night. It was just what we needed! We have more settling in to do, so we'll spend this weekend in London. Our home computer is finally up and running, and I'm looking forward to being more connected to the world!

Marbella

The last weekend in May is a Bank Holiday here, so we're going to fly South for some R&R. I studied abroad in Spain in the mid-90's, but never made it as far South as Marbella.

Introducing Defra, aka an Expat's Worst Nightmare

So, where's Vella you ask? Well, our little Vella Violet is at Camp Rosedale in Massapequa, NY until July 27th. Not only did my mother-in-law take me in for a month after I left the apartment in NYC, but she's keeping the dog for the next 10 weeks.

Why? Because the UK still has lovely quarantine laws. The good news is that you can avoid quarantine through the Pet Travel Scheme. The bad news is that it means waiting 6 months in the home country following a negative rabies test before transport to the UK. So, you're out luck either way. You either bring your dog over and put them in quarantine or leave them behind with family/friends until it's time to travel. Leaving her behind was the lesser of the two evils for us.

Vella will be transported on British Airways at the end of July. There is a special holding area under the cockpit that is temperature controlled and pressurized for live animal transport. We're basically a wreck.

Little girl also has to step up her game once she's here though! In true British form, the dogs are ridiculously well mannered and run around the parks/streets off leash. Vella off leash is a nightmare. It means we chase her, screaming our heads off. Listening and obedience aren't her forte. Doing things her way, "barking" back and lounging on the furniture, now you're talking. Needless to say, we'll be hiring a dog trainer to fix all of our mistakes.

A Long Way to Go

The flight was just the beginning! I have a wonderful husband who spent hours getting things unpacked and organized last weekend. Here's a teaser picture of the living room. The living room, dining room and kitchen will come together quickly. The bedrooms are another story. We're basically starting from scratch. It took me two years to pick out bedding for one room in New York City. At that rate, I won't choose anything here in London.

I didn't sleep much on the overnight flight and spent most of today tying up loose ends for my role in New York. Matt and I will have dinner tonight and I'll head to the London office tomorrow afternoon. I'm looking forward to putting names with faces after hours of phone conversations.

This weekend? Sleep and exploring Notting Hill!

Heading across the Pond (Finally)

I leave for London on Tuesday! The past few months are a blur of running around doing errands, seeing friends and family, and wrapping up paperwork. Oh, and finding a job. That worked out well and I start on the 19th. The good news is that I don't have much packing to do between now and Tuesday since we moved out of the apartment about 4 weeks ago. Yes, I've been living out of three very large suitcases. The tricky part will be finding room for all of the last-minute purchases I've made in the past few weeks.

What am I looking forward to most? Seeing my husband! He's been in London since February and I'm really anxious to start living our life again. We have a dinner date scheduled for next Saturday at Beach Blanket Babylon on Ledbury Road in Notting Hill. I haven't looked my best lately (think flip flops, unwashed hair and North Face fleeces), so it will be a nice change of pace to have a night out on the town. We almost took a flat on this block, which has amazing shopping and restaurants.

I have no doubt that I will have plenty to say in the next few weeks! See you in blogland at the end of the week from across the pond. Keep your fingers crossed that the volcano doesn't keep me here in NY!