London Highlights from our first week

Before school started we had a bit of time to explore London.  These are some of our initial observations.

The London Eye is in the background.  Note the nice blue sky.

The People

We have found Londoners to be generally friendly.  This friendliness is a bit surprising, as we assumed the British temperament was more pessimistic and closed.  Instead we’ve experienced countless examples of random kindness and warmness.  A few examples: the busy immigration agent who took time to ask us about our trip and education plans, the National Express bus driver who helped us with our luggage on the bus, the random shopkeeper who cracks jokes with us as we checkout, the helpful lady at the Dr's office with a nice sense of humor.  Maybe some of it is the abnormally nice weather or maybe they enjoy our accents or maybe they are just very nice.  We’ll keep our eye on this trend.

We’ve also noticed that everyone has an accent and most of the times it is not British.  The city is incredibly diverse.  Our real estate agent was a mid-twenties woman who came from Poland with her brother with less than $400 and no place to stay.  The local barber is from Algeria.  The landlord is from the Middle East.  London is extremely diverse which makes it a great place to explore new ideas, meet new people and try new customs. 

Carphone Warehouse: Antiquated Name – Great Service

One of our secondary goals for our first week was getting cell phone service.  There are a myriad of companies offering plans of all types (pre-paid, pay-as-you-go, bundled, etc.) from different carriers.  The most helpful vendor ended up being a store called Carphone Warehouse.  These stores are similar to a Radioshack in the US: founded decades ago, carrying all sorts of electronics, and trying to adapt to new technologies.  Fortunately the Carphone Warehouse also serviced mobile phones.  We were able to get a good deal on a SIM card along with helpful service. 

THE Cutting edge in UK shop names.

Sky is the Limit

In the US is it common to groan and complain about cable companies.  Comcast is notorious for horrendous customer service.  Well the British telecom companies don’t appear to be much better.  Since we’ve moved in, we’ve tried to setup internet access.  The plans are opaque, confusing, and structured against a customer’s best interests.  Worst of all installation takes 3-5 weeks.  So for the next couple weeks until Sky installs our internet, we will be getting our connectivity via phone or Wifi from school and coffee shops.  Thanks Sky!  We are also super pumped for that landline we will never use!

Plenty to do

There is a quote “when a man is tired of London, he is tired of Life.”  This seems to be spot on.  We’ve found there is plenty to explore.  On our To-Do lists are the plethora of free museums.  We already visited the Museum of London to learn about the history of our new home.  We also explored some of the weekend markets.  The Portobello Road markets were a mad house of locals and tourists searching for the perfect antique, outfit or tasty treat.  The Camden markets were a mixed bag of overpriced junk and exceptional international food.   Megan got Peruvian ceviche and Jeff got a combo of Jamaican food.  Both were excellent.  We took our food to go and enjoyed it at Primrose Hill with a great view of the London skyline.  

The view from our picnic at Primose Hill.

With so much to do I’ll finish and bid you adieu.