FOOD

This might be one of my favorite posts, because food is one of my favorite subjects.  When we moved here, I thought our food selection would be primarily comprised of English pubs and middle eastern restaurants.  Although this is true (I may have an entire post on just the names of the pubs I've seen so far!!! :) ), I've noticed a variety of eateries.  We Americans have our Burger King, Domino's, Subway, McDonalds, Starbucks, and KFC.

Burger King

Domino's

Subway

McDonald's and Starbucks Coffee
(On Fleet Street across from Freshfields)

Kentucky Fried Chicken

While the Brits have their Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Pret A Manger, Wasabi, Twinings, and Pizza Express.

Gourmet Burger Kitchen

Pret A Manger

Wasabi

Twinings

Pizza Express

Admittedly, neither Kevin nor I have made it to all of these places, but Pret A Manger has fantastic, fresh orange juice. Pizza Express has a "Spicy Guiseppe" pizza that isn't very spicy but is pretty good.  Twinings has excellent "English Breakfast" tea (referred to as simply "Breakfast" tea).  Kevin and I had hoped to try EAT today (pictured at the top of the page) which boasts of really yummy soups, but unfortunately it was closed.  Instead we went to Paul's where Kevin had a sausage and roquefort sandwich and I had brie, butter and lettuce on a sesame baguette (yum!!).

Left, right??

Fleet Street from our flat

One of the biggest and most important adjustments for us has been traffic patterns.  For us Americans, the UK traffic patterns are the opposite of what we would expect; cars, buses, and taxis drive on the LEFT side of the road.  I have yet to place myself behind the wheel as I am still attempting to master the art of being a pedestrian.  Every time I cross the street, it's taking my life into my own hands.  As my husband says, we're looking to the left while the cars are blazing from the right.  In order to help me out, the city of London has hints painted on the street.  At 30 years old, you wouldn't think that I would need to be reminded to "Look Both Ways", but I've found that to be a helpful tip.  Of greater benefit are the hints that direct me to "Look Right" or "Look Left" sometimes I'm even provided an arrow!!

There are a number of different ways to cross the street here in the UK.  You can cross at a cross walk, you can jay walk (and pray that you've diligently looked BOTH ways), or you can cross where you see poles with blinking yellow lights (see picture).  These lights are constantly blinking and warn drivers to yield to the pedestrians that may occupy the road.  I am not terribly confident that drivers will stop, so in my mind, this method of street crossing is equivalent to jay walking - look BOTH ways!!

Pole with blinking yellow light

Vehicles driving on the left side is one thing, but did you know that walking on the left is the standard as well??  Even stairs and escalators direct foot traffic to the left!  It's quite different, but I'm attempting to  modify and adapt habits without injuring myself or others.  So far I've been successful.  I hope that continues!

Escalator in H&M

Escalator in Westminster tube stop

Temporary Housing

I also think it's fun to see where people live, so I'm going to post some pictures of our present living quarters.  This one bedroom flat is approximately a 5 minute walk from Kevin's desk which means that we are in the heart of the city.  It's very convenient to access the theaters and museums though we haven't taken advantage of those yet.  The tube is only about a 5-10 minute walk along the Thames River so other parts of the city are easily accessible, too.  Sometimes I catch my breath on that walk as I look at Big Ben and the London Eye and realize that I LIVE here!!!

Kitchen

Bathroom

Bedroom

Living/dining room

Living/dining room

Freshfields

View from Fleet Street

View from Temple Avenue

Fleet Street Entrance

"Whitefriars" entrance

 I thought it was appropriate to take some time and discuss the reason Kevin and I came to London.  Freshfields Bruckhaus Dehringer, an international law firm, offered Kevin a position in their "Employment, Pensions, and Benefits" group.  Freshfields has offices in China, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, and Saudia Arabia and employs 2400 lawyers, approximately 900 of whom work in the UK office.

Temple Avenue Entrance

Kevin spent a good portion of last evening attempting to educate me on his work.  I can't say that I'm going to change careers, but I'm sure glad there are people out there that want to work with legislation as it relates to employment, pensions, and share schemes.  Did I mention my husband is really smart?  Wow!  That material is complicated!  I'm so proud of him.  Freshfields is lucky to have him!

Now or never

Well, Kevin and I have been in London for nearly 2 weeks, so I thought I'd better get to writing about our adventures or it'd never happen.  I guess it's fair to say that our adventures began months ago on August 29, 2010 when we became the Burches.  That's the day that I had said "I do" to the man of dreams.


Since that day, we've moved me twice, rented one house, put another house on the market, and been homeless.  My parents were kind enough to take us in for a few evenings.  Thanks mom and dad!!!  We've also celebrated our first Thanksgiving with Kim Burch (Kevin's sister) and the subsequent days in Illinois with my family remembering the incredible life of my grandfather.

                                                

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

 Kevin's 30th birthday was spent in the great city of Seattle.  Though the time was brief, it was nice and rainy - just a little prep for London, perhaps??? :)

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA

The Burch brood took another (me) into their home for nearly a week at Christmas!  They were so kind and gracious!  Thank you ma and pa Burch!  It was great to get some time with brothers, sisters, in-laws, nieces, and nephews!

                

DENVER, COLORADO

Goodbyes in Colorado were hard.  Our lives have been incredibly blessed by the friends and family there.  We look forward to seeing you "this side of the pond".

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA

Kevin and I had a very unexpected stay in the state of 10,000 lakes (and a lot of snow).  Unfortunately, our flight from Denver was delayed causing us to miss our connecting flight.  We, however, made the most of it and went to the Mall of America.

LONDON, ENGLAND

Arriving just one day late, we breathed a sigh of relief when we rested our luggage on the floor of our 1 bedroom flat.  We'd made it.  The next several days were filled with a lot of time on the tube while we went to the far reaches of the south west of London and just enough north east of London.  Our focus was on finding a place to make a more permanent home, a home that could welcome guests from abroad.  We settled on the area of Wimbledon which is a quaint suburb that provides easy access to the city.  It was necessary to prove to those we'd left behind that we'd arrived in London, so at some point during our tube travels, we stopped at "Westminster", and took some pictures of Big Ben, parliament, the London Eye, and the Aquarium.

Tower Bridge

Borough Market

The weather truly is cold and dreary with very short days (9am-4pm??), but that hasn't stopped us from further exploring this historic city.  This past weekend, for example, we walked to the London Bridge, Borough Market, and Tower Bridge.  We also walked by the Tower of London saving the intrigue of inside for another day.  

OXFORD, ENGLAND

My first post is getting a bit lengthy, so in order to try and preserve whatever following we have, I will end with our most recent adventure to Oxford.  Our time was brief, but we were able to see the monument to the martyrs whose testimony remains etched in stone, "To the Glory of God, and in grateful commemoration of His servants, Thomas Cranmer, Nicholas Ridley, Hugh Latimer, Prelates of the Church of England, who near this spot yielded their bodies to be burned, bearing witness to the sacred truths which they had affirmed and maintained against the errors of the Church of Rome, and rejoicing that to them it was given not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for His sake; this monument was erected by public subscription in the year of our Lord God, MDCCCXLI.".  We also had a drink at The Eagle and Child, where the "Inklings" comprised of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and others would meet for discussions and drinks.  One of our highlights was a small burrito joint we discovered on our way back to the railway.  Oh, how we miss salsa.  Spicy tomato relish just doesn't cut it.

Until next time, cheerio :)