First of all sorry there was no blog yesterday. I was out and about the entire day and night and ended up crashing at a friend's!
Friday night I arrived at King's Cross and got the tube to Ann's local station Tooting Bec. She picked me up from the station and we headed back and had some food and tea. She's so lovely! Her house is really nice and it's so kind for her to have me while I sort myself out here.
Yesterday morning I left the house fairly early and walked to the tube. I got the train in to Oxford Street and went and sorted out my phone!
Then I got the tube to Old Street and went to the first of three flat viewings I had sorted for the day. And I'm excited to announce I'll be moving in to this flat in a couple of weeks!! The three girls I met (two of whom are the ones I'm taking over the room from) were really friendly and the room was fairly big. It's in a fantastic location within walking distance to lots of great areas! So exciting. I'll be sharing with four other people - one from Melbourne, one from NZ, one from Ireland and one from Denmark (the one I met).
So I cancelled the other viewings and instead met up with a girl I met on the Aussies in London Facebook page who's also just moved here! Her name is Ashlee and she's from South Australia. We did what any good tourist would do on May 2nd - we hung around in the royal baby craziness!!! First we went to St Mary's hospital and checked out the media and royalists all camped out outside the hospital. We saw the town cryer and lots of people with posters and things like that! So strange being here for this. Can't believe I just made it back in time to be in London when the baby was born.
Next we went to Buckingham Palace and queued up to have a look at the easel that tells the public when the baby was born etc. It was very well organised with a proper queue and security, didn't have to wait long. There were people EVERYWHERE! It's so different here now to just a couple of months ago. There are flowers everywhere, leaves on the trees and a lot more people around.
We had lunch in a cute little cafe and I had a toastie and soup which was yummmmm and then we walked down to the Thames via Big Ben. So many people everywhere it was actually insane! The footpaths were so crowded. Glad I'm living central but glad I'm not in a touristy area.
We headed down to Southbank where this long weekend there's a Spanish festival on. And again there were SO many people everywhere! We met Ashlee's friends and some friends of theirs too and enjoyed some sangria. So weird here - you can drink in the streets! It felt very strange, but it was a nice spot with a view of the river and the Eye. There was a concert and lots of food stalls. Had a funny moment in the queue for the bathroom when I met a guy from Melbourne and he knew people from my school!!!
Then I got the tube to Stamford Brook and walked to my friend Louise's place. Louise is an Aussie and I met her, her sister and friends last year on my Greek islands trip. We all headed to a local bar because Mitch (one of her friends) is moving to Cornwall soon. Had a really great night with them and their housemates and then ended up crashing at Louise's because it was lots easier than going home.
Got up this morning and realised I had left my coat at the bar. The problem with going out in England is that it's so cold you need to wear a coat, but because I'm not used to it (never usually wear a coat out at home) I completely forgot I had left it at the end of the booth we sat at. So I spent the morning waiting at Louise's until the bar opened and then headed there to see if I could find it. No luck, it wasn't anywhere to be found. I had a really weak moment where I walked into the street with no idea where to go what to do and really cold because I had no coat. And for a minute I started to cry. Might sound stupid to be sentimental about a coat, but it's been all over the world with me! And apart from anything else it's worth about $300 and is a brilliant coat! But I decided that though I felt sorry for myself I had to stop being a sook. What's done is done and I'm an idiot for leaving it behind!
I headed to the shops and got lots of things I needed. Whiteboard markers, some toiletries and a new coat at Primark. Primark is bloody brilliant! I paid 25 pounds for quite a nice coat that'll be good for teaching because it's warm but it's a bit trendy too. Then I got the tube back to Ann's. She has kindly told me I can stay here for the next 12 days until I move in to the flat! I'm so grateful.
This afternoon I'm just getting some things done that I've been meaning to. Put on a load of washing and doing some reading for teaching. But you'll never guess what just happened....after all that I just got a text from my friend Louise and she has found my coat! I definitely didn't bring it home because I checked my photos, but one of her friends must have picked it up. So I've gone from feeling like an idiot for leaving it to feeling like an idiot for not finding it when we searched her house! But no damage done. At the end of the day I'm still up on money because I thought I would have to pay $300 for a new Kathmandu coat. And I now have a new coat that'll be good for teaching which I think I'll hang on to. I've learned an important lesson anyway to pay more attention to where I leave my coat when I'm out - won't be happening again!!
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
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