Getting Settled In

Alright, I know it hasn`t quite been a week yet but a lot has happened in a short time.  So in the interests of everyone knowing what`s going on, I`ve decided to do the next post a little early.

Let`s see... where to begin?  Well, I think the item that most people want to know about (and the one that was a source of concern for me for a time) is my living accommodation.  I'm happy to say that I have moved into a nice house in the South London area which I'm sharing with 3 friendly roommates (2 female primary teachers and an investment banker).  This gives me two people who can give me teaching tips to make it easier to earn money and another who can tell me what to do with it ;).  I'm also happy to say that it only took me two days of pavement pounding to find it - I was having problems using agency listings, so I decided to register with FlatShare.com.  Within an hour of registering I had gotten around 30 calls and emails from prospective landlords.  So anyone who is looking for a place to live in London, take a look at that site - its free and effective!

Anyhow, the area is quite nice - near plenty of greenery and parks, nearby 4 train stations and close to several bus routes.  I can get to Central London in about 30 min on the train and within 15 min on the bus to most shops and amenities.  The house itself has everything I would need (except a desk in my room).  However, the main reason I decided on this one was because it felt like a home, not just a place to live.

Today, I took a bus downtown and found a little farmers market.  I had a blast shopping there... basically, you get a large bowl of produce (i.e. 12 pears or 10 yellow peppers)  for 1 pound.  I also found a street vendor selling really good sausages buns and an excellent latte place.  If this is the kind of coffee my former European roomates were used to drinking, I can now understand their comments regarding Tim Horton's :) - excellent stuff!  But, I made it back safely and I now have the necessary ingredients to make a proper meal... hurrah!

UPDATE:  I've added a link on the right to view my pictures.  So far I've put up two albums - my house and the walking tour  I went on.  The tour started at Hyde Park and down to Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey and Big Ben.  A big shout out to Nicola, our tour guide, who made the tour incredibly fun and memorable - there are too many stories to relate here (including amusing annectdotes of Buckingham garden break-ins and various amusing facts about famous people), but if you're looking for an inexpensive (free) way to see London (and other European cities), check out New Europe Tours.