London Lately -- Yoga, Networking and Figuring out the Tube

This blog is ever changing in my mind. But I've realized, this is for our remembrance (and maybe your entertainment) of this adventure we are on, so why leave out the day to day? We've had a great couple of weeks in the city...getting to know the city, roaming around, eating and drinking too much and well we want to remember all of this as well. So here's lately...

On Yoga: Yoga is .... (looking for the right word) interesting. It's interesting and it's great and it's different. I'm a bit spoiled and have quickly realized that my Yoga community in Nashville didn't just happen. It took 10 years of practicing, becoming a teacher and then teaching in the studio that I loved for so long. London Yoga isn't just going to happen for me either. I have to work at this, make connections, love a studio and put myself out there now more than ever. I've met some great teachers here...super talented, way more experience than I am. Yoga has been interesting, but I think humbling is a better word.

On Networking: The last few weeks, I've been "networking." I've been fortunate to be connected to some great people here in London. I've been making my rounds, having some really great conversations and exploring the world of health and wellness in London. What's been different? The places we meet. We meet in private clubs. Think country club, in the middle of the city, next to Buckingham Palace. It doesn't get much more London than that. And then there's me ...the crazy girl from MS, standing outside changing from flats to heels and trying to calm this crazy hair from the elements. (Elements being this weather and the tube and the constant flux of my body temperature)

On the Tube: You can google hilarious lists about London locals' take on the tube, but I've realized that I take the tube during the time that most locals do not. I am at times roaming the tubes just as lost as the next tourist. In whatever time or for whatever reason I'm on the tube, I've witnessed and learned some pretty amazing things. Here's a few, assuming this list will only grow...

• The Circle Line is ALWAYS slow. No matter what. It's so so so slow. It's nice, but it's so slow. (Yep, it's official...I'm complaining about this AMAZING public transit system, but seriously, it's so slow.) 
• People who eat on the tube. Ew. I mean really?! Ew. 
• The lady slurping that last sip of her milkshake. Literally slurping. And the person next to her who makes the most hilarious gesture and face at the awe of such a sound. 
• The man that never gives up his seat for the lady or the man who DOES...at which point I'm a bit shocked, but ever so thankful that there are still manners, even in London. 
• All the people with their headphones in (this is totally my thing now...I so get it). Their all in their own world and sometimes you'll catch them playing the air drums and well, that's just awesome. 
• I'm so much better at navigating the tube than Michael. Duh. Um, well....at least the West Side for now. But seriously....so much better. 

Cheers for now, next up: Day Trippin' to Brighton! 

Two Months.

Like woah. We've lived in London for two months. (Ok, ok, technically it's two months next week...but who's counting?!) Wanna know what else is crazy? We haven't driven a car in two months. Walking is really my new best friend. And at this point, it's becoming normal to see people on the other side of the road....although I do find myself at times just stopping and looking and saying hmmm, is that right? Or left? (See what I did there?)

Ok, ok moving on...we went to Scotland! Again, just for a quick weekend trip...this seriously blows my mind. It's like going to Florida for the weekend. Except colder.

Scotland was amazing! We took the train up...was so fun...caught a good book, the view of the country side, a bottle (or two) of wine and boom, we were in Edinburgh. We stayed in this fabulous B&B. It had so many wonderful touches---the best bed, whiskey tasting, coconut maroons, delish breakfast (except for that black pudding...ew) and heated bathroom floors. Heated. Bathroom. Floors.

Claremont House leaves whiskey. Okeefe tasted. 

The Claremont House 

We hiked up to Arthur's Seat. Y'all. This was amazing and by far one of the toughest, short hikes I've ever done. Percy Warner ain't got nothing on this. It was so rewarding at the top, check these views.

After our morning hike, we headed into town..via taxi. Enough walking for the morning. We had lunch at this fabulous Pub, claiming to be the oldest in Edinburgh...oddly enough so did the Pub we went to Friday night. Weird. Okeefe had haggis because that's what you do in Scotland.

Haggis Face

And yes, we saw the castle. We didn't go in castle, but we saw the castle and it was glorious. Did you know this castle was the most sieged castle in the UK? I'll just give you that little nugget. 

In true England fashion, we had to taste the Gin in Scotland. Duh. Annnndddd we ate cheese from the Isle of Mull (ahem...Mullis...my people).

Our B&B gave loads of recs to check, so we did. Including the underground roads which led to this great wine bar to cap off the night. The road there was straight out of a movie.

 

To end the weekend, we enjoyed the sun. Because that never happens in Scotland. Until next time...cheers y'all! 

Barcelona! (9/17/15-9/19/15)

I can't believe we just went to Spain ... for the weekend! I think I'm gonna like this whole European adventure, if only we can figure out a way to have friends meet us for every weekend...then we'd really have it made.

Barcelona was a fabulous city! We just loved it. We were there for a quick trip, celebrating this girl's bday in style.

The first day consisted of lots of sangrias...you know, celebrating. We were so excited to see friends from home, we cheers-ed with a sangria. The Cooks had a fab hotel with 360 rooftop view of the city, so we thought what better way to continue the celebrations than with more sangrias...?! :)

We ended the night with a fantastic dinner at Cera 23 in one of the alleys. These alleys were so fun! I had no idea where I was at any given time, good thing Cook and Okeefe were there to lead us around.

Friday was filled with Sangrada Familia tours, more Gaudi buildings, more alleys and great tapas dinner at Sensi Bistro Tapas. Seriously great tapas. We walked out of the restaurant and there were literally fireworks going off and a huge parade going by, it was the perfect night cap to TCook's big day!

On our last day... breakfast at the Milk Bar, Picasso Museum and dipping our toes in the Mediterranean. The Picasso museum was one of my favorites, I was so impressed with the transformation of his work, especially the Las Meninas. Ending the trip with a quick walk to the beach was very fitting. Fun fact: Barcelona beach is a-okay with the nudes. So I'll leave you with that.

Two Weeks!

This week marked two weeks of living in London! Honestly, it's surreal. I'm a bit in disbelief that we actually live here. Perhaps it's the fact that we are still sitting on the floor (Ikea couch was too big, on to the next one...) or the fact that we walk out our front door everyday to this great city. In just a few short weeks, I've learned quite a bit about London and city living. Thought I'd share a few:

Setting Up a Flat is Hard Work: Everyone told me before we left that it was going to take me a while to get the flat set up. I was all like, nah, I totally got this. What I didn't take into consideration was in a city with no car, you can't just pull up to your local shop and haul your house home. I spent a day at Ikea (that's another whole blog in and of itself) and left carrying loads of household goods....walking to the Tram, riding the Tram, walking to the Tube, riding the Tube and then walking all of it home. I felt very city like. Also, Okeefe and I finally found a sofa bed on Gumtree (London's version of Craigslist). We love it, it's cheaper and it's great. That whole not having a car thing....well it comes into play here. Oh and the couch is up 6 flights of stairs....so guess what we are doing this weekend?!

(Side Note: Our stuff came! It was like Christmas! And Okeefe brought me flowers and wine to celebrate :)

UK Bank Accounts are for the Birds: Michael has been trying for over a month to set up a UK bank account. The process is insane. It's not because we are Americans either, it's just that antiquated. I relate it to when I first set up a bank account in 1996...19 years ago. But even that was easy compared to this.

Crumpets are Buttery Goodness: What I'm LOVING about this city is the food. Well, getting to know the food. I literally go the market or grocery everyday and buy our dinner. It's great. We have a local butcher, local fruit/veggie market and a great grocery. (I compare grocery to Harris Teeter....which is still such a shame that Kroger bought them...ok ok, I digress) I bought crumpets. I love crumpets. Even though I'm walking like 12,000 steps a day...I'm going to have a crumpet belly. And I'm going to love it.

Brits love to party. Period. However, I've found all the Americans love to have a pint or two or three or four as well. Everyone I've met says the same thing...there's something about this city. You want to go out all the time. And people do.

More to come....

Oh and Falc...he's doing great. I think he's still adjusting a bit. Next week we go to Spain and Falcor has a cat sitter. Oh the things we do for that little, ahem I mean big, guy. (Thanks Kristen!)

1st Weekend In London! Well, we survived....from the Ikea trip to the Notting Hill Carnival, the first weekend proved to be lots of "new" adventures for us.

Friday was an exciting night in the world of Ikea. I could go into all the details, but this picture sums it up nicely.

Saturday was filled with more furniture shopping, Dwell and Habitat. We quickly learned the fun of hauling furniture through the Tube, but we have a coffee table! The rest of the furniture is being delivered Tuesday. Can. Not. Wait.

Sunday morning, we awoke to the sounds of Carnival, excited for the days ahead, but really ... more excited that we only have 2 more nights on that air mattress. We stepped outside and literally on our street was the Carnival. People were lined up waiting for the parade, most with drinks in hand already. We grabbed some coffee and settled in with the crowd. The 1st parade was gorgeous...ladies dressed in bright colors, feathers, the whole nine yards. The ones that followed, well let's just say that things changed. Think speakers....very loud speakers, like trucks of speakers...and Caribbean reggae rap (is there such a thing?!) So many speakers. After a quick jaunt around the carnival, we decided to get out of our neighborhood and go see a show. (More speakers.) Went to London Roundhouse to see TV on the Radio, super cool venue.

Monday morning ...Bank Holiday in UK, Okeefe gets a day off! Woo hoo! Oh, and there's more carnival, more speakers. We were secretly hoping the rain would hold off the carnival. Yep, we are officially old.

And so now, Tuesday, I sit. And I wait. For furniture. I don't think I've ever been this excited to put together furniture.

P.S. -- We were woken up in the wee hours of the morning to a crazy sound in our back garden. Turned on the lights, it was a fox. A fox. In our garden. In the middle of London. I can't.

The O'Keefe's have arrived! (Including Falcor) 

To say our travel over here was an adventure all in itself would be an understatement. It was a loooooonnnng (but exciting) day...arriving at the airport early to check Falcor in, then to baggage counter...almost missing our 1st flight, ensuring Falcor was on....I was an emotional wreck. I told Michael if we make it through this, I want a glass of champagne (or a shot of whiskey). We had a long layover in Dulles and then boarded for the long haul, again, ensuring Falcor was on. Okeefe upgraded us to business class...y'all...I'm sold. The long beds, the sundae cart, the wine, it was fabulous. 7 hours later, we arrived in Heathrow. All of our bags made it and we went to get Falcor. 3 hours later, he was with us....and slightly freaking out. 

So we are here. We LOVE the flat, it's perfect. Everything about it, the size, the location, the Pub across the street...we're going to like it here. It's pretty bare bones at the moment, 6 suitcases, 1 air mattress and 1 fabulous (insert sarcasm here) comforter that Okeefe purchased last trip. Boys will be boys. 

Nonetheless, we are here and excited about this next adventure. I haven't gotten that champagne or shot of whiskey yet, but the Notting Hill Carnival is this weekend outside of our front door....so I'm sure it's coming. Now let's find some furniture...see y'all soon.