Amsterdam Good Christmas

So we just got back from our first European trip, 4 days in Amsterdam over Christmas. We figured since we don't have much in London we should try to get away for Christmas and avoid sitting alone in our apartment the whole day. To be fair, my coworker did invite us to his family's dinner, but I didn't want to impose.

We were open to anywhere, and Amsterdam happened to be the most affordable Christmas flight, most were marked up double or triple for that weekend. It wasn't the top of our list, but on there somewhere in the middle, and it actually turned out to be a great time. We booked into a hostel for budget and social reasons, and it was actually really great. Very clean and comfortable, and enough like minded people to stay busy and entertained. Spending every Christmas I can remember in Qualicum, I kind of assumed everywhere was dead quiet over the holidays and we would be on our own for entertainment wandering empty streets. I couldn't have been more wrong, there were countless tourists and locals alike out and about the whole time. Restaurants, museums, bars and even hookers were all open for business the entire time.

We didn't have any must see items aside from red lights and canals, so the whole weekend was open. There are museums and the like, and I'm sure they're lovely, but we didn't bother this time around. We opted for a more loosely planned vacation and just wandered and did whatever we came across. That included the Heineken brewery, the Anne Frank House, a canal cruise, and a whole lot of exploring the streets.

We made some friends in the hostel we partied with a couple nights, which was fun. It was cool to spend Christmas with people on a similar mission. I was a little jealous of the one's who were off to another new city for New Year's, but after a few days like that I also really appreciated why I decided to see Europe with a home base in London. It's nice to have somewhere to recharge. As long as we can suck enough money out of this bone dry economy to keep traveling the plan will have worked.

All of the Dutch people we met had one funny thing in common, they would all go on with stories of no relevance or importance, including a waitress going on about partying til 5am or sun rashes while you have your food in front of you. They were really friendly and obviously it was normal there, but as an outsider it was definitely weird.

Actually the whole trip was weird, it very rarely felt like Christmas, and it will definitely be one to remember. I didn't expect to see so many people stepping into red light windows on Christmas eve, or smoking weed all Christmas day and spending boxing day in a sex show. I guess it was a good place to forget we were so far away from family, friends and turkey dinner, because we didn't see any resemblance to a Christmas like that.

Despite the nightmare that is Luton airport, the trip was great, and hopefully the first of many. We'd also like to say Merry Christmas to everyone, and a big thanks to anyone who sent us a card or gift, it was really nice to get something in the mail.

Now Jaimie is getting here tomorrow for a week and we get to entertain our first guest, and hopefully find a good party for New Years!

-Justin

A Quick Hello Before Christmas

One Small Step For Genny, One Giant Leap For Genny`s Frame Of Mind

Well first off - WE FINALLY HAVE INTERNET!!! Yipyip! So if you have Skype add us and if you don't have Skype get an account so we can chat all high tech style and for free.
That was a painful month of waiting.

I've had the past 2 days off. Seems like I'm getting Tuesdays and Wednesdays off now. It's great to have time off during the week but it's a real bummer to have to work on Sundays when Justin is off. Something will have to give in the next while with that... not having a day off together just isn't what we came here for. It's not the same exploring when you don't have someone to share it with.

I've had a couple breakdowns since we've been here, but to be fair one was at Vodafone so I think that's understandable. I'm really loving seeing new things every day and meeting new people, but I miss having a girlfriend to go out with. Justin has a guy here that he's gone out with a few times alone which is awesome. The other day a girl at my work suggested we exchange information and I had to act really cool because if I had shown her how excited I was she would have never called me. But she texted me that night and said if her friends go out she'll get a hold of me to see if I want to join. So I guess I'm a pretty good actress.... ;)

Yesterday I went to another agency and signed with them for reception work. They have a crazy strict dress code policy. And they told me that even if I am making minimum wage that they wouldn't recommend I quit my job as they might only be able to get me work one day a week. So that was interesting. A lot to consider I guess.

Today I did something actually fun instead of looking for jobs in my time off and went to the Christmas Market near Southbank. It was really windy but a beautiful day. I love how you can drink freely outside while you stroll along looking at the booths. I had a mulled wine and a half pint of strawberry beer. There was a ton of food and so many pretty sparkly things. It was really hard not to buy anything. I hate being a window shopper.

Speaking of shopping, I feel so bad that we are not going to be able to buy anyone anything for Christmas either. It seems pretty selfish that we are doing this and can't even get something for you to show you how much we miss you and love and care about you. Sorry :(

Coming home from the Christmas market I got an email from a TV paid internship I applied for asking if I was available for an interview next week. I can't tell you how good it feels to be noticed by someone. I feel like I've been in a pool waving my arms for help and it's too noisy for anyone to notice me. I think I have sent at least 30 applications in for broadcasting related jobs and had almost as many automated response 'no thanks' emails, not to mention all of the contacts I have been given and emailed or met with. It feels like you aren't even being given a proper chance because your application wasn't even looked at. I have tried to remind myself that I'm not here to advance my career, but I love working and I love learning, and it's hard to not want something when there is so much going on here.

The job is for a 12 month paid internship with DRG (www.drg.tv) where I would learn about distribution and acquisition. I applied because I have always been interested in how stations aquire thier programming. Every September at Citytv we are shown snippets of all the new TV shows that we have picked up for the year. I have always been keen to know who these people are that are making these decisions. A few years back I remember thinking WTF about the shows we picked up for the year, and the past couple years I have been pretty impressed with the choices, even if 'The Event' was a huge flop. Anyways, I'm not going to get my hopes up about this opportunity (because if I do I will have a breakdown if I don't get it) but I am pretty excited to have the chance to meet with someone face to face. I'll take it for what it's worth, and feel good that I was able to break through the impersonal internet world of job searching. The interview is on Tuesday at 10am. Now to figure out what to wear...

I have so many other small things to tell you but I am going to try and sum them up quickly:

The other day I was in the loo at M&S and I realized my purse was stuck closed. After trying for about ten minutes, and starting to panic sweat, an old woman pulled a knife out of her purse and I was able to cut it open.

I made cookies the other day and forgot that not only are all of the baking supplies different (no Robin Hood flour or Toll House chocolate chips!) but that I didn't have any mixing bowls, measuring cups, or measuring spoons. After a trial first batch in the oven that turned out pretty sketchy I was able to adjust and they came out pretty damn good!

We don`t have a microwave so we have become pretty good at using the oven for everything.

There is an alphabet puzzle at my work in a box of toys for kids to play with, and almost every day I have to watch small children spend so much time and effort putting it together knowing that the `y`piece is missing. They are always upset at the end. I think there is a life lesson there.

I think Justin and I are going to the Bryan Adams concert tomorrow night. Cole is in town and is going to get us free tickets(?) We'll keep you posted about that.

Well that`s about all I have in me at the moment. I`m going to finish my beer (I think I have had a drink every day since being here) and make dinner. Speaking of dinner, Jamie Oliver is great, isn't he?

Love you all and miss you more than you know.
Gen

Highs & Lows

That seems to be the theme for me the last couple days, epitomized today by my excitement over getting two 18 packs of Stella tall cans for only 20 quid at Sainsbury's(!) to the absolute frustration of having one case rip open and spew cans of beer all throughout the bus. Please pause and imagine that situation. That was the first time I really truly missed my truck, getting stuff home on the bus sucks.

Earlier it was the relief of finding a job being followed by actually working that job. I'm happy to be working, but without getting too far into details, it's the kind of situation I would walk away from in a heartbeat back home. The company and the guy in charge are pretty vague, and whether or not anyone has any idea what they are doing is unclear. Also, the expectations of me are higher than I've ever had with the lowest wage I've ever made. Definitely a weird situation. I am learning a lot quickly, and there has been another electrician with me a couple of days who has been great to work with, so it's not a waste of time... yet. I was hoping I could avoid getting certified here, as it costs 500 pounds, but I will be doing that asap to get more money out of this job, as well as open myself up to moving on. At least I've got something to get me through til the new year.

I've been out skating a few times now, finally. Met a friend of Kieth and Helen's, Danny, last weekend and he took me around the financial district with a couple of his mates. It was great to get out and explore, and skate with other people. One of his buddies was a filmer too, might be hope for some rudy 4 London clips. Looking forward to going out with them again.

Yesterday I went on a mission by myself to an area called Canary Wharf, which is the newest part of London, where they are building basically a new city in the East Docklands. The high was cruising the empty Sunday streets of this area of London so different it may as well be another city, skyscrapers, smooth streets and tons of plazas and courtyards. Skated one spot that was more fun than anything I skated in Barcelona even. The low was getting kicked out of that spot, of course. The cop was nice enough, but did make mention of criminal vandalism to the ledges, just to sound serious. I got 20 minutes in, but after mentioning the spot to Danny he said that was lucky. It wasn't the only spot around though, and it was too good not to go back. Definitely nice to see a side of the city that was more modern.

Now that we're settled it's hard not to compare the bad things to what was better at home, such as our jobs/income, and less importantly, that there are tons of skate parks in BC... and of course our friends and family. On the other hand however, we are still able to do something new every single day, and that has been pretty exciting. We recently went to Foster the People at an amazing venue in Shepherd's Bush, and the following night went to a little comedy club in Putney to enjoy some British humour, and some moderate ridicule for being Canadian. Meeting new people and exploring new parts of the city isn't going to get old any time soon.

-Justin

Foxes In My Neighbourhood, Orcas In My Dreams.

Justin and I had our first fox sighting on the weekend. We were walking home from seeing The Adventures of TinTin in the 'cinema', as they call it here, and had a fleeting glimpse of a large fox with a huge tail about a block from our house. The next morning when I was leaving for work there was another one in the driveway across the street from me. It saw me and immediately bolted. It wasn't as big as the first one we saw but I got a better look at it; It was so awesome. They look more like coyotes here than the cute foxes in Grizzly man. Foxes are WAY batter neighbourhood pests than raccoons. (PS I stole this fox picture, but it is a fox in the back yard of a home in London.)


Everything is pretty good here right now with the exception of the job front. Don't get me wrong, we both have jobs now, and I think Justin is going to stay at his for the time being, but we are just getting paid so poorly. I have put together a CV highlighting my office, administration, and reception skills (wink) as it pays at least 2pounds more than I'm getting currently and have been contacted by a few agencies. I went and met with one of them today and had to do all sorts of testing. I found out I type 48 words per minute and that I suck at power point among other things. I guess we'll see what comes of that. I enjoy my job at the cafe and the owners have been really good to me, but I just need to make more money bottom line. I'm spending every day off at an internet cafe online looking and applying for jobs, TV, reception, and otherwise.

On the TV front I have received an insider tip that ITV is going to be undergoing some serious changes in the next month and to keep my eye on jobs there. So I am. I have applied to quite a few TV jobs recently. Just about an hour ago I received a call from an agent who deals with film mostly (I was given her information from Rhys who works at Technicolor here) and she was very helpful and lovely. She gave me some advice on my CV so I just bumped it up, and she said she was going to contact Sony and Disney to see if they had anything available that would suit me. Again, I guess we'll see what comes of that. At any rate it's nice to have people (including all of you who have given me contacts) who are trying to help you out.

London is obsessed with Christmas and it seems that since we have been here there isn't much talk of anything else. There are even Christmas movies already playing every day on TV. We are looking forward to going to all the outdoor Christmas sites we keep hearing about.
Justin and I decided that we didn't want to wake up alone in our empty home on Christmas morning (even though a co worker of Justin's invited us to Christmas lunch at his house which is too cute) so we booked a trip. Turns out the cheapest place (by quite a bit) to fly to in Europe over Christmas is Amsterdam. So I guess it's going to be a very green Christmas for us haha. We've booked a hostel - The Stayokay Amsterdam Vondelpark - but haven't really looked into what exactly we are going to do there. I'm looking forward to seeing the canals. It's certainly not a place that was at the top of either of our lists to visit - but poor ass immigrants can't be choosers.

Our internet should be up and running in a week to 3 weeks. When that happens I'll upload another video here. In the mean time if you want to give me a call please drop me an email asking for my number.

I hope you are all well. I saw there was snow in Vancouver the other day!! How crazy. Send me a note telling me any new and exciting events happening in your life. I'd love to hear from you.

Getting more comfortable here but still missing you all,

Gen

Differences...

Just a few differences we have noticed so far between London and Vancouver...

• Lettuce is called salad
• Dessert is called pudding
• Ranch dressing does not exist here
• Tax is included in every price
• Traffic lights go green, yellow, red, yellow, green…
• Eggs are not refrigerated in the grocery store
• You need to wash your eggs before you use them (I found a bloody feather on one of mine)
• Agents are middle men between you finding a home and a job, and are everywhere
• Subway has corn as one of their toppings
• Spandex and nylons are in fact acceptable, appropriate, and popular pants
• You don’t have to tip bartenders
• A red circle means do not enter, even if there isn’t a line through the circle
• The word stove does not exist. An oven is the baking part and a HOB is the top part, and they can be separate.
• The word 'hot plate' does not exist here
• You can take your drink outside of a pub if you want to have a smoke

Around the flat

Justin came into the cafe I work at and used the wi-fi today and was able to upload the video I mentioned in the last post. Woot!
Gen

Disconnected From The Interweb

Well I have been trying to post a video on the blog for a few days now but have not been able to upload it. We don't have internet hooked up in our flat until November 25th (!) and have bought a little internet usb device called a dongle which basically provides us with the bare minimum connection. It really bums me out because I miss everyone and want to be able to connect! Justin at least has his blackberry so he can go online fine with that, but I am using the phone Ryan and Erika gave me (THANK YOU btw!!) so I don't have that luxury.
It's been like a 2 week internet cleanse for me in a way. It's funny being at the bus stop or tube station alone and everyone is on their phones except me. So I do a lot of people watching. If I want to go somewhere unfamiliar I have to actually write down the directions on a piece of paper... imagine that! Also another bummer about it is I can't upload any pictures into this blog. You will have to use your imagination, how fun!

Anyways, the video I wanted to upload was just a clip showing everyone our home on the first day we moved in (Thursday). It's pretty good, although we have a pretty bad mould problem. Apparently it's really common here. I asked my boss about it and she said they have the same issue, and that most ground floor flats do. We have a dehumidifier and that seems to be working well. Today we didn't turn it on before we left the house for the day and it smelled pretty mildewy when we walked in. If we run it all day we have to empty it 2 times - it's pretty unbelievable how much moisture is in the air.

I started working at a coffee shop called Artisan on the same Thursday we moved into our place. Justin had to take both of our suitcases on the tube so I could go to work that morning as we had to be out of our flat at 11 and didn’t get into our place until 3:30. I’m sure that was a pain in the ass for him, but what can you do. Gotta make that 6GBP an hour!! :) The job has been really great actually although my feet hurt pretty bad. I work with all Australians and if anything I think at this rate I'll come home with an Aussie vocabulary as opposed to a UK one. I really like things there though, but am still hoping to find something much better. It's tough with this internet situation right now though - I can't even load the pages with job postings.

We met up with a couple that Kieren put us in touch with - Kim and Rhys - at a art show and then went for dinner with them. They are super cool and I am so grateful to have people here that we can talk to freely and ask about their experiences. We are meeting up with them again on Thursday to go to 'Curry Club' so they can show us some basic Indian food. Which brings me to the food here...

I swear the Brits do not eat vegetables. Yes we have all heard of mushy peas... but I think that is it. I have tried to find a good salad in this city and haven't found much. The grocery stores here have really cheap lunch combos - 2.50 for a sandwich, drink, and crisps, so for the first week or so Justin and I were eating a lot of that. But now that we have our own place I was hoping to make some real food. EVERYTHING here is available in pre cooked convenience dishes. The grocery stores have probably half of their items pre portioned and pre cooked. It's very odd. And if you go our for food don't expect it to be very healthy. But one pro is that there are sales on booze, and you can but it everywhere. There are probably 12 places within 10 minutes of us we could buy beer. Today we bought 12 Strongbow for 10GBP. Pretty sweet. Oh and one lesson we have learned is that most pub food SUCKS SO BAD. Restaurants are where you eat and pubs are where you drink. In general that is the rule I think. Oh and pubs also allow pets. Pretty much everywhere here allows pets, which is cool? I guess. (Imagine picture of Justin here at a pub drinking a pint with a cat in his lap).

Today I went to a really small Italian restaurant while I was waiting to meet up with Justin after my coffee training in Shoreditch and it was delicious. So simple but cheap (4.50gbp for a nice pasta dish). While I was there an Italian woman sat next to me and was telling the chef personally what she would like in Italian. When he went back to the kitchen I asked her what she ordered and she told me that she ordered pasta with sausage because they make their own sausage in the basement, and that I needed to try some when her food arrived. When it did she cut me off a piece of here sausage and put it on my plate. It was really sweet of her. And it was indeed delicious. I have decided I really like Italians.

One last note - Everyone here dresses really well, like WAY better than we do, so we went to Primark and bough some cheap dressy clothes. Justin got a new coat and some black jeans and collard shirts.... Dapper!!! (Imagine picture of Justin looking dapper here).

Well there is so much more to say but this post is already longer than it should be so I'll quit. Fingers crossed it loads!!

Miss family and friends lots.

Gen

Yeah, but you're a Converter

We experienced our first racism today - We were at Shepherd's Bush tube station at the customer service desk getting some new Oyster cards we could load up with month passes. So while we were giving our information and the lady was (struggling with) entering it in, we also asked how to pay if we went extra zones, or what forms of transportation it covered. Well there was an impatient young chap behind us who told us to hurry the hell up, when although we were asking questions, it was the tellers dyslexia that was making it take slightly longer than it should. So Gen said, 'Well you must know everything' and he said 'Well I live in London'. She replied 'So do I' and he called her a converter. I found the whole exchange hilarious because he was a dumb twat and we weren't even holding things up, and I've never been on that end of an immigrant slowing the process. Fucking converters.

We've been to a good number of tourist attractions in the last week, knocking them off the list. We took the train out to Windsor Castle, which is billed as the largest occupied castle in the world, meaning that some royalty hangs out there a few nights a year probably. It is damn big, and is crazy to think about as a fortress up on the hill 800 years ago. Anyways, I'd been there before with Chris last time I was here, but we had no money to go in, so I was looking forward to it this time. The inside was amazing, mainly the fact that it houses a bunch of the royal art collection, as well as a bunch of shields and armour and guns and swords and shit. All really amazing to see and think about where they've been. Also very interesting was the collection of shit they display that was stolen from other countries they conquered, Ethiopian crowns, Indian golden tiger statues, amazing stuff that they are quite proud to have. Fair enough I guess.



We're at our second short term let right now until Thursday when we move into our place. This one has been a pretty disgusting disappointment, and I sent a very scathing email to the property rental company, which was satisfying. It's certainly not the end of the world, but was very misrepresented online, as well as the wiener who's meant to be managing it has been doing a piss poor job. I'm sure he got ripped into pretty good, which pleases me.


We've been making an effort to explore the areas we're staying, so at the last place we wandered around the trendy area of Shoreditch to a couple pubs (and walked right past a couple clubs) as well as through the financial district and over to Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. We're doing the same here as it's about a 15 minute walk from the London Eye and Big Ben and all of that, so we went that direction last night and again today. Photo ops and memories and all of that.

We've been trying to leave a few empty seats at the edge of our table to invite people to talk to us, which has been pretty successful. We first tried at a pub called Sawyer's Arms near Hyde Park where 4 separate couples joined us and seemed to enjoy our Canadian company, at least enough to all be late for their dinner reservations. It's much easier to find things to talk about when nobody has a damn clue about anything to do with Canada, everything is news to them. We talked to a Swedish couple about hockey, they said Swedes find the Sedins boring. Haha.
Our second attempt at mingling found us at a place near Liverpool St called Dirty Dicks where a group of guys in their early 20's were fresh from a soccer match and on their way clubbing in Shoreditch. They were pretty loaded and pretty high, and were helping to feed any stereotypes of Essex we've heard. They were harmless and kinda funny in an 'at them' way, but any more drinks in me and the Canadian politeness towards their endless dickitry may have faded. Some things are the same here.


We're both really looking forward to settling into Wimbledon and moving on to the next set of tasks. I still haven't really looked into work, although the time is coming up quick as the money drains. We still really have no idea what our monthly budgets are gonna look like, so the reality of our situation here is still looming. But when you look around you see all kinds of people and they make it work, so you have to hope two working people in their late 20's can afford to share a 1 bedroom outside of the city. If not we can at least try to stay long enough to get some kind of credit here that we can default on. As it stands that's Plan B.

Happy Halloween!

Justin and I were worried that we wouldn't fit in when we went out this weekend because we didn't have costumes. Turns out Justin didn't need one. While we were munching on a baguette at Liverpool St station last night a guy points at Justin and yells out:

"Hey - It's TinTin!"

Funny, right? :)

Gen

The Stressful Bits

As some of you have heard we rented a flat (yay!). It was a very different process than renting in Canada. Most things here, even jobs, go through agencies who act as middle men between renters and landlords, or companies and potential hires. I guess there is a reason for it, but it seems like a cash grab in most cases. Anyways, Justin and I went and looked at a flat in Wimbledon and ended up renting it through the agent who showed it to us. I pretty much pressured Justin into it; He was hesitant because our walk to the flat was through a pretty grim area. But I was told by a friend I met while still in Vancouver that 5 minutes away from the really shite areas in London is usually a good area, so I had faith that on the other side of us would be something good. Turns out there is. Justin says I just got lucky.

The flat is expensive, yes, but we knew it would be. We expected to pay about double what we were paying in Vancouver, and we are paying almost exactly that. The one real killer was that because we don't have jobs or any references here in the UK we had to pay for 6 months upfront to secure the place. It sucks but I get it. There are so many people moving here every day and the landlord needs some sense of security... anyone could pretend to be anyone. So I guess we are staying here for at least 6 months! :)

It's a really big place (by London standards) and has a living room with a futon in it, PERFECT for visitors to sleep comfortably on (HINT HINT). That is actually one of the main reasons we both really like the space- We really hope that you use us as an excuse to come visit London, especially now with a large comfortable space. Here is a link to it online so you can take a look. Keep in mind that the pictures greatly exaggerate the size, especially in the kitchen): Click here to see our flat!

We move in on Friday the 4th, and so now with that sorted we can focus on the next stressful bit - getting jobs.

As our flat was located only 3 tube stops from the cafe I had my interview at, I was really hoping I would get the job. On Thursday night Magda called me and offered me a part time position! Magda and her partner are really sweet and the Cafe opens this Monday. My first day training will be Wednesday. There is a facebook page you can check out if you want to see what it looks like. It's going to be very different for me but I'm looking forward to interacting with the customers and having a little money come in.

I also had a contact through Ben from Citytv ask me to help him out at a IIFF event at a film school in London. I went out and lent a hand on Thursday night and met a very sweet girl named Tamsyn, who is in drama school to be an actress, and an Italian director-hopefull named Fab, who both gave me a ton of advice about the city and were really fun to chat with. I am hoping to meet up with more of the contacts I have been given once we move into our flat.

Justin has started the process of getting his equivalency paperwork and will begin focusing on finding a job soon.

We've been having a lot of fun too.. went out to Windsor castle, had a good few drinks last night and met all sorts of people from different countries, explored some of the tourist areas of London... but that's another post; I just wanted to update you all on the tougher parts of this adventure. We'll tell you more about the fun stuff shortly.

I'll leave you with this - A couple nights ago I woke up and heard an animal in our room rustling in the garbage can. I elbowed Justin to get up and see what it was, so he reluctantly did. When he went to tie up the garbage a mouse jumped out and ran so fast across the room that there wasn't even a moment to try and catch him.

I guess mice are something I'm going to have to get used to. They have been here for centuries; I've only been here 6 days.

Deep breath.

Genevieve

This is the Piccadilly Line, with service to Cockfosters

It's pretty hard to fit in on a busy tube when you laugh out loud to this announcement. Such is life for us here on day 2. We were up at 5am, had a beer and then crashed again til 10, so not the most productive start. Tried to get a National Insurance number, integral to getting a job, only to be told you need an address to send the forms, much like you need an address and a job to open a bank account, and you need a bank account to apply for a decent phone plan, and so on. It's a bit of a chicken before the egg scenario that no one seems to care too much to remedy. We'll manage though, looking into another short term holiday let to give us a little more time.

We ventured out to Putney today for Gen's interview for a job at a cafe, far as I could tell the position wasn't really ideal for either side, so that's probably as far as that'll go. The trip out there was cool though, the city just keeps on going, and although similar worlds, every little part of life here is a bit different which keeps it interesting. We checked out High Street on the way home, browsed Marks & Spencer's, which is essentially the Bay, just enjoying the little differences.

Went to the Natural History Museum afterwards, which was on a whim, but actually somewhere I was really looking forward to. The main entrance had an enormous line, which caught us by surprise at 3pm on a Tuesday in October, I guess tourism season is a little longer here.

We were sent to a side entrance that was line free, but not understanding the sheer volume of the museum we spent over an hour in the geology section before realizing the good shit was over where the huge line was. We got to the dinosaurs at closing and had to sneak in the exit and walk against the flow of massive pedestrian traffic. Well worth it obviously. That's somewhere I plan to hit up again when someone comes for a visit...

We went out for dinner at a Canadian themed pub called the Maple Leaf, the food and atmosphere was good, but I don't think we're homesick enough because it wasn't really very Canadian, or maybe just too focused on Ontario, not interested.


Walking around this city is a huge change, every time you feel like you're on the busiest street, you take a turn down a busier one. Its like Granville and Robson is every intersection. There aren't really any landmarks to look up at, so getting your bearings is tough too, for someone who prides himself on a good sense of direction, London is gonna be a test. Challenge accepted.

Back in bed now, procrastinating tasks and watching some sweet British accents on TV talking about who cares what,

Oh, and today marks the first of many things we'll miss back home, I of course mean the first Canucks game.... and Lorna's 50th birthday too I suppose. Happy Birthday Lorna! And Go Canucks Go!

-Justin

In Between Day One and Day Two

It's 4:55am and we are jetlagged pretty bad. We have been up for about 2 hours already. Looks like an interesting start to day 2 here in London.

Before we left Vancouver we had booked a room in a flat for a week through the website wimdu.com. It's basically a rental site where people offer up rooms in their homes or income properties. We handed over about $450 Canadian dollars to a man named Marcos and crossed our fingers that he wasn't a scam artist.

When we arrived yesterday our first order of business was to meet up with Marcos and see if we in fact had a place to stay. Justin tried calling him on a payphone at the train from Gatwick, but we couldn't figure out how to use the payphone. He called from his Canada cell instead. After riding a train into the city and a tube to Liverpool station we wandered through a couple blocks of very busy streets and found Marcos waiting for us outside of 25 Widegate street.


Our temporary home is through a small red door above an Indian restaurant. When you first walk in the hall is overtaken by the restaurant and you can see right into the kitchen. We haven't discussed eating there yet, but I think we probably should.

Up 4 flights of very narrow stairs is our flat. It has 4 or 5 rooms (we haven't snooped enough to remember right now), a small shared kitchen, a toilet room with a sink (that we are not allowed to flush anything down, even TP), and a shower room with a sink. Our little room is pretty much as shown in the pictures we saw on the website, but the pictures seem to have exaggerated the size. We'll have to keep that in mind for finding out more permanent place. We have a small fridge, table, and wardrobe in the room, and the bed is pretty comfy. Our window looks onto a side street, and we just noticed a strange flashing light coming from a flat across from us. There seems to be a lively bar or house party close by as there was bouts of singing as we were sleeping.

We tried to get a bank account but we need to have proof of residence so we will have to wait until we find our home and get a bill sent there. The situation was the same for getting mobiles; we need an address before they will give us a contract. So we have pay as you go - Justin on his unlocked blackberry and me on a sweet flip phone Erika and Ryan gave me before we left Van. If you for some reason want our mobile numbers send us an email or facebook us.

Thats about all we had time to do yesterday. We had a quick shop at Tesco (cheese is really cheap and we got a can of beans for 26p), then both felt quite cranky and realized we really needed to sleep. Once the regular folk are awake we plan on making some calls to see flats, getting our national insurance number, and I have a job interview at 2pm. We're hoping to feel a bit more confident about finding a permanent home once we see a few.

That's all for now. We are going to try and sleep one more hour before rising for the day. It's a big one ahead.

Miss you all lots.
Gen