Getting a Job and Exploring London's Financial Districts

Good news: After 23 days, I have finally landed the job that I have been looking for! I had my interview on Thursday, and received a call ten minutes after I walked out of the office that I had received the role- and by the way, could I start tomorrow at 8:30am? The company is called TV Genius, and they work in technology developing search and recommendation engines for TV. I am going to be their main marketing person, and they should help me eventually become a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing- cool! There are only 5 guys in the office, and the couple that I met on Friday seemed quite nice. I have a good feeling that I will fit in well. My first trade show is in only 3 weeks- lots of learning to do before then which I am looking forward to.

Camden Markets: Where the hipster kids shop

A few days ago we got off the subway at Camden Town- a neighborhood famous for its street markets and  hip alternative culture. Just getting off the subway on the high street (main street) is an experience in itself. There is a curious mix of alt-stores, vintages stores and tourist junk stores. Each store is open to the street, with a variety of music pumping out. lots of the side streets have been converted into huge, 7-day markets.

Interviews (and a few other bits and bobs)

Well, it is now officially 21 days since I have arrived in London and things are gradually starting to come together. however, time has absolutely flown past! soon I will have to pay my second round of rent and no longer am such a newbie on the tube. I find the tube very good for reading, and have secured a new library membership! My library is well, quaint, very old school. they even use stamps in the front cover of the book to tell you which day it is due. There is not anything online as far as I am aware. If I want to renew a book, I have to call them or walk into a branch. nonetheless, they seem to have a pretty good selection which should keep me busy on the Tube for now.

London Bridges

NOTE: to see a big version of any picture, just click on it (discovery of the evening)

Today's tourist excitement involved taking the underground to London Bridge station, and exploring the area. Lots and lots and lots to see here- Rhys and I will be back soon I think. We spent a few hours just wandering about, looking at buildings and unsuccessfully trying to enter 2 churches, without luck. Today is Sunday so most are closed to the public and having services. 

London Bridge

the pope visits

Rhys has finally, after lots of waiting, arrived! I am very glad- this means I will have a comrade to get lost with and of course enjoy the sights and sites. He arrived midday yesterday, extremely jetlagged. 36 hours of travelling and only 3 hours of sleep doesn't do wonders. We survived lugging his suitcases through 1.5 hours on the Tube- a baptism by fire of the Tube system!

Today we decided to go see London Bridge- so of course we ended up somewhere completely unexpected-Hyde Park! Not related or near at all London Bridge but nonetheless VERY exciting because Hyde Park was where the Pope (See my previous entry) was going to speak!

El Papá

The pope is coming to London on Saturday. This is the 'news of the week' and there is extra coverage on all aspects of the Roman Catholic Church. There have been lots of stories covering it, and people are upset. Aparently there are about 6 million roman catholics in the UK, but it is going to cost  about £12 million of taxpayers' money to provide security for his journey.

Etiquette on the London Underground

Londoners drive on the left, walk on the right, except when going up an escalator in the Tube. If you are on an escalator on the tube it's essential that you stand on  the right. The left is the fast lane where impatient commuters run down the escalators. Watch out - standing on the left will get you bowled over!  Escalators in London go down very far- the longest escalator rises 71 feet and is at Angel station- only a few stations away from where I live!

down into the earth

London Day Trip to Bodiam Castle

Yesterday my cousins and I took a day trip into the British countryside to go see Bodiam Castle- built in the 14th century by a wealthy knight. The outside was in quite good repair with a moat full of huge carp waiting to be fed bread by tourists.  There were also some re-enactors there to talk about medieval food (not so healthy) and medieval armour (heavy)

Searching for gardens

Lesson learned today: Covent Gardens doesn't have any gardens. However, it does have one million tourists everywhere. Included are piles of street musicians, people pretending to be statues, and thousands of pictures being snapped everywhere you turn

Golders Green

I have rented a room in the neighborhood of Golders Green. I may have mentioned before, it is an orthodox Jewish neighborhood primarily, which makes me feel very safe. on top of that, I am interested in the different holidays and traditions that I see passing me on the street. People are really polite- cars are always waving me across the street and people offer you their space in line for the cash machine. Also for the first time in my life there are about 4 bakeries within a ten minute walk of my house all loaded with the most beautiful cakes, biscuits, bagels, pastries, and breads I have ever seen. The smell is just heavenly, especially in the morning.

One Week in: British Museum

well, one week in and I am starting to get ahold of the tube system here. I take similar routes to the city centre attractions, so getting used to it is good. However, the Tube is pretty claustrophobic. it is VERY far underground, you always have to take at least one huuuge escalator to get to the station, but usually two. the air gets warmer and warmer as you go down, so by the time you are in the tube everyone is sweaty, even when it is cold outside. Very dependant on good ventilation systems, I would imagine. I'm glad it's getting easier though, although it is costing me about NZ$66 per week to get an unlimited pass on all transportation. which isnt too bad I guess since I am traveling all over the system every day, by train, bus, and subway.

Touristy things

I have now been in London 6 days--- wow coming up to the one week mark. I am finding my flat to be pretty good, although expensive. My flatmates have turned out to be quite nice- they are an Irish couple who moved to London 3 weeks ago and are also in the same unemployed boat as me. They are doing interviews and temp jobs, as well as just sitting at home applying for jobs. so it is nice to know another two people in london- bringing the grand total to 4! Now that I have moved out from living with my cousins house it is much lonelier. I am not used to being alone all day- this is going to be an interesting process of learning to live with just myself for a few weeks. I am really looking forward to R. arriving in just 10 days though- then we can go visit the tourist sites together!

London Day Trip to Igtham Moat

another update! I'm taking lots of photos, so they need to be put to good use of course!

first of all: I have found a place to live! I signed a 3 month contract yesterday, and we will see how things go from there. I am renting a room in a sort of boarding house in Golders Green, close to the Tube station.

second of all: Today my cousins took me to see Ightham Mote, a manor house surrounded by a moat, all of which was built in the 14th century. On the drive there we stopped at a traditional English pub to have cider and beer (served room temperature of course!). The pub was called the Dukes Head and was built in the 17th century. it still serves the same purpose today, pretty crazy! I suppose there are less horses there, and no more overnight guests, but they are still in operation. Very cool to be somewhere so old, although that seems to be a trend.

London Eye

Today after going to visit some flats, I went to see the London Eye by accident. I was trying to see Buckingham Palace, but got bored trying to figure out where it was, and ended up at London Eye! This is probably a sign that I need to buy a guidebook for London...

getting lost... and unlost again (Eventually)

So of course having been here for over 24 hours, it was about time I got horrifically lost! yesterday I had a meeting in Richmond with a recruitment agent to discuss getting a job- priority #1! From Gipsy Hill where I am staying with my cousins, it is 56 minutes to get to Richmond according to the journey planner on the traveling London site. So I thought I should give myself some extra time, so I scheduled 2 hours to get to the agency. I had to take several transfers on the Overground (Train that runs on the land instead of inside the land), which were all going well. Until I got to Clapham Common Junction where I was supposed to transfer. Instead, all lines to Richmond were cancelled as it turned out SOMEONE JUMPED IN FRONT OF THE TRAIN.

London at last

well here I am, finally typing to you from the small quaint village that is London! I am relieved to finally get here and put all my plans into action. Sadly my housing plan fell through, so I am on the search for flats at the moment (all of which are blindingly expensive). I have also opened a bank account yesterday although it took 2.5 hours to find the branch...but that's what adventures are for.