Flat

The last week has really flown by! Everyone at work has been very welcoming and helpful. They are all very concerned about the fact that I am living in PB. My initial assessment that there is nothing here is pretty accurate. There are two main roads (High Street & Darkes Lane) which both run north/south and are about 1 mile apart. Our office is on the High Street and the Train Station is on Darkes Lane. Other than Tesco (UK version of Superstore), most of the shops - not that there are any worth shopping in really - are on Darkes Lane. So, I'm getting in a lot of walking!

The big news this week is that I found a flat! Presuming the lawyers can work out the agreements next week, the deal should be finalized in the next couple of days. The deposit is paid so there shouldn't be any problems. The flat is in the same building as the one I offered on before but didn't get - just a floor up and on the other side of the building. So, instead of a garden view, my balcony overlooks the skyline of The City (which is what Londoners call the financial district). On a clear day, I can easily see the distinctive Gherkin building and it's neighbors. Technically, I'm in Islington not London but I'm at the southernmost part of Islington. London is much like New York in that it is made up of a bunch of boroughs: London, Westminster, Chelsea, Islington, Croydon to name a few. If you are looking at a map, find Angel Underground Station and that is my neighborhood. Or at least it will be on October 23rd. Until then I'm still living in PB.

I am getting used to the trains slowly but surely. Getting out of PB you have to leave the overground train system at some point and switch into the underground (the tube). On the weekend, the trains only run to/from Kings Cross so you can either change there or at Finsbury Park. I was hopelessly lost on the first attempt at changing at Finsbury Park and had to ask a policeman for directions only to find out from him that the entrance to the train platform I was looking for was right behind me. Since then it has been smooth sailing. I have also been getting a lot of practice following a map this weekend as the District/Circle line is closed for repairs (as it seems to be every weekend) and it causes a lot of problems. You end up getting off the train somewhere "near" and walking the rest of the way. In the main areas, there are stations every 1/2 mile or so but out in the suburbs it is about a mile between stations - so again, more walking!