Weekend explorations

To celebrate our first weekend evening in London, Michael and I decided to go out to a pub in our neighborhood for a traditional English meal. This included a pie sampler platter,  mashed potatoes, mashed peas and of course a pint. I've never liked peas so I'm not sure why I even tried them...yuck! The pies were beef, chicken, lamb and liver. I'm pretty sure it was my first time trying liver- not bad. I didn't mind it, but I did prefer the others. The pint was of course lovely.

"Where was Grace?" You might be wondering. There are no rules or restrictions when it comes to babies, kids or dogs. They are everywhere and everyone is family friendly- pubs included. Their motto is the more the merrier. Sweet! That's pretty convenient for us. Good thing Grace just goes with our crazy lifestyle.

Grace started getting fussy at the end of our meal so I decided to start walking back home. I knew our place was very close, but I got turned around pretty quickly. What's with having the same street name on different streets? Why have one street name on one side of the street and a different one on the other side? Is it really necessary to have Bolton Gardens Road, Bolton Gardens Street, and just Bolton Gardens? I was able to find my way home after only a couple of minutes but I was flustered because Grace's fussiness had turned into a full blown bloody murder, lip quivering cry. As this was all happening, Sam and Amber called to see if they could check out the new place. I said it was a good time as long as I found my way back.

Saturday morning we had to check out of our hotel (which Maggie and Tommy Hughes just recently stayed) and bring our last load of things over to our new flat (which might I add I LOVE). Thank you, Michael for being such a researcher!  We strolled over to Hyde Park to watch the Blossom's son's football game as well as enjoy a picnic with wine included.We got a lot of random things we needed (towels, linens, soap, toilet paper, etc.) Amber was a life saver once again showing us where to go. I wonder how long it would have taken us to figure out where to get the little things like these. Before heading over to Sloan Square/Chelsea area, which might I add is amazing, we relaxed in our communal garden! Only the people in the surrounding apartments have access to this garden which gives an extra level of security and comfort. We see ourselves spending time there this summer enjoying picnics, bottles of wine and time with Grace. Perfect photo opp...

Grace has a new trick- the baby tripod! She is on her way to sitting up by herself. Amber actually showed us her new talent when her and Sam stopped by Friday night. 

This is my favorite picture of Grace to date.

I thought Grace and I had wandered to Sloan Square the other day-- definitely not. I'll be going back this week. They have tons of unique baby shops and I've already asked about their next sales. We stumbled into a random off the beaten path Italian restaurant where we made friends with another couple. They are originally from NY and have been living in London for the past 10 years. They have 3 kids- 2 of which have become citizens this weekend since they have been living in the UK for 5 years. This was all in between Grace's naps. We ended the evening sharing a pint with Derek Ashbaugh (BP guy, went to IU, ATO frat guy). Anyway, Grace came too-- like I said before- no baby or dog restrictions. I went home to put Grace to bed and Derek properly welcomed Michael to the UK.

view across the street from the pub

Sunday morning began with a latte at the corner cafe. I really need to stop eating pastries for breakfast! The weather said there was a 0% chance of rain after 2:00 pm so we decided to take the bus to Buckingham Palace area. Of course it down poured from about 2:00 and on through the night. We jumped off the bus, bought an umbrella (ours are currently in the air somewhere), and had oven roasted pizza at a tiny Italian restaurant by the Victoria tube stop. Welcome to London! After taking walking around and taking the bus back we cleaned up in time to get our first taste of London Thai- yummy!

Have I mentioned yet that our second bedroom (aka the room where we are going to find a small crib to shove in the corner) has a double bed? We also have 2 bathrooms. *hint hint

PS I'm currently doing my first load of laundry. 2.5 hours later and it's still not done. I wish I was exaggerating! ahhhh...