ARRIVED IN LONDON

After a long day (that began on the morning of 12, September) of airports, airplanes, waiting, no sleep, airport food, and one great Uber driver,  I arrived in London, safe and mostly sound, on the morning of 13, Sept. Since I am still looking for an apartment I have found a couple of Airbnb's for now. The first one is located in a beautiful town called Surbiton (which is still considered London but not) and is convenient and about a 20-minute walk to the university. This has been the area I have been drawn to as I looked for a place to live before arriving in the UK and now I know why. I love the architecture of the houses and buildings, the streets are quiet and picturesque. Speaking of streets I must abandon the grid layout mentality and embrace the curvy, winding roads and feeling like I am going in a circle. I have always been directionally challenged but with the roads on a grid system and the mountains of northern Utah it has been easy, so far here in England I've got nothing. I did a lot of walking today and this afternoon while I was out and the sun setting on my back so I immediately thought behind me was west, then the darn road slowly curved as the sun set and I lost my bearings. I will get this, thank heaven for GPS, and now that I have a UK phone carrier I can rely on maps as I go adventuring. Sorry, to all of you whom I told I would have my US phone number for a while longer - yeah - I needed to get that changed so my number is now a bunch of numbers I may never remember. 0 7377 219578 but if you call it from another country you have to add even more numbers - 44-011-7377219578 or something like that....but don't call it is too expensive!!

This morning I needed to check in at the university and my sweet Airbnb hostess, Lily,  walked to campus with me! I do believe she thought I might get lost but she left me there believing I could do the rest on my own. From the university I walked to another city, Teddington, to see an apartment. It was an hour and a half walk along winding roads across the Thames river and around Hampton court and through some beautiful neighborhoods. It really wasn't extremely long but as I walked and thought about making that walk a few times a week and in London weather, I began to rethink how far away from campus I was willing to live. When I got to the apartment, climbed the narrow stairs to the 4th floor, and stood in a tiny apartment that felt even smaller with the sloped ceilings, I made some decisions.  First, I got an Uber back to the Airbnb. Second, every apartment here will be small but I hope to find a place closer to campus and on the ground or first-floor levels, and last,  if it could please be in Surbiton. That was a bit of a prayer, so perhaps you all could have your littles include some of that in their prayers? The faith of children always amazes me. I believe Heavenly Father must laugh and is probably weary of my itemized lists.

I also found my first favorite place to eat! It's called Coffee on the Corner and it recently opened (I may keep them in business on my own) and is fabulous!! The last picture is what I had for lunch, it is called a toasty and this one has brie cheese, bacon, and cranberries on sourdough. Delicious!

PICTURES: 1. Officially a student at Kingston Uni.   2. So, I like high heels, found this shop in Kingston. I did NOT go in but I know where it is when I no longer live out of a suitcase.  3. The River Thames   4. Deer in the park surrounding Hampton Court. I've not seen that many deer just meandering and so many different colors of deer...   5.  A little old cemetery in Teddington, that I will likely go back and explore.  6. The beautiful church next to the cemetery  7. Lunch or was it dinner?