This morning we dealt with getting the boys registered for school. Thatcher will start on Monday for sure, which he is very excited about. I've been working with this sweet lady at his school to get him all settled. She is probably my favorite Brit that I have met so far. So nice and helpful and whenever I hang up the phone she calls me lovey or darling. Who wouldn't love that?
As for Tagg, we are still working on his school. His school seems to be a little more difficult to deal with, so we are dealing. And that's all I am going to say about that. Hopefully we can get him all situated tomorrow. We also opened up a UK bank account at Barclays (I just love the names of things over here!).
We decided to go for a walk around St. John's Wood after our errands and it was so great. I cannot even put into words how charming it is here. The buildings, architecture, iconic London icons, etc. Everything is just so fun to see and take in. Everything is cute and charming and just like the movies. I will have to say I am falling more and more in love with London every single day.
On our walk...looks a lot like Cherry Tree Lane to me...
St. John's Wood High Street, the UK version of Main Street.
There are so many great shops and cafes on this street.
After walking around for a little while we decided to stop at this cafe called Fego for lunch.
This was a great little place with good food. Keeping Tate entertained is always fun when we go out to eat. We ordered him a "ham and cheese toastie". He ate every bite. Service here is different and funny. First of all, they try to bring the kids meals out first, which is a good idea in theory, but when the kids are done and you haven't even gotten your food yet, it makes for a long dinner. Also, there is no coming back to the table and checking on you. No refills. And you just sit and sit and then ask for the bill. Again, they take their time.
After lunch we wandered across the street and saw this cute little flower shop. There are flower shops on what seems like every corner here. The flowers in these shops are so, so beautiful. I love seeing all the little flower shops and the arrangements. It must be all those times I watched My Fair Lady, and my slight obsession with Eliza Doolittle as a child, but I really love this part of London life.
Next to the flower shop was this FroYo place. It is called Snog. Todd and I had a good laugh and when we went closer we saw this sign...
I mean I think Harry, Cho, Hermione, and Ron would totally approve of this shop, am I right? No but seriously, how cute is this shop? I mean who wouldn't want to queue up for a good snog?
Here are the sizes. Too cute. I couldn't get over how cute and clever this place was. The girls behind the counter must be so over this joke, because they seemed less than amused that I was taking so many pictures and laughing so hard. Oh well.
Thatcher and Tagg loved Snog.
Hopefully this will be their only version of snogging for at least 10-12 years...
After snogging, we went across the street and saw this INCREDIBLE park/garden. Turns out it was the St. John's Wood Church Grounds. We walked along and admired all the beautiful gardens with the daffodils, pansies, and pretty manicured lawns. I couldn't get enough. Honestly, it was so beautiful.
They had the cutest little park in the middle of the grounds and the boys played and had a blast. They had really fun play equipment. The kind that we used to have when I was a kid when safety wasn't so strict. Ha! They had so much fun playing.
Pretty soon the grounds keeper came and told us they were locking up for the night. Yep, locking up a park. We got the boys and resumed our walk out of the park to head home.
Since this park is on church grounds there is a really old cemetery there. I know it might sound creepy, but I love old headstones and reading the names and dates of these peoples lives. It was amazing, and I will be back to get more info off the headstones.
Now here is one of my favorite parts about the day. We were on our way out of the park and saw these cute little benches. When I saw that most of them were engraven and dedicated I almost started to cry! Just like Notting Hill! It is so endearing and sweet...again, I LOVE IT.
Ummm, Notting Hill!?! Am I right? So sweet.
It was the perfect evening for a walk, and for walking in this garden. I know we will be back many many times. The boys were in heaven. I kept thinking about how lucky we were to have to have this experience as a family. I have always wanted to come here, and it is amazing to be able to live here now for a year.
On our way out we left this gate and I kinda wanted to try to climb over it and say "Oopsie Daisies"...but then I realized I'd be taking the Notting Hill obsession to another level, and didn't do it just to save some dignity. Maybe another time.
On our way back we stopped at the St. John and Elizabeth medical center to grab some NHS paper work. Ay. It brought back bad memories of Italy and their health care system. I am sorry but I like to choose my medical practice and doctor, and not get assigned. Walking in and seeing it I realized that yes Toto, we are definitely not in Kansas anymore, or Frisco. Let's just say shabby but not chic. I don't really understand how it works yet, I know we have private insurance as well, but I guess the kids prescriptions are free on NHS. It just rubs me the wrong way. Maybe my tune will change over time and experiencing it...
We also met our Porter (Doorman) tonight. He is a sweet older man who really loved our boys names. He asked Thatcher if he was Margaret Thatcher and Thatch was so confused. He got a kick out of the fact that all their names were British in a way. I have a thing for British stuff, don't know why, but now at least I can justify it. He also told us to mind the crosswalks as they are dangerous but that "he didn't want to alarm us." He is delightful. Can't wait to hear more funny things he says over the year.
Our ikea stuff came tonight and we spent the night setting everything up and putting everything in its right place. I'll post pictures tomorrow, promise!
2 Comments »
Love the park!
ReplyDeleteYou and I have A LOT in common, least of which is that we are both Anglophiles. I love looking at old gravestones and sitting in an old English churchyard. There is much more...I am loving the blog posts. Thanks so much for sharing your adventure with us. Cheers!
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