The past couple of weeks have been full
on. Whether it was physically or
mentally, I’ve been constantly on the move. The transition to living in the UK has been a tad draining but extremely
thrilling.
Tomorrow it’ll be two weeks since I arrived
in the UK, and a lot has happened since then.
My reason for not being very punctual with posting, is that I have
simply had too much else to think about, but I do apologise, and will briefly
summarise the important events to bring you up to speed.
My first day here, the weather was
gorgeous, blue skies and around 20 degree’s, it was warmer than Melbourne had
been when I left! My first impression of London was that it was gorgeous, and
unlike what I had heard from people (mostly about the weather not being much to
look forward to).
The day after that it had chilled down a tad, but was still living up to its first impression. I explored the famous Portobello Road Market in Notting Hill; London’s biggest market which runs all week but on Saturdays the street is filled with hundreds more stalls with things ranging from handmade crafts to vintage antiques and clothing. Although I didn’t go on a Saturday it was still amazing to see what there was – which was still quite a bit – and to get a taste of some of the culture here in London. I even found a book I had wanted in a secondhand bookstore – the sequel to my all time favourite book/movie, ‘Eat Pray Love’ by Elizabeth Gilbert, called ‘Committed’.
Next, I headed to Draycott, Somerset where
my Aunt lives, and where I will be based while here in the UK. We caught the tube, the over ground train and
then drove another two hours through the countryside before arriving. Draycott is a small village within a area
called Cheddar, which is in the bigger state of Somerset. To me its very remote, and unlike anywhere I
have lived before, so it has taken some adjusting too; but I must admit it’s a
nice break from the busy city.
Draycott, Cheddar, Somerset
Over my first weekend, I visited two of my Aunts jewellery stores, one in Taunton and one in Totnes. Both of which are country towns/villages. Taunton was more of a small city, whereas Totnes was a tiny hippie –type village. It was interesting to see more of the countryside and the types of people there are around here – its very different to NZ I can say!
Totness
Sunday in Wookey Hole
When I arrived here, a friend of mine from
New Zealand had contacted me to say they were going to be in London for a
week. They’re living abroad for a year
in Northern Ireland, but came down to London to help out in an Art
Exhibition. The only day we were both
free, I happened to be in Somerset, so I bought a last minute train ticket up
to London to stay with my Aunt and cousin for a couple of nights. The whole day was great, I got to see parts
of London I hadn’t yet seen, as well as experiencing the London metro system by
myself! I have to say I’m proud of my effort; only managed to catch 1 or two of
the wrong trains, but I go from A-B eventually!
Another thing about seeing this friend, is that it motivated me to want
to build a network of friends and start my life here; this friend of mine has
been away from NZ for five months already, so has been through this transition
already. Aside from thinking and worrying
about getting myself started out here, I spent this day really enjoying myself in
this amazing city. We went to one of the
biggest shopping centers in London, Westfield in Shepard’s Bush, and ended the
day having my first UK drink at a nearby pub.
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