July 25, 26, 27, 2014

Friday-
Our delivery came from the States today! I am so excited to see all of our things. The first box I plan to open is the one labeled "pillow". I have been missing our pillows so much, I had no idea how much I loved them until they were gone. The reception area (living room) is cluttered with all the boxes as I start to unpack. Oh man, where will all of this go?
Josh is coming home pretty late for a Friday. It's so different, in Texas Friday was usually the earliest day he would get home during the week. He has a call from his client in Texas so I am just unpacking while he works.

Saturday-
We were up late due to unpacking and Josh's phone call so we slept in pretty late. The sun comes up so early it makes it difficult to sleep in, but we managed!
We are going to get out to take our baby announcement picture. I found a London phone booth and a London onesie. Here are some of our pictures:

Baby Kinsell due December 25, 2014

Some people from Josh's work are getting together in Hyde Park later today so we plan to head that way and check it out! We get ready and decide to get some lunch. We walk around but need something quick so we decide on KFC. I know, not very adventurous but everything here takes so long. The menu at KFC is pretty large compared to Texas. Of course it was yummy and not too expensive. We walk to Hyde park. Wow, its so beautiful and HUGE! We find out we are on the other side of the park from where they are meeting. Looking at our phones it will take us over 30 minutes to walk there. There are so many people here since its such a beautiful day. We decide to rent bikes and ride to the meeting spot. It was fun meeting some of the people Josh works with. They are all from America so it was really enjoyable having some "American time".

After the park we plan to meet up with Danielle and Matt and venture to our "old hood" Aldgate for our Jack the Ripper Tour. I am very excited! We didn't know that our first living quarters in London were so close to Jack's hunting ground. The tour is really interesting and we get to see the spots that the bodies were found, and landmarks that are still around like bars where the prostitutes or Jack were thought to be regulars. Our tour guide gave us a great description of how London and Whitechapel looked in 1888. We also learn that most of the people were unemployed, and Whitechapel was a very dangerous place to live. Most of the women had to turn to prostitution to earn 3 pence. The killings only lasted 6 months, I had always thought it was longer than that.

Jack the Ripper Tour

Tour Bus

Pub that Jack's victims frequented

How the streets looked in Victorian times

The group outside another popular Jack bar

After the tour we ventured into a "Mexican" restaurant in the area called Lupita. It was pretty good, just different than what we are used to, like not getting chips and salsa, but the table side guacamole was delicious!

Sunday-
 I have been wanting pancakes for days now. I tried to make my own but I don't have a bowl and its an ordeal (I know you're thinking just go buy one, but not how it works here)...also they don't sell pancake mix until Easter time, and the 1 type of syrup they have cost $9.00. The Stones told us about a yummy breakfast place that we could bring the dogs to called, No. 11. We decided not to bring the pups but the restaurant is so cute! I love the atmosphere. I order my blueberry pancakes and they hit the spot! Again different than I am used to but just what I was wanting! At breakfast Josh reminds me that I have yet to get him his birthday gift and he has decided what he would like. Josh's birthday was May 21 right in the middle of our moving chaos. We went out and celebrated but I told him I would get him a gift once we got here. Josh loves electronics and I figured that would be best to get once we arrived. He has decided on a Nespresso machine! We walk to my favoirte store, John Lewis to get him one. Some interesting things...this store opens at 11:30, but 11:30-noon are for browsing only. You can't make purchases due to their market until noon. We also go to a cute store called Habitat and got some things for the house. I found some lucky bamboo, that I hope I can keep alive longer than things lasted in Dallas. 

Happy Birthday Joshie

We get home to rest, and take the dogs to the dog park. They are loving going to the park everyday! Then we are meeting up with the Stones for a fun after hours tour of Hampton Court Palace. We take a 40 minute train ride to zone 6, wow, its way out there compared to how we have been traveling. The tour is called Salacious Gossip, Sex, Celebrity and Scandal at Court. The palace was closed to the public and only 20ish people were on the tour so we got to see areas usually off limits to the public. I also like seeing the palace while hearing all these behind the scenes scandal! The palace was a favorite of King Henry VIII. The palace was beautiful with a fun maze in the garden that we will have to go back and try.

Hampton Court Palace

Our Tour Guide

Palace Garden

Outside Palace Gates

Kinda dark but a beautiful bed

After the tour it's about 9:30 and we are all starving. We go across the street to the cute little town and find an Italian restaurant called Zizzi. It is delicious!!! Josh of course gets the lasagna and it came in a cute cast iron pan, hot but delicious! Then we head home. Its a work night for all of them but what a fun weekend we had!

Lasagna at Zizi