Arrival In London

Hi all,

I am finally here in London! It only took 86 days... not too bad to pick up your life and move 10,000 miles. :-)

Since I know you are all wondering how I managed to get three suitcases and my laptop through the airport, I though you might enjoy a bit of the story -- First of all, my bags were overweight. Imagine that! The man at the British Airways checkin desk was like 'mam - what do you have in these - books? - clothing does not weigh this much!' . I guess he didn't know that if zip lock all your things, you can stuff your entire closet into two large suitcases. At first, they were not going to let me have the bags on the plane as luggage that heavy is considered a 'personal safety hazard' for the baggage workers. Doh! After a little charm, and a lot of money $$, I convinced him that every piece of clothing in the suitcases was absolutely necessary! Yes. I absolutely need all 20 pairs of shoes sir...

Arriving in London went much more smooth. After a 10-hour flight, where I managed to only get about 45mins of sleep, (the expensive seats don't help when you are too excited to close your eyes!), I arrived at UK Visa/Customs. It took all of 2mins and the man at the counter said 'Enjoy living in London'... I cannot believe that a damn piece of paper like a work permit and a visa stamp in my passport can take 40 days, and entry in the country can take 2min and a 'cherrio'.

After a quick check-in to a magnificent hotel in Holburn (the Renaissance Chancery Court http://marriott.com/property/propertyPage/LONCC), I spent the first day walking around the city in a daze -- mostly because I hadn't slept. First things first - I went shopping on Oxford Street. I mean how can a girl manage a new city when she's not up to speed on the fashion??? After a few hours, I managed to retain most of my $$ and wind my way into a quieter, more pleasant set of alley shopts. Along the way, I found an art supply store, and two great fabric stores. Jackpot! They even have easels on sale for very cheap (actually verycheap x 2 since the exchange rate is crap!). During my day, there was this one moment on the street corner where it really dawned on me that I actually LIVE here... I couldn't help but laugh to myself. If they only knew that I was just a girl from Washougal, they would have never let me in! :-)

Pictures of the first few days and the wonderful hotel I am staying in for the next month will be posted shortly. Stay tuned!