The Top Floor Flat

Another day and I’m still in limbo here – but having a really amazing time.  Yesterday, I got up early to make my bank appointment and open my bank account.  It ended up taking quite a bit longer than I expected – I experienced first hand the horror of the “minor delays” on the Tube which meant my seven-stop tube ride took a little over an hour, then I got a bit lost looking for the bank.  I got there just a minute before my appointment and was congratulated on being the first person that day to arrive early.  Go me!  A really nice guy opened my account and was incredibly helpful, including suggesting I go change my traveler’s cheques at a shop a few blocks away where the exchange rate was loads better than the banks (he saved me about $200 or 100L).  So I ran over there, did the transfer, brought it all back to the bank and deposited money into my account.

By that point, I was starving for lunch so grabbed a sandwich at a coffee shop and tried to figure out what I’d do for the rest of the day.  I was way on the opposite side of the city from Mimi’s flat (and all of my stuff which I needed to get to my hotel for the next few nights) but had about three hours before check-in and decided to walk back across London and drop off my CV at any place that looked like a good job fit.  I started to head back, and was completely stunned by the amazing architecture and views but got horribly lost  amid the maze of London streets (which make absolutely no sense).  I was coming up on a giant building with a bunch of people in front and figured this would be a good place to check my map and figure out where I was – much to my surprise, the big plaque told me I was standing in front of Buckingham Palace!!  Guards and all!  I wandered around a bit more, checking out Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Tate Modern and the general sites.  I thought I was heading in the right direction when I realized I had gone in a big circle so had to hop a traditional double-decker bus (sat on top of course) back to Mimi’s.

By the time I got back, it was nearly 3pm so I loaded up my backpack and left my suitcase with her and took the tube to my hotel.  It’s a great spot, a little too pricey to stay for very long but still very reasonably priced for my own room, bathroom and tea kettle.  Once settling in, I headed a ways outside the city to visit a flat that had an open room.  The woman I met with seemed very nice and I liked the neighborhood, but the other three housemates smoked so I guess that one’s out.  After that, I was starving and exhausted so grabbed an early dinner at a pricey but delicious Indian restaurant (SO good!) and went back to the hotel to indulge in some BBC1 and an early night, but not before sending out a number of emails to potential employers.

Allowed myself to sleep in late this morning, and now need to make some calls and prep for my interview this afternoon with a publishing house (it’s a minimum wage internship, but it’s only 2 months which might be a good fit) and another flat viewing this evening.  This weekend, I’m planning on heading out to Cambridge or Oxford to look at some flats and jobs there (I think I might like it a bit better than London which is just so big) and I can’t wait to see how it goes!