Busy, busy, busy

There isn't really much to report this week so far. Life is pretty much: sleep, get the train, work, get the train, bed (then repeat). School finishes at the end of next week for two weeks holiday. Only just over two weeks until we go to Ireland!! One week in our house and it's going so well. Really enjoying the location and the company. It's a month on Friday since we've been here and in a way it feels like just yesterday that we arrived but in another way it feels like we've always been here. We are planning a wee shopping trip on Saturday as we are getting the other bed for our room, yay no more sharing! Rain is reported for the next 3 days and I'm not looking forward to it. Two more days until the weekend, looking forward to a sleep in!

Rugby and Boat Racing

Us and the crowd

Yesterday we went to the annual Oxford vs Cambridge boat racing competition. We arrived at about 12.30 and the race wasn't until 5pm. By about 4pm the streets were full of people. It was hard to believe that so many people had gone to watch! Apparently there were about 250,000 people along the river watching. Oxford won and the crowds quickly disappeared. We were totally unaware that in central London riots were happening.

Fergal and I at Twickenham

Today we went out for lunch near Twickenham with some friends of mine from New Zealand. We made our way to Twickenham on the fullest train I have ever seen. We got to the stadium at about 3pm. Kick off was at 4pm and it was a strange feeling hearing so many kiwi accents. We started with an emotional one minutes silence, followed by the national anthem. I spent much of the game jumping out of my seat and the South Africans around us weren't too happy with the end result. It was a fantastic atmosphere.

This week we both have 4 days of work lined up already. We're aiming for 5 days this week as there is only two more weeks of school until the holidays. Only three weeks until we're in Ireland. I can't wait and I will be saving hard until we go.

Home Sweet (London) Home!

Here are some photos of Fergal and I in our new place in London. Having a house is great! Have only been here for 24 hours and feel relaxed already. Free calls to NZ too! Have rung quite a few people. Off to bed, the children in this city are exhausting!

Big Week Ahead

This week has started off so quickly. I am feeling a bit over-whelmed by the amount of things I need to do! Yesterday I worked and then after work Katie and I made our way on the tube to Primark to purchase bedding, towels and many other necessities for our new room! We move into our house tomorrow. I can't wait. We both have work tomorrow so we won't be moving in until about 6pm tomorrow. We both have work lined up for the rest of the week, so that should keep us busy.
On Saturday we are going to the boat racing in Putney in the afternoon. Then on Sunday we are going to watch the Crusaders play at Twickenham. We are going with a huge group of New Zealanders and Australians on both days.
Have got some photos of Fergal which I will upload when the internet is free!

TRAVEL EXPO

We are so excited. We just went to the London travel expo. We just booked Spain - running with bulls in July. Then a Sail around Croatia - in August for my birthday. We're doing France and Italy ourselves in August too! Travel expo was awesome. Don't worry we're not running with the bulls! Just watching from the grand stand. We will need to be working hard the next few months but it will be worth it!Week 2 in London = awesome! (photos of fergal and I to come, I promise!)

Starting Work..

Well..day one was pretty painful yesterday. The kids were just so noisy and hard to control. Very different to Kiwi kids. Day 2 today was so much better. Had juniors and it was a trial day, I got the job so now I have one day a week, every Wednesday at this school for at least 6 weeks while one of their staff is on sick leave. So at least I'll get to know the kids there and build relationships. The unfortunate thing is that it's a 1hr tube ride then a 2km walk but it's one day a week that I know I have work! Katie and I went to look at a house last night. We've said we'll take it. It was really nice. We find out tonight if we got it.
We have a full on weekend ahead, with a travel expo, where we hope to book a sail around the Greek Islands or Croatia. Then we are stayin with Katie's cousin for the weekend.

Getting the ball rolling..

The last few days have been flat out house hunting and getting everything set up to start work. On Friday we had to change hostels and our new hostel is much noisier, but we have met lots of interesting and fun people here. On Saturday the sun was shining so we met up with a group of Kiwi and Aussie friends and headed to the park for the afternoon. That evening we went out to a really delicious Thai restaurant. On Sunday we had a day of resting and house hunting. So far we havent had any luck but we are hoping this week will produce the perfect room for us!
Tomorrow we start work! I am feeling really nervous about my first day in a London school. I am at a Catholic School with Year 4 students. I have a day at the same school on Thursday so fingers crossed it all goes well.
I have been skyping my family and some friends, it's great to still feel in the loop with things in Christchurch. Skype is a life-saver and makes me feel so much closer to home.
I better get organised for tomorrow. I will let you all know how day 1 goes!
xx

Shows and Tours

Today we went to Picadilly Circus and got half price tickets to a show. The show that we saw was Blood Brothers and it's been running in London for 21 years. It was fantastic and the theatre was really old and authentic. After the show we caught the tube home and had our first adventure alone on public transport. As I jumped on the train the doors shut behind me and Katie was left on the platform! We found each other at the other end though. Tonight we have had a really exciting night. We found £10 flights to Ireland. So we booked them and a 6 day tour of Ireland in April. We are going to spend 9 days in Ireland in total. I'm so excited!! Our tour includes breakfast, accommodation and the tour bus around Ireland. Bring it on!!

Tower of London and more..

Yesterday we went to the Tower of London. It was the BEST thing I've ever seen. The history in that place was so cool. It felt like stepping back in time. We had a tour and then walked around by ourselves, there was so much to see that we were there for 3 hours.

Then we went to the bank and opened our bank accounts. This took ages! But we were glad to tick that job off our list.

We spent today at the biggest mall I have ever been to. It was huge, we got very very lost.

We both have UK cellphones now, I have spent hours today playing on my new iPhone! It's so very cool.

Life at the hostel is becoming a little tedious, every night is interrupted by people coming in or leaving in the middle of the night. We are going to look at a place to move into on Saturday.

Settling In

Yesterday we spent much of the day catching up on lost sleep. We went back to the Big Ben and around the London Eye to see some other historical land marks.
Today reality hit with an induction at our teaching agency. There was lots to take in, but they were all really helpful. We are going to start work next week, giving us time to relax and sight see further.
After our induction we went shopping up Oxford Street. It was crazy! So so many people, everywhere! We got a little bit excited about how cheap the clothes were, but unfortunately until we move into a house we don't have enough room to buy too much! That didn't stop me getting a few purchases: shoes, a coat, a top and a hand bag. I seriously reccommend the shopping over here!
Tonight we are going to have dinner with Katie's cousins. Will be great to meet some more people who have been through the same thing.

Day Two - The Sights!

Yesterday we woke to start exploring this fantastic city. We decided to start with getting on a double-decker red bus (yes, just like the movies). Front row, on the top, it was awesome. We could see so much! We got off and went to see: Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and the London Eye. It seemed unreal that these places actually existed and it was really busy around the city since it was Saturday.
We caught the tube home after a full day of exploring. My cousin Olivia came to our hostel to meet us and took us out with a big group of New Zealanders and Australians. Our first night out in London is definately one I'll never forget.
It's fair to say - London isn't too bad at all..

Day One

Fegal and I at Kensington Palace

After we showered, we decided to avoid bed and stay up for as long as possible.
First thing we wanted to do was explore around us, we hadn't been able to enjoy much with all our luggage when we were walking the three blocks.
We are staying literally across the road from Hyde Park. Our map skills told us that Kensington Palace was basically on our door step. So off we went..

It was such a cool thing to even be able to see. It all seems so unreal still.

We then went and found a small English Pub and ordered our first meal. It was so warm and cosy and I somehow felt like I was in a movie. Except when ordering 'dinner' I called it 'tea' and the bar-man found this hilarious.

We made our way back to our hostel and chatted to our roomies from Argentina.

Today we woke up after 12 hours sleep feeling amazing and ready for more adventures.

Will keep you posted..

The Big Flight

Katie and I left Melbourne at 11pm. Our first flight was 13 hours long and went surprisingly fast. I slept for over 8 hours on the plane so it wasn't too bad at all.
We arrived in Abu Dhabi at 5am their time and had a two hour wait. While we were waiting we went and freshened up, which made us feel way better.
We boarded the plane for London, full of excitement and terror. The flight was 7 and a half hours and it seemed to drag on forever.
We when landed in London the temperature was 4 degrees outside (a wee bit fresh)!
We made our way through customs and then had the task of getting over 60kg of luggage on the tube and to our hostel!
It was so heavy! We got off at the right stop and had to walk three blocks, you can imagine how we were feeling by now..
Arriving at our hostel and the reality hit! What on earth were we doing. So many emotions were flooding through us as well as the desperate need for a shower!
We were in London..what to do next...

Us with Fergal after a 13 hour plane ride..not looking too bad we didn't think!