Living in London

We finally returned home yesterday on a very pleasant flight. It was a large 747 with only 60 passengers. We practically had the entire plane to ourselves and received constant attention from the full flight crew that was used to providing service to hundreds of passengers.
In the last 3 weeks we schlepped these seven bags to SFO, to 3 different hotels in London and back again to San Francisco. We had to pack for professional and pleasure as well as the possibility of warm and cold weather. Next time we return to London we will move into our new apartment so NO MORE SCHLEPPING!

- HrH

After three long weeks in London we are ready to return to California. With 5 roller bags (2 large suitcases, a medium suitcase, a computer bag, and a small roller carry-on), a duffle bag, a back pack and 2 purses, we piled into a cab and headed to the airport. Imagine our surprise when the check-in agent redirected us to a ticket counter. The inbound aircraft had experienced mechanical problems in Washington and wouldn't arrive until 10:00 PM. Our flight had been rescheduled for 8:00 AM Saturday morning.  Aarghhh! Another night in London is not a problem, but all that luggage to schlep to another hotel and unpack again.

United has put us up in the Sheraton Skyline just across from Heathrow. Despite the fact that a take-off runway is directly across the street from the hotel, the room is pleasantly quiet.

- HrH

New Mini vs. the Original

With the high price of petrol, cars are smaller in the UK. With the possible exception of a few Land Rovers, it is very rare to see an SUV in London. The BMW Mini Cooper is very popular here. When the Mini Cooper was re-introduced in the US it was deemed "cute" and ranked among the smallest of US cars. However, in London, the new Mini Cooper is more like an average sized car. It is amazing to see the new Mini Cooper beside an original Mini, which is a much smaller car (see picture above). Other popular small cars includes the SMART car, a two-seater that Linda and I have our eye on. -HrH

The cost of owning a car is very high in London. Gasoline, or "petrol" as we like to say here in the UK, is heavily taxed. The good news about the fuel costs is that the roads and highways are in excellent condition and there is an abundance of good public transportation.

To appreciate the cost of fuel, lets convert the price of a litre of petrol in London to an equivalent gallon of gas in the US.

Since there are 3.785 liters in a gallon, £0.819 per liter is £3.10 per US Gallon.

And since the exchange rate today for US dollars is about $1.83 per British pound, this means that an equivalent gallon of gas in US dollars is $5.67/gallon.

In case we haven't mentioned it yet, we plan on living without a car in London.

-HrH

As a long time fan of the rock group Queen, I couldn't resist the opportunity to attend the critically panned show in London called We Will Rock You. We had front row seats at the Dominion Theatre, a large but aging venue in the London's west end theatre district - akin to Broadway in New York.

I can't argue with the critics. It was everything they said that it was and it wasn't. Yet, as a diehard fan of Queen, the show was wonderful, the music was great and the acting and dancing were fun to watch.

Here is a sample of some of the critic's reviews:

• A super high energy show with a wacky story that all Queen fans will love.
• Not a great show, unless you happen to be a fan of Queen.
• Shallow, stupid and totally vacuous new musical.
• The songs are recreated meticulously. Diehard Queen fans may be satisfied...... You will find nothing bohemian, and precious little that's rhapsodic, here.

-HrH

London's weather is always an adventure. It's sunny and a bit warm today with the thermometer threatening 30. Tomorrow should be much the same with cooler days in store for the latter part of the week.

Take a look at the 5 day forecast. Be sure to look at the humidity – it determines how comfortable you will really be here.

The calculations for converting Fahrenheit temperatures into Celsius is Tc = (5/9)*(Tf-32). To convert a Celsius temperature into degrees Fahrenheit use this formula Tf = ((9/5)*Tc)+32 . For a good approximation of the Celius to Farhenheit conversion that you can do in your head, “double the Celsius number and then add 30.” So 20C is approximately 70F (2 x 20 + 50 = 70)

Or you can use this handy dandy converter. Just enter a temperature in either box and the other temperature will be displayed.

- HrH

Mind the Gap!. If I ride the tube every day, I wonder how many times I will hear this phrase during my assignment here? A million? Two? Is it a metaphor for something in my life?

It means pay attention to the gap between the bottom of the door and the tube station walkway, which could be lower or higher than the door.

The train conductor mentions it at least twice at each stop and there is a recording that plays inside the station as well, saying it over and over and over again when the train is in the station.

-LmG

Left the hotel at 7:35 am, walked to the Gloucester Road tube station, and took the Piccadilly Line out toward Heathrow to the Hatten Cross station. Took exactly 40 minutes. For the next phase of the journey I waited with some other Cisco people for the free silver bus to take us to the Bedfont Lakes office. It picked us up five minutes after I arrived. A short 10 minute trip later and I was at the office. It could potentially all come together and take me less than one hour to make this commute. Or not. It’s not cheap, with a round trip fare costing £7,00 or approximately $280 per month.

I spent the day at the office, a big modern glass and metal building outside Heathrow.

- LmG

Sunday was a quiet day as we had breakfast at our new favorite breakfast spot and then visited two great museums. Most museums in London offer free admission so it is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.

The Natural History Museum had the usual assortment of fossils and dinasaurs. The higlight of the visit was an interesting exhibit on hair.

Right around the corner was the Science Museum. As a techie at heart this museum captured my interest with a landing gear assembly of an Airbus 340 in the lobby. Once inside the museum, the first floor is a progression from of the evolution of technology. As you walk from east to west ot the main floor you move from the technology of the late 1700's to the present. It was a joy to stroll through steam engines and early cars to a Cray supercomputere and MRI machines. It is a fascinating world in which we live.

-HrH

Today we went on a bus tour to the Cotswolds, a beautiful and scenic area about 90 minutes northwest of London. We visited four places – Burford, Bourton-on-the-Water, Broadway, and the Blenheim Palace, home of the Duke of Marlborough and the birthplace of Winston Churchill. I must say, Blenheim Palace is one impressive homestead.

Our tour was a bit rushed but we understand now how we might get out of town for a weekend and do some hiking. There are 3,000 miles of footpaths in the Cotswolds. They are all documented in the comprehensive maps that provide area details right down to each farmer’s plot of land.

We have posted a photo journal of our day on Heatherland.

- HrH

Everyone knows that the British have their own way of
pronouncing many common words. Here are some of the more outstanding words that
we have discovered in the last few weeks. By clicking the links you will hear
the words the way they are pronounced in London.

Weather
Pedestrian
Fried Eggs
Guiness Beer
French Fry
Soccer
Sidewalk

-HrH

As part of the Year 2000 ceremonies, London built a giant ferris wheel that is now called the London Eye. It has become a beloved landmark along the Thames. The wheel moves very slowly completing one revolution every 30 minutes.

Last night Linda and I ventured to the heart of London for a ride on this essential tourist stop. Here are the pictures that we took.

- HrH

Tomorrow we are going to the Cotswolds on a bus tour. Finally some rest for our aching dogs. Heather has calculated that we have been walking around five miles per day.

-LmG

Here is some more background on the Kensington Green development where we may be living soon. I have completed the application and the landlord has tentatively accepted our offer. This beautiful gated community was once the Kensington Workhouse, known as St Mary Abbots:

The workhouses were private or government-funded homes for the unemployed, poor and disabled. If private, the administration was often church-related. Parishes, the governing subdivisions in London, had historically been responsible for law and order and for the care of the aged, sick, disabled, and unemployed. All who wanted aid had to live in a workhouse. Since many paupers were also sick or disabled, infirmaries were added to workhouses, including isolation wards and fever wings.

Here’s a long bit on what life was like in a workhouse in the 19th century. It’s pretty amazing. When you come to visit we can have an authentic workhouse meal if I can find a good recipe for gruel. Otherwise we can go to the Muffin Man bakery or Fait Maison French charcuterie or the number of other incredible little food shops along Stratford Road, right outside our front gate.

-LmG

After much thought and deliberation we decided that the quaint apartment on Edwardes' Gardens just wouldn't work. Today we revisited a more modern apartment on the grounds of the former St. Mary Abbots workhouse and hospital. Unit 4 in Walnut Court is in a larger complex called Kensington Green, with a 24 hour Porter, a fitness room and a parking space (for our eventual Smart Car!)

Upon the second visit we realized that this apartment would be perfect for us. The furnishings are contemporary, the bathrooms are wonderful and the grounds are VERY quiet. It is located in a beautiful neighborhood with a darling little community of stores and shops just across the street. Check out the latest photos on Heatherland for a tour in pictures.

To celebrate, we went to the London Eye tonight. We will post some pictures tomorrow.

-HrH

We must have looked at a dozen apartments in the Kensington / Chelsea area today. The weather was brutally hot with a record high 32 degrees (90F) with muggy humidity but we managed to traipse through many very nice apartments and four too many basement units. We were escorted by a real estate agent whose air conditioned car was a welcomed reprieve from the heat. Her constant Britishisms on everything from her family to the Royals kept us entertained.

The winner was the 4th apartment on the list. It is located on South Edwardes Square a 10 minute walk from two great underground stations. We were smitten when we stepped into an ancient elevator that was the size of a refrigerator box and had the old fashioned metal gates that had to be closed manually. The apartment was on the third floor and as soon as we opened the door Linda and I knew that we both liked it a lot. The picture below is of the very traditional, very cosy "reception room" (aka "living room). Across the street is a beautiful private garden that takes up a complete city block. We will have access to the garden as tenets in the building.

We will return in the morning and take a lot more pictures. For now, we are excited about the possibility and hope that no one else has placed an offer on it yet.

-HrH

We spent Saturday walking the west end of London from Chiswick (chis-ick) to Richmond. We were looking for potential neighbourhoods in an effort to decide if we could live in this area.

Alas, the whole area is on the final approach to Heathrow so every 90 seconds a large aircraft thunders overhead. Too noisy!! For the time being we are still sold on the Kensington area.

Photos from our trek are available on Heatherland under London Photos

Tomorrow Linda heads out to the Cisco office and I visit the London School of Business. Stay tuned . . .

-HrH

Another day of wandering hopefully around the streets of west London in search of an Internet connection. In frustration and disappointment we decided to open our laptops and watch the wireless indicator as we trod home with the hope that we would stumble on some free bandwidth. We were standing in front of a small hotel at the time called the .Kensington House. Imagine our surprise when our wireless meters registered a strong network. Further exploration revealed that it was an open network with free access.

We have found our new home away from home. Daily trips for wine and light dinners as we sit in the quiet bar of this adorable hotel and take in the free access to the Internet.

Problem solved . . . on to the next hurdle.

-HrH

En route to Dublin from London, Alice Cooper's band was on my flight. Alice and a band mate posed for me at baggage claim.

I feel like an heroin addict scouring the streets of London for a WiFi connection. I spent £13 yesterday for a 3 hour fix.

Today I slogged my way to an appointment at Lee Hecht Harrison 2 hours early in the hope that I could use their computers, or better yet, a WiFi connection. I was welcomed at LHH despite my early arrival and, to my delight, discovered an open WiFi network. Ahhhh, the relief . . . Unfortunately, they either have extremely tight security on their networks or they have a problem with their DNS. I was able to pull up perhaps one out of five web sites and retrieving my mail was fruitless.

Plan B: LHH has a room full of PCs available to their clients. I can simply access my email via a web client and do a bit of surfing. Not a bad compromise, especially since it wasn't costing me anything. Damn if their desktops didn't suffer from the same network problems. I was unable to open my web-based mail client on their system.

Plan C: Costa Coffee, 105 Cannon Street in London. A beautiful little coffee shop across for the underground station. I had mapped out his place prior to my trip in the event that I would not be able to use the computers at LHH. I ordered a decaf Mocha and must admit that is was the best I have ever had. Now, with a full mocha at my side, I opened my laptop for a fix of connectivity. WiFi is provided by British Telecom at this location. After several failed attempts to purchase service I could only conclude that BT does not accept US credit cards. Strike 3!

Plan D: Abandon half of a fabulous mocha and return to a cursed Starbucks were the inflexible and expensive T-Mobile will gladly accept my credit card for £5 per hour. Ahhhhh . . . the soothing pleasure of another Internet fix.

-HrH

I had my first interview in the UK today. I met w/ Kevin Elderfield of Quorum International, an Executive Search firm. We met at the Goring Hotel, just a stone's throw away from Buckingham Palace. Rumor has it that the queen likes to visit the dining room at the Goring for lunch.

The interview went well. Kevin was enthused by my capabilities and promised to search through their client base for a possible fit. He understand my quest to find a company, not just a job. When I find the right company, I can wait until the right job opens up. Or, more likely, I will create the job at the right company.

Tomorrow it is off to Lee Hecht Harrison to learn how to find a job in the UK.

-HrH

Welcome to Linda and Heather's weblog of adventures in London and Europe. We moved to London in August of 2004 from northern California where we have both lived for a long, long time. Together for seven years now, we are living in London on a two or three year assignment that Linda’s company has asked her to undertake.

Heather was born in Canada and recently became an American citizen (can you imagine that?). Her interests include personal technology, music, film, and politics. She regularly reads Wired, Business Week, PC Magazine, and The Economist. You can find out more about her at her website.

Linda is originally a Michigander who loves the California lifestyle, and whose interests include food and wine, design, art, music, and film. She regularly reads The New Yorker, Harvard Business Review, Dwell, and People (when she can find it).

Feel free to send us an email or leave a comment on the site.