I'm back from vacay in Portugal w/ husband and my mother-in-law. You can read more about that (soon) at https://grishmarrvelousadventures.blogspot.com/.
Finally settled into our permanent London home and got to unpack. It's feeling much more real now! This is the same place I stayed last time I did the program in 2014, so things are familiar. It's just a few blocks from Waterloo station and a couple of blocks from the Thames River, so you really can't go wrong with this location. Val and I had a lovely visit w/ Austin and Pat (owners of the flat) before I headed to Portugal and we're just so glad we have a nice place to stay in the city for the semester.
The first week or so back in the city has mainly been about getting ready for class, settling in, and spending time with Michael's mom (Linda) who stayed until about Tuesday of last week before heading back to the states.
Got a lot done for classes (syllabi done enough, first week prepped, figured out some field trips for students) and spent some time working through my inbox that I mostly ignored while in Portugal. More about classes soon!
While Linda was here we had some delicious food at Blackbird pub in Chelsea (a meat pie board with veggies) that we did the first night we were together and again the last. That's how great it was. Highly recommend!
We also had a fun day out at Kew Gardens on Monday while Michael went back to work. Val and I are now members so we can each take a guest when we go. YAY! After the Gardens, Linda and I went to afternoon tea (see this week's tea post).
Lots of great food/drink recently. Enjoyed Truffle Burger on the Southbank, 2 for 1 cocktails at Las Iguanas (not great, but love a deal). Also got to do some grocery shopping as I figure out my go-to London at home meals. AND my first two (of many) trips to Borough Market. One on Saturday (too busy!) and one on Friday. OH and an Indian food tour our first Saturday back in the city. It was good, but way too long and way too late. We sat down to eat our big meal at like 9PM. Too late!
The students arrived on Wednesday and we got to check out their dorm on Blackhorse Road. It felt like it took forever to get out there, but the area they are living in seems super fun, so excited for them to get to explore that part of London.
On Thursday we did orientation all day at IES and Friday was a walking tour followed by afternoon tea at London Bridge Hotel. Some pics below, but more about the quality of this tea in this week's tea report.
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Last Friday, the three of us (Michael, Val, and I) went to our first (OF MANY) theatre productions. Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie. A lovely whodunit that took place in an actual court room. Great acting, really cool stage, fun plot twist at the end. We enjoyed it even though we were all various stages of wet after a downpour on the way to the theater.
Then it was a Bank Holiday weekend. Saturday was pretty quiet as I had work to do. Did pick up some Thai food from the food stalls near Southbank. Then, Michael and I headed out to Canary Wharf to try to do some free mini-golf, but by the time we got there it was about to pour down rain, so we just hopped into a pub and had a pint. When the rain cleared up we tried to mini golf, but they closed due to the rain. Boo! So, we stopped at Fish! in Borough Market to try their famed fish and chips. We weren't impressed.
Sunday we celebrated Michael's birthday again with some activities I had planned/purchased. We started the day by visiting the Fans Strike Back Star Wars exhibit of fan built things. We had fun! We popped in the V&A to kill some time and enjoyed looking at the design exhibit. Then, we had Sunday roast at the desi pub (Indidan food!) Gladstone Arms. It was delicious! Naptime. Then, we headed out to Peckham to see Oppenheimer at the PeckhamPlex and enjoyed a local brewery. It was a fund day!
Monday night we went to BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall. I love this venue! And the program was fantasy music, so fun stuff from the movies & video games mixed with some great classical pieces (Firebird, Peter Gynt, etc.).
That's enough updates for now. Classes started on Tuesday and that's a whole new post!!
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