Talk about a roller coaster!

Day 3

I'm not going to lie..it was a rough week for us this week. Once we were settled in our hostel it was time to start accomplishing things! So we got off to a great start! We had arranged a viewing for a flat and we were going to go and get new phones sorted out. Pretty simple day. Except that we're in London and nothing is simple here.

It started out easy enough, we weren't totally sure where to go to do the whole phone thing so we went out to the one place we knew how to get to and that we knew had the phone shop we wanted. So away we went to Watford Junction which is North London. When we got there we went to the mall where the phone store was only to find out that we need UK bank accounts to get phones or SIM cards, and we can't get bank accounts without a UK address..which of course we don't have! So there went that plan!

Well fine, there was nothing we could do so we headed back towards the train station to head over to our viewing. On the way there however we were sidetracked by a lady talking about crackers (sorry, 'biscuits') and sweets and before we knew it we were being led to St. Mary's Church for what turned out to be a taste test of new crackers for Walkers. So there we were tasting 3 different crackers (I liked the cheese ones best) and then walked out with two HUGE chocolate bars. At this point it was about 12:30 and our viewing was for 2pm. So we walked back to the train station and got there around 12:45, lots of time right? WRONG! We got on a train fairly quickly and it was an express which was great! The only problem however was that we got off the train to get onto the tube only to realize that the tube line we had planned to take is completely out of commission. Until November. SO back onto the next train to take us completely out of our way so that we could transfer to get onto the Metropolitan tube line that would get us to the station we wanted. And there we were with my phone running out of minutes, on the underground with no service and it's 1:30...and then it's 2. Don't worry, we DID manage to call the agent and say we'd be late by about 20 minutes. Boy were we wrong! We finally arrive at the station that we need and then go out the wrong exit and get COMPLETELY turned around. In the middle of hysterical, frustrated tears (on my part) the agency calls and takes pity on us and gives us directions to where we need to go. We finally arrive, totally defeated and apologetic for what turned out to be about a 5 minute viewing. The place was small but the rooms and living area were a good size. It wouldn't be ready for another couple weeks though so we're interested in it but we'll see if we can find something ready to move into first!

We went straight home after that and basically straight to bed. London kicked our butts that day and we'd had enough. We got some sleep and got ready for a new adventure the next day!

 Day 4

After the day we had we decided that we needed to do something fun to make ourselves feel better and what's more fun than some retail therapy! We decided that we would head out to Oxford Street to do some shopping. I had planned to call some properties that morning but my phone was being stupid so I emailed them all and hoped for the best! Then off we went to Oxford Street! We were told it was one of the best shopping districts! Not that we planned to spend a ton of money or anything we just needed to get out and see something!

Of course it completely slipped our minds that it was Saturday and therefore it was absolutely packed on the streets and in all the shops! So we meandered around a little bit, marveling at all the great stuff to buy and of course we went into a tacky souvenir shop to have a look around, some of it was just awful! Don't worry, we didn't spend a bunch of money! We picked up a couple things but they were all on sale and very reasonably priced! And that is literally all that we did that day haha, and later that evening we made plans to go and visit Lisa and Sam for a fun trip! Keep reading to find out where we went!!

Day 5

Well day 5 was the day we went to go and meet Lisa and Sam and have an adventure. The adventure started early when we got on the tube and went to the train station only to discover that the train was not stopping at that stop for the entire day, great! So we went BACK the way we came (we're getting used to that drill) and were told we had to hop on the bus to get to Clapham Junction to meet the girls. This was actually not as bad as it sounds because it was our very first red double decker bus ride!

First bus ride!

It's a leprechaun building!

So off we went to Clapham Junction and it was a nice ride, although there were several times when we were convinced  we were either going to end up going up and over the sidewalk or run into something! The streets are so narrow here it's crazy! Anyways, we got to Clapham Junction in safely and in one piece and waited for Sam and Lisa, it was really nice to see them when we finally found them! They had just moved into their new place which was "furnished" but still needed a bunch of stuff so we all hopped onto the train and then a tram to go to....

IKEA!! It was a ton of fun! It was pretty busy but it was manageable. The only problem with IKEA as many of you can probably guess is that you literally just want to buy everything! So Teresa and I helped Lisa and Sam carry and pick out some of their stuff and then we headed back to the tram once we were done all laden down with packages. Then, since Lisa and Sam are such lovely, wonderful people, we headed back to our terrible hostel and picked up all our bags and checked out early to go and stay with them instead! The only problem at this point was that it was about 5pm and therefore it was rush hour. Being laden down with luggage and all the IKEA purchases we had, it was definitely a team effort to get to where we needed to go! Any WHY are there so many stairs and not enough lifts and escalators in those stupid stations?! We were all so warm by the time we got to the London Victoria train station. Then we were standing in front of the boards trying to figure out which platform we had to go to and as soon as it said which one there was a giant mob of people running as fast as they could to the platform with us right on their heels. We had to go onto a different platform and go around because you can only get through certain wide gates with that much luggage in order to get on to the platform and then we ran even more to get onto the train and get everything in before the doors closed. And guess what...we actually did! We were so relieved. Of course when we got to Lisa and Sam's neighborhood the grocery store was closed to there went dinner plans. On the way home though we saw a pizza delivery boy drive by...LIGHT BULB!! We ordered in, sat around in PJ's and Teresa and I watched a movie while Lisa and Sam got ready for their first day of work the next day. And that was the end of our day!

Day 6

Today was a fairly straightforward day, we got up, got ready and left the house to get to a central location just in case we had to go do any viewings or anything like that. Plus we needed to steal some free wifi. On our way to the station we got 3 phone calls and set up a couple of viewings. We really liked all the ones we went to and so we decided to do some number crunching to see what it would all cost. O. M. G. it is SO expensive to rent here! It depends a lot on the agency that you go through but you have to pay first months rent plus 4-6 weeks worth of rent as a deposit, plus an admin fee and sometimes there's more fees but we worked out how much it was going to cost and really..we're not sure if we can afford it. We have a lot of thinking and reorganizing to do. Not sure if living here is right for us now that we've been here for a bit and seen what we get for our money and what it's like to live here and get around. SO there could be potential for a PLAN B but we'll just have to wait and see how it all goes and weigh our options. Stay tuned for the next post!! 

Cheers!

Holly
xoxo