Hotel isolation was tough. Around day 4 I was so unbelievably bored, fed up with watching tv shows & movies, sick of doing word search puzzles and having no-one to talk to because everyone in Australia was sleeping. I craved junk food and had none.
After that, I discovered Co-op grocery delivery (cheaper minimum spend than the other supermarkets) and boy was it great! After that, things got better, felt better, could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
House hunting was not going great but on Tuesday I had a video viewing with a lady over the other side of the ciry in Acton. She was great and I decided that was the place for me.
Wednesday came around and was supposed to be my freedom but unfortunately my second test result had not come back. I ended up having to wait until lunch time for that. And then I was FREE! As the UK is under "stay at home" orders, I walked to the big Waitrose supermarket via the Tower Bridge. It was so good to be able to pick my own food!
I also arranged to meet the people from the teaching agency I am going to be working for. I hopped on the underground train and off I went. Most of the staff are Aussies & Kiwis so it felt just like being back in an office in Melbourne. On my way home they called and offered me a contract position at a girls school. It is teaching food tech but I love food and have wanted to teach it for a while so I definitely took it! I start on Monday and I am nervous and excited, all rolled into one. I will have 13 days work until the Easter holidays.
Yesterday I decided to go for a big walk around the city, to get exercise and fresh air. I took the underground to Kings Cross to start my exploration. First up was Platform 9 3/4 from Harry Potter. I have been before but Little Miss 7 in Sydney has become obsessed with Harry Potter so this was for her.
Next up, I headed to the British Museum. I thought I might get a good photo of the amazing buildings without people in the way. Unfortunately, it was half boarded up as they are doing renovations! Instead I took photos of other buildings along the way.
Next I headed to the Chinatown Gate. There are a lot of cars & buses, but there are very few pedestrians which is good. I was amazed at how empty the streets were. It was certainly not difficult to get an empty photo!
After that I walked towards Trafalgar Square. On the way I passed the M&M's shop (smells amazing even though it is closed) and a Lego shop. They have a huge Big Ben Lego statue in the window which was incredible. They also have what looks like train carriages and the Queen in another window. When the shop reopens, I will definitely be taking a trip to check it out.
Trafalgar Square was almost as empty as Chinatown. A few people having lunch in the wide open space. It looks just as I remember it, except quieter of course.
A short walk later and I reached the Thames River. Such a great view of the Thames with the London Eye, Big Ben and hardly any boats moving (except the rubbish barges!).
Second last on my list of things to see ws Shakespeare's Globe. It was a long walk along the river which was surprisingly busy with people walking & drinking takeaway coffee. It is a pretty cool round old fashioned theatre right by the river.
Lucky last was the Borough Market, one of London's famous produce markets. Although it is a food market, due to covid no food can actually be consumed in the market. You have to buy it and then leave the market to eat it. And masks have to be worn at all times. There were a few fruit & veg shops; one of them had 5 types of tomatoes and about 10 types of mushrooms in all different colours! There were also a large number of cheese shops. So. Much. Cheese!
I also found a place selling traditional pork pies and had to try one. Apparently you eat them cold or room temperature. I took it home and cut it up and no thanks. Definitely was not to my liking cold. Heated it up a big and the thick jelly fat layer melted which actually created a really nice flavour, but it was spicy. Been there, done that, won't have one again.
Today is Friday. I have 2 more sleeps and then I check out of my hotel and move into my new home. It is bucketing down this morning so a great morning for movies in bed 😀
Stay tuned for my next update!