July 11 and 12. Belgium

We drove to Brussels on Thursday afternoon. It was not a bad drive. About 130 miles to Eurotunnel that took about 1.5 hours, then 20 minute wait for our train, 35 minutes on the train under the tunnel, and finally 190 miles in 1.5 in Belgium. Note that Belgium has much better roads and higher speed limits at least in the portions that we covered.

Eurotunnel was a neat experience. There are clearly marked exits that take you to the booth where you can register and get a print out with your letter - this indicates the time you will be boarding  the train. Then there is passport control - more or less engaging depending on the mood of the officers. After that you are directed towards the train if the current train queue matches your letter or you go to a nice waiting center with stores, restaurants, and a large display. You actually drive into the train, and it is 2 stories tall. Cars are lined up one after another. They all stop and await for the transfer to take place. There are bathrooms too.

We haven't been in Brussels for a few years but the roads did not seem to change: picturesque cottages, windmills and cows grazing. Brussels seemed the same as well. Except our favorite chocolate shop Valrhona is gone. Probably did not survive the onslaught of all the Godivas, Leonidas and others, in multiple representations.

There was a dance festival going on. On the main square they were playing retro hits and an Indian performer with slicked back hair did pretty good renditions of the good old classics. On another square, they were playing techno orchestrated by a DJ in a pretty tin soldier outfit.

We walked around taking in all the Belgian chocolate places, innumerable kiosks selling French fries with mayo. That was the core of our stable diet too while we stayed here so we remembered the tradition. No sight of Starbucks though.

The next day we spent at our Belgium office right outside the town. The team seems happier and livelier and office is more modern and spacious. The walls are covered in motivational frames in French. Made me remember the real things on depair.com.

Belgians took us to Brasserie Industria for lunch. Highly highly recommend this place! I got beef tartar (for the all you the meat lovers out there). It was perfect. It is the sashimi of meat. Can it get any better? Dan liked his entrecote too.

Kids were very happy. Irina tried to take them to the Flower show while we were out but got the wrong entrance. It is a mission impossible. Back at our apartment there were various country flags flying from people's balconies. Concierge explained that owners got deeds to their properties at last and this is to celebrate that. I did not fully get it but it was interesting to see the highly international make up of the owners. It seems to be evenly split into 3 parts: UKs, former Soviet republics and other countries.

We found a new Salisbury supermarket near our house by the Basin and went with kids and Irina to check it out. Pretty nice. That's where we will do our shopping.

Great news about Georgia. She was in 19th place on the waiting list to Fern Hill and Lachmere. St. Altestan seemed to be the only option. Then St. Luke let her in. So she will be going to the Catholic school next year. But school officials assured me that we will not feel unwelcome. I think it is a good experience academics aside to learn about different people Georgia told me she believes in God but not in any ceremonies associated with the recognition of that. I am glad for her.

July 10th. View from the roof

Today we learned about a few differences with how the stuff is organized. First and foremost, the caps on the whole milk in US are red, while in UK red means they are fat free. Like driving, the whole color scheme is reversed. Next, zip lock bags are luxurious US staple. In the UK, you tape up your precious sandwich. Or read directions to buy a real zip lock bag if they exist. To be fair I really should not have assumed that easy seal means zip.

For the future reference, we crisped our only extension cord that allowed multiple devices to be plugged in and so now have to buy individual plug convertors for each US device we plug in to the tune of 5 pounds each. At least for that amount of money you get something that weighs as much.

Another note, most places only accept a credit card with a chip inside. None of ours do so it is helpful to have cash handy. By the same token, as I've mentioned before, many places like advance reservations via the Internet. Unfortunately some sites do not allow to enter US-based billing info for the credit card and reject transaction. We tried a number of options with Eurotunnel and finally were able to reserve the tickets on the train through DirectFerries.co.uk. They made us email them copies of our passport and credit card. Not complaining, it is just not very nice from the security standpoint.

Kids got official British breakfast today: clotted cream, jam and scone. Isabella flat went to her Cheerios, while Georgia gave it a try. Clotted cream is very nice. It tastes like butter but has texture of a yogurt.

We bought the printer and attempted to get the tickets for Hampton's flower show. Apparently today was still only for the members of the Royal Horticultural Society. Must be a lot of members based on traffic we hit on Monday returning from work. They were sold out. The company had offered to come up and see if there are any left at the door. Provided we get the membership. Pretty exclusive business. Incidentally even if you buy the 26 pound per person tickets to the flower show you still cannot get into the palace. For that, it is encouraged to sign up for membership at Historic Royal Palaces. I think we'll wait for the sale on those :)

In the afternoon Georgia, Dan and I went to the Russian deli - Papa Karlo. Just like in Georgia, it featured an excellent selection of Lithuanian food. There was not really anything Russian there. But that's OK, we got Virta Desra, Varskes Suris and other goodies :) I am very glad that Lithuanian had established such a good export system. They need it. Good for them!

In the evening we went out to the ice-cream parlor on the High street. We realized that kids probably were not in the ice-cream parlor for a long time because they've panicked at the right of the many things you can do with ice-cream. In the end, they were absolutely happy with their choices and consumed them at incredible speed.

Finally, Georgia and I went up on the roof of our building. They have landscaped pathways great for watching the river and sunbathing. We'll be back :)
 

July 9th. Running. Walking and Circus

I went for a run this morning to Richmond. First I decided to cut through the shortcut route so it would only be 3 miles as the sign had advertised. However that path had ended after a short while. I’ve spent some time trying to get back on the path that runs along the river. Sleepy residential developments on the way did not seem to provide access to the river path. Finally I saw a trail in high grasses running in the right direction that a man had emerged from with a dog. I figured this is it and headed for the trail.

Pretty soon it started to feel like I was Alice in Wonderland – high trees had converged and trail had split into many directions. While it was awesome to relocate in spirit I had no idea where to go and caterpillar was nowhere to be seen. So I ran around for a few minutes but ultimately had found the river path. It was a bit scary. Those must be awesome bike trails though. Richmond turned out to be farther that I thought :) All in all it was about a 10 mile run. Pretty exciting !

Kingston youth festival is on and so in the afternoon Irina, kids and I went to the AllSaintsChurch. Surbirbia Youth Circus had set up circus training workshop on the lawn. There were various circus thingies: one wheel bikes, juggling equipment and such. Kids got to try almost everything. They really loved it. This organization trains children aged 10+ in circus arts and they perform. As Dan said: giving your kids a useful skill to earn living with in case they skip home early :).

We also signed up at Kingston library. There is a separate children’s library in the same building. When we went there we were disappointed – it was just a one large room filled with not tremendous amount of books. But librarian explained that this is one of seven libraries in town that we can use – and a small one at that. In the middle of the room they have bins with foreign books – they even had some in Lithuanian. Georgia got herself a book in Russian. Wish we’d seen it before going on a shopping spree at Waterstone.

In the evening we all crossed the bridge onto Hampton side and walked towards Teddington lock and over the bridge and back. Stopped on the way to try out different playgrounds and sample sour cherries. There are also lots of apples trees on the way – a few more weeks before we can sample those J. That was another 4.5 miles – this is approximate map, there is actually a path along the river on our side. We all enjoyed it. Isabella was able to walk most of it on her own. When we got to Teddington lock there was a large restaurant, the Anglers, with a giant playground and outdoor seating – coming back here on Saturday.

The same swan viciously chased other

swans away so its young and mate

could enjoy some bread in peace

Picture perfect swan :)

Dan dragged me out in the evening to for the final walk to find a good local bar. Instead, we walked around some more and saw that we live at the epicenter of even more food places that we had thought, including an ice-cream place that closes past 6pm!

With our stomachs light and airy we returned back home and finished the day with some red wine and cheese watching the remnants of sunset on the river.  

It is almost a week since we arrived. It is really awesome here but we miss our loved ones and our home. Thank you for your comments! And we are all set for the visitors!!!

July 8th, Driving

I drove to work today. For those who don’t know about this, British, their colonies, and for the even measure Japan had chosen to use the opposite site of the road for driving. And driver and passenger seats are reversed. I wanted to know why and so had searched Google for “why is driving on the left in uk.” Apparently a popular topic, with 170,000,000 result pages available. The reason for that is quite interesting and even more here.

Check out that cupcake

So driving. I guess we are back and all is good. So it is not that bad. Maybe in 50-100 trips I’ll get used to it. I am not sure if Dan ever will.

At the office everyone was very friendly. There is a large variety of fresh fruit in break rooms, one on each floor. The building itself is a true maze and not because of cubicles – there isn’t that many of them and they are mostly open. But “Male” and “Female” are in unusual locations and there are multiple stairwells all going to the same landings. Maybe, like the left hand side driving, there is some rationale for that as well.

We got back home for our afternoon of calls. And then Irina and I walked around with kids and feed the family of swans yet again. One day they will probably explode, and it will not be entirely due to us. In the evening Dan and I walked toward Hampton Court to see how long the walk will be for the flower show on Wednesday. It would be pretty long so we’ll have to find another way to get there.

Probably a bit smaller than in
Hoboken this year

Booked tickets to Belgium through the tunnel on Thursday to go to our Brussels office. Hurray!

Pasta 4 a true meat lover

On the eating front, Dan keeps spoiling us with incredible creations made with a touch of meat, soy sauce, seaweed and cauliflower. This is one of the best locations we've stayed in in terms of food. And the sight of the many temptations along the way during our walks makes us want to hold on to the last vestiges of our willpower like Lady Marian to her.. I guess, the children may read it too. So we will eat in as long as we can handle it. And then we will eat and face the inevitable consequences. Just like those swans.

July 7th, Windsor

Today we went to Windsor to check out Queen’s weekend getaway.
Very nice! Kids liked too. I liked the wall decorations made from old muskets and swords.  Imagine growing up as a prince there – can you please reach that one over there at the top for me.  Porcelain collection not very thrilling but everything else including the castle ground fitting.

We walked over to Eton and decided that it was the right decision not to rent an apartment there. It looked lively but only thanks to the hordes of tourists. The final stop was Yo Sushi. The idea of a Japanese restaurant with a little railway where food is being served, and cute other implements like personal water  fountain (1.20£ per glass) is interesting but it is a bit scary with two kids who want to take things off the railway but not eat them and in general just touch things. I think we will do again, after a break.

Also, after eating so much homemade sushi (homemade is an overstatement, mostly eating sushi grade fish purchased from distributors) Yo Sushi sashimi is just OK.

Then we went to pick up Irina from the airport. Hurray! Irina was here. Isabella remembered her after a little bit of time. Isabella said a funny thing in Russian today. She has a runny nose so she said: “Nu kogda ya yzhe otboleyu.” “When will I sick over” I guess.

Keep thinking about the Brick Lane neighborhood. Definitely a place to visit when in London. And not just for the food - you can spend hours staring at the graffiti.

On the practical front, gathering of the material things to reproduce our home environment is almost complete. Got the vacuum today. Sometimes living in a furnished apartment has its benefits. We are down to sofa, TV and a printer. Printer is a vital home component of an English household - a number of places we visited offer significantly discounted prices when you buy tickets online and show up with a paper copy. It is pretty impressive how pervasive this practice is. It would be nice to take it to the next level and allow smart phone tickets but they are not there yet.

July 6th. London

Bike parking near the Waterloo station

Today was a full day. We dragged the kids out of bed at eight. Surprisingly they did not protest after going to sleep at midnight a day before. After a quick breakfast @ Starbucks we headed for the station. The ride to Waterloo station in London on express was a little over 20 minutes. Really awesome!!

Dan went to Bloomsbury to take care of his business while we walked over the Hunderford bridge to the Trafalgar square. Next was St.James park. We enjoyed picking berries off the really giant sour cherries trees. There is also a very nice playground there and plenty the different breeds of birds by the lake. We saw the Buckingham palace and mounted guard in traditional gear.

Quick stop at the Waterstone on the Picadilly circus to stock up on some Russian books. They have a very nice selection but prices are a good match to the neighborhood. Sales lady was incredibly friendly and courteous. Said Georgia made her day by asking her about her fables - her favorite type of reading. She introduced herself as Elena Genadievna. I was hoping that Georgia would follow the suit by saying her name is Georgia Daniilovna but Georgia limited her to her first name. She said that she has to be much older and with children to use it.

We met up with Dan back the Trafalgar square and went to check out Saints Alive exhibition at the National gallery. Once you get over the “wtf” feeling watching the plastic statue slap its chest violently with a stone, it is a fascinating perspective on visualizing tortures of the Christian saints. Especially interesting is the fact that in the exhibition you get to inflict the tortures by pressing the button. Georgia patiently kept pressing the button for St. Francis – the metallic arm reaches into the chest cavity through where the neck is supposed to be and randomly pulls out a t-shirt for the visitors. But no luck.

We took a train to Brick Lane Yard to go to Brick Lane Food Feast to catch our lunch but there was a change in service and they let us out early. Undeterred we hopped on the cab for the rest of the way. We like London cabs – spacious, open and comfortable. And you can sit backwards.

We should have bought our tickets in advance. Event organizers said they were sold out and had suggested to come back in an hour after the current crowd was done eating. However, right next door was an empty shell of a building that was gutted and cleaned up and featured multiple booths selling different ethnic foods. Quite a feast on your eyes and great tasting too. Dan had Indian, Georgia Moroccan, and Isabella – white rice. Hunger taken care of we enjoyed our walk through the neighborhood with myriad of ethnic restaurants and colorful graffiti walls. Highly recommended!! About 20 minutes  North of the London tower.

Next we took a long walk along the riverside stopping along the way for sample the food and amusements at many venues on our way. London really knows how to party. Georgia collected sea shells on the river bank, kids got soaked at many fountains on the way, and got carbified regularly to keep alive. It was pretty intense on us and we were amazed that the kids were able to walk as much as well. Dan or I carried Isabella for a few minutes every now and then but still it was a good solid 6 hours of walking.

Back in Kinston, we went out to get some breakfast food and, for our new evening tradition, to feed the swans. Dan and I wanted to top the day by having a few glasses of wine on the balcony at night but had gone to bed instead. Great day!!

 

July 5th, A blur of activity

Today was another day filled with more of the busy work rather than any major discoveries. Plumber came over to repair our boiler - we have not had hot water since moving in. I've tried to convince myself that cold shower, like contrast shower is good for you, but I never got to feel the contrasting part. I am glad it is working now. Kids need to be soaked in. Maybe we will find some clothing left over from the flight.

Like the view? Come visit!

Then I went to check out Educare. First hand impression is different from what their website conveys. The place is a pigsty - children's artwork covering every available surface. Some of the floor activities were on the floor right by the entrance where people walk around in their shoes. Private piano lesson was taking place right behind the flimsy screen in front of which a group of kids crouched on the floor busy with some experiment. But kids and teachers seemed engaged and there was a semblance of order in two rooms housing over 30 kids aged between 3 and 11. I don't know. It may be OK for Isabella considering her age. We will get Georgia situated first and then figure out where to place Isabella. I dropped off Georgia's school application to a friendly lady on the school council of Kinston. They decide where kids go based on the distance from the school, level of state support, and religious affiliation.

Main street

One's address is a part of catchment area for schools and doctors. If you are too far, you will have to go with what is available locally. Our 4 options are 2 public secular schools with high ratings, public Christian school St. Luke with high ratings, and public secular school with poor ratings. The good schools are probably too far from us and we would be on the bottom of the waiting list.  St. Luke is closer but they give preference to practicing families and families on social support. It may be that we will get our final choice. We will see next Friday.

I met a Russian woman at Educare, Anastasia. Turns out they live downstairs in our building. She was very nice and offered to use their Xerox to copy forms for applications. She has a two year old about to turn three. Great to know someone for Isabella to play with.

After work we went for a walk across the river near the Hampton Court. Beautiful views - see Georgia above. Have to come back next week for the flower show.

In the evening we went to Ikea with kids. We are on some strange schedule - they get up past 9 and then we have summer with them past 10. After the soaking was done, they finally went to bed at midnight.

July 4th, Settling In

Today was another day filled with events and activities as we continued setting in while trying to work at the same time. Irina will be arriving on Sunday but in the meanwhile, kids are doing a good job working on their studies or playing while we are working on other things. We got our bed, linens, and dishes. I went for a run this morning along the Thames river just like I've imagined so many times.

Landlord came over in the morning to check in and explain how equipment works. Very friendly guy, on the phone and in person. However no one can figure out how to get hot water going. It makes for an interesting shower times.

In the afternoon we went to the outdoor market and picked our lunch from the multiple vendors. They have a couple of interesting things here. Tomberry - is tomato the size of large red currant. Samphire is a really neat sea plant that looks like nothing you would voluntarily try but tastes pretty salty and would make a great snack or co-play to the omelette.

Later in the evening we strolled along the river. Checked out the playground by the Boater Inn. Based on an almost exclusive occupation by the Russian-speaking families I am a) encouraged that it is not physically possible for kids to forget Russian this year even if we do nothing else, b) starting to question whether Britain actually is still inhabited by the "real Brits." Our concierge is Latvian, building super is Polish, Varerie Pastry shop downstairs is split evenly between more Poles and Lithuanians. Even the last tenants at our apartment were Russian. And now this. OK, at least the guy over at Boaters Inn looked British. Maybe he is spy... for the Russians :) We had fish and chips and hot dogs. Hmm, it's nice!!!

Tomorrow I have an interview at Educare little school for Isabella. Full time public education is available only starting from 5 so we will have to go private for Isabella here. Our cultural education consultant had suggested this school and had scheduled an interview there. I've spent a few minutes on their site today and while the mention of the mandatory nap for the entire school regardless of the age, tai chi and vegetarian lunch is somewhat alarming, at least 3 site mentions about the school's goal to convey the importance of drinking water to children brings waterboarding to mind. If anything, this does not seem to be the kind of country with water shortage, especially the ambient kind. I guess if they could convey the importance of not relying 100% on carbs to Isabella, that would be a plus. Water can be nutritious.


Note the 3 ugly ducklings

I am also going to drop off school application for Georgia at the education council tomorrow. Public or state school system attaches students to their "catchment" areas and while they are all eligible for school, the one they actually go to is chosen by the city council and lesser degree their personal circumstances. We don't have a great number of options here since we are about 1 mile away from the highly desired Latchmere and Fern Hill. And we may end up at a Christian state school - there is actually a thing like that here.

I guess there is a certain kind of balance there - one of the kids goes through some Christian indoctrination while the other goes for a ride at the vegan central. Will see what happens. Not that we mind, but we perked up listening  to a Russian mom wearing a cross pendant. She said her kid was unhappy at her affiliated school and was glad to be transferred to a regular school. Will see what happens. 

July 3rd, The Arrival

Practically everything worked according to plan today. We got picked up at the airport by Parker taxi service.

In front of our new home

They delivered us to the building, where a friendly concierge kept an eye on our stuff while we went out to check out the swans and grab some hot Japanese at the outdoor market on High Street. Even though kids barely slept they were really happy - Isabella did some public singing. Georgia volunteered to go anywhere for company's sake.

The weather was typically British - cool with a drizzle. I've explained to the kids that this is a typical weather they should expect on a hot summer day here. They looked puzzled. Don't think they really believed me.

We picked up (wrong) keys at the agency and went back to the apartment to meet inventory inspector for check in. Concierges, now there was two of them, let us in with their copy of the key.

This check-in service is really interesting element of life here. Landlord hires a 3rd party company to do a thorough inspection, with pictures, of the apartment taking a note of all things however petty (burned out light bulb). Resulting report is shared with rental agency, landlord, renters. We can make comments on it within 7 days and then it is sealed. That light bulb will be meticulously checked at the end and if we replace it but another one will burn out, there will be a hell to pay.

After that the afternoon was a blur as we unpacked, and British Telecom guy came to set up the Internet and Ikea Delivery Company worked on assembling the furniture they had delivered. There were a few issues predominantly with the availability of the right stuff at the store but the company was amazingly great at resolving them and providing fast alternatives. Cannot praise them enough. Occasionally Dan and Georgia went out to pick up various incidentals as necessary and the great thing is that there is about a dozen of the right stores within the walking distance.

When it was over we came over to get a bite to eat and Isabella fell asleep on Danik's shoulders. We were able to grab fresh bread and cold cuts from the supermarket before it closed for the day at 6pm. It was really nice to make sandwiches and eat them on warm benches as sun was starting to set. The last time they've tasted so good was when years ago, without kids, we had raided the breadbaker, cheese, and salami shops in Paris and had our sandwiches down by Seine river.

We went home and put kids to sleep. I later came out to find some coffee. Most coffee places are closed at 7:30-8. I wandered around the center for a bit. There are people outside and it is definitely not dead, but everything is closed. Finally I got some beer at the Asia supermarket, which helpfully closes at 9pm. On the way home I've stopped at the Sweet Revenge bake shop right near our place and asked if the owner would be willing to make a cappuccino for me. He was, and he made one for Dan too. Then I came home and we had some beers with cappuccino while watching the party boats go by in the night. So awesome!!!  

July 4, The New Adventure in the UK begins

We are back on. This time, from Kingston upon Thames. In addition, we are here for a year and will work for our company's UK office so strictly speaking it is not really telecommuting but why start a new blog over a technicality. We anticipate a lot more adventures and are really really hoping to get many visitors to experience them together.

There were many events leading to our decision to come here for a year and even more events actually making it happen.

Even though we are in the English-speaking country with tremendous amount of infrastructure making a move with the family required a good amount of preparation and I'll share details in the upcoming posts.

So, cheers to the new adventure!! And a happy 4th of July!!