We left all our furnishings in storage back home, and wasn't able to find a furnished house to rent. So we ordered 90% of the furniture for this house from Idea. It took a week or more to get to us, so we've enjoyed nights on air mattresses. And do you know how annoying it is building a bunch of Ikea furniture? Finally after building bunkbeds, 2 daybeds, and a queen sized bed, I mustered up enough energy to begin to build us a kitchen table. By now, A.J. was sick of helping Jason was out of town. So it was all me. Oh, and by now, I'm like an Ikea engineering professional. They could seriously hire me! And there is the finished project. Only one problem, I ordered a lighter table than chairs and bench. Ah well, whatchya gonna do? This girls isn't tearing it down to go exchange the thing. It is what it is. Perfect.
Our assignment, that we chose to accept, was to fight the crowds and witness the Olympic Torch run by! Well, that's exactly what we did. FOUGHT the crowd. Then as we awaited the Torch, a few Police vehicles went by, then a couple of busses, and it was a bit delayed. And I mentioned, they need a marching band or something. Some Brit behind me scoffs and says, "This isn't America!" What I should have said was, "I know, that's too bad." Instead I replied, "Bagpipes?" He said indignantly, "That's Scottish!" So I said, "Well what DOES England have?" He just shrugged his shoulders? I added, "Boring Police vehicles and busses?" In the end, it was a bit anti-climatic, but it WAS the torch! And we were there. Mission: Accomplished. Second part to our mission, ride a double decker bus. I have to admit, naively I thought the whole double decker bus thing was just a downtown London touristy thing, kind of like San Francisco Cable Cars. What I was surprised to learn is they are ALL OVER, they even drive just near our street, AND they are used all the time! Well, after 10 days of living here, we finally hopped on one home. Kind of fun for the kids! CLICK ON THE PICTURE in the left top corner to press play on slideshow! The Borough Market is insane! We took a train to London Bridge Station, and ended up walking into the market right about lunch time. IT WAS PACKED! Shoulder to shoulder, hold on to your sisters shirt, make a train, kind of packed! But the smells, the sounds, the commotion, it was something else to behold. There were stands with foods we didn't quite recognize, vendors were shouting out, "peaches for a pound!" It was a bit crazy~
AJ had a pork sandwich with Apple butter, Jason tried steak tidbit sandwich with sourkrout, Janae went for a duck sandwich, Jaxon chose a pound of cherries, and Dallin had a large sausage on a spear. Emily and I just had a bit of it all! It was a little culinary experiment explosion right there in the middle of the market. After we ate we walked along the River Thames to the Tate Modern. This is a free modern art museum (it was Jason's idea). I have to tell you. I thought, this is only like our first outing, I'm not sure that our family is ready for an art museum. But it went surprisingly well, smooth, and we enjoyed it. Note: we didn't stay too long! On our way back to the train station, Janae requested that we go back through the Borough. Of course it was a brilliant idea, because then we were able to enjoy some chocolate, cheesecake, and some amazing chocolate e'clairs! Janae's always thinking, isn't she! So this was sort of adventure #1 for us. After a week, I think we're finally getting used to the time zone, we've had sick kids that are trying to recover, and we're looking forward to Olympic events next week! I think the torch comes through our town Monday, we'll be sure to be there for that! Love y'all and miss you much. We've met no friends, so we just hang out with each other! I think that's how it will go all summer! But it's good. It's gonna be great! |
Julie Tucker
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