Bonjour all! Sorry for the long silence, but it has been a bit of a busy time, and I haven't had a ton of connectivity during this time of transition. Since my last post, I have:
- spent the weekend in London
- moved into my new apartment
- hosted my first visitor
- had my first French class in years
- finally gotten a Swiss cellphone number
- been to Ikea numerous times
When I moved into my new apartment, I had a really tough time getting my wifi hooked up, so thus, the long silence! But finally, this past week, a kind repairman from Swisscom came to my apartment and helped get me hooked up.. hooray!! Along with my Swiss cellphone number, I feel like I have reconnected with the world, so that has been a big help in feeling settled in here!
It's hard to believe that I've already been here a month. Time flies!
Backing up... a couple of weekends ago, I headed over to London to meet up with my dear friend Mallory! She and I hadn't seen each other since summer of 2012, so it was a LONG overdue reunion.
The first stop on Saturday morning was, as always, Borough Market. I just love this place so much. So many delicious nibbles to be had!!
After a massive catch up session in the afternoon, we all headed back to our respective lodgings to get ready for a night out to celebrate Mallory & Keith's engagement!
It was such a fun night, and I was so happy to see Mallory and chat with her. Since she lives in Bermuda now, it has been ages since we have been able to hang out together, but it was so great to pick up right where we left off!
The next day, there was an NFL game being played in London, so we wandered over towards Regent Street to see if anything was going on.
When we got to Regent Street, I was excited by all the fun NFL banners, but other than that, there didn't really seem to be anything special going on. Apparently, it all took place on Saturday? In hindsight, I suppose it makes sense since most fans were probably over by Wembley on Sunday, but that thought didn't really occur to me while I was there!
After I got back from London, I was able to move into my new apartment!! I took some pre-move pictures for you guys.
So, as you may be able to tell, this place is WAY bigger than the place I had in Singapore! And it comes with an oven and a dishwasher!! One thing that it did not come with - a shower curtain rod. As you can tell from the picture above, my tub is kind of in the corner, so there aren't two walls that I can put a suspension rod up in between. I am still working on a solution for this argh.
When I was researching apartments, I was warned that many Swiss apartments do not come with things that Americans are accustomed to - kitchen appliances, lighting fixtures, etc. I had heard some nightmare stories about people purchasing a stovetop and trying to hire an electrician to help hook it up etc, so I was quite happy to buy some items from the previous tenant (including the furniture in the first picture) since it was all already set up inside the apartment!
One of the bigger items that I purchased from the previous tenant is the washing machine. On moving day, I opened it up, and was totally puzzled by the way it looked inside!!
Even more puzzling to me was the lid. I couldn't tell (and still don't know) where you are supposed to put the detergent? So now, I just use the little pods haha.
As always, moving into a new place involves lots of Ikea trips. It is a bit more difficult here because nothing is in English!! Also, I take the bus to and from Ikea, so there is only so much that I can carry on each trip! Thankfully, there is ice cream.
Other random happenings over the past two weeks have included some restaurant exploration, more city exploration, and a Canadian Thanksgiving dinner at an (American) friend's house last night.
And now, it is Sunday afternoon. I got up this morning and went to the gym and the farmer's market, but since then, I've been pretty lazy around the house, which has suited me just fine! I'm off to enjoy the rest of my weekend, but hopefully I will check back in soon! A bientot!
- spent the weekend in London
- moved into my new apartment
- hosted my first visitor
- had my first French class in years
- finally gotten a Swiss cellphone number
- been to Ikea numerous times
When I moved into my new apartment, I had a really tough time getting my wifi hooked up, so thus, the long silence! But finally, this past week, a kind repairman from Swisscom came to my apartment and helped get me hooked up.. hooray!! Along with my Swiss cellphone number, I feel like I have reconnected with the world, so that has been a big help in feeling settled in here!
It's hard to believe that I've already been here a month. Time flies!
Backing up... a couple of weekends ago, I headed over to London to meet up with my dear friend Mallory! She and I hadn't seen each other since summer of 2012, so it was a LONG overdue reunion.
I love London!
The first stop on Saturday morning was, as always, Borough Market. I just love this place so much. So many delicious nibbles to be had!!
Green juice!
Grilled corn on the cob.. yummmm
My favorite coffee shop in London. Sadly, the almond croissants were all sold out by the time I arrived :(
After a massive catch up session in the afternoon, we all headed back to our respective lodgings to get ready for a night out to celebrate Mallory & Keith's engagement!
Group dinner
Drinks!
Love these girls
It was such a fun night, and I was so happy to see Mallory and chat with her. Since she lives in Bermuda now, it has been ages since we have been able to hang out together, but it was so great to pick up right where we left off!
The next day, there was an NFL game being played in London, so we wandered over towards Regent Street to see if anything was going on.
Picked up one of these on the way.. is this in the US yet? I was underwhelmed.
Seahawks fan sighting!!
Of course, we grabbed some Chipotle for lunch!
Regent Street!
When we got to Regent Street, I was excited by all the fun NFL banners, but other than that, there didn't really seem to be anything special going on. Apparently, it all took place on Saturday? In hindsight, I suppose it makes sense since most fans were probably over by Wembley on Sunday, but that thought didn't really occur to me while I was there!
I ended the weekend just relaxing in the park. A beautiful day!
After I got back from London, I was able to move into my new apartment!! I took some pre-move pictures for you guys.
Dining/living room
Kitchen
Bedroom
Bathroom.. Euro style
So, as you may be able to tell, this place is WAY bigger than the place I had in Singapore! And it comes with an oven and a dishwasher!! One thing that it did not come with - a shower curtain rod. As you can tell from the picture above, my tub is kind of in the corner, so there aren't two walls that I can put a suspension rod up in between. I am still working on a solution for this argh.
When I was researching apartments, I was warned that many Swiss apartments do not come with things that Americans are accustomed to - kitchen appliances, lighting fixtures, etc. I had heard some nightmare stories about people purchasing a stovetop and trying to hire an electrician to help hook it up etc, so I was quite happy to buy some items from the previous tenant (including the furniture in the first picture) since it was all already set up inside the apartment!
One of the bigger items that I purchased from the previous tenant is the washing machine. On moving day, I opened it up, and was totally puzzled by the way it looked inside!!
Even more puzzling to me was the lid. I couldn't tell (and still don't know) where you are supposed to put the detergent? So now, I just use the little pods haha.
As always, moving into a new place involves lots of Ikea trips. It is a bit more difficult here because nothing is in English!! Also, I take the bus to and from Ikea, so there is only so much that I can carry on each trip! Thankfully, there is ice cream.
Other random happenings over the past two weeks have included some restaurant exploration, more city exploration, and a Canadian Thanksgiving dinner at an (American) friend's house last night.
Red curry chicken at Feuille de Banane
Beer and burger at The Hamburger Foundation
A tasty Swiss rose
Street parade
Gobble gobble!
There were only two Canadians at this party haha
Who wouldn't enjoy living in London? It's one of the most wonderful places to visit in the world, and you're very lucky to be living there. You're thoroughly enjoying your time spent there, aren't you? Anyway, your new apartment looks perfect. I hope you enjoyed shopping for new furniture. Take care! :)
ReplyDeleteJeffery Ramsey