Finding a flat in London...

It is officially day 3 in London and we've started our intensive flat finding mission.

Day 1 we landed early at 10:30AM but didn't make it to the hotel until 1PM. Despite ambitious plans, the jet lag (and unlimited new movies on the plane...thus little to no sleep)got the better of us and we proceeded to take a 4 hr nap. After waking we decided to see exactly how far the school is... approximately a 25-30min walk from the hotel.

Day 2 we visted most every letting (or renting) agents...and scheduled Friday full of flat visits. The few we saw this day reminded us of Berkeley, small, old and expensive. We also discovered today that we do not have the same tolerance we once had as students to live in dismal places... upping how much we are willing to spend.

Day 3 (Today) We've gone through 1/4 of our flat appts and so far found one that is in a so so neighborhood, is small but newly done and super cheap not to mention within walking distance. We found another one that we hope to get for £60 cheaper than asking that is in a great building with a front desk, elevator, and inside is brand new, more space and great but I need to take a bus to get to it. Wish us luck on the rest of our day.

First impressions of London is that it is very very cute... the houses are mostly brick and if you look down some alleys in Devonshire it has the cobblestone streets and looks literally out of our Colonial times (minus the very modern looking cars). Also despite the warnings of horrendous food at horrendous prices...I think the food is quite good... or at least not terrible..and Eugene and I have spent about £10 per meal (for the both of us). We've tried our hand at Indian, Lebanese wraps and a tasty sandwich from La Pain Qoutidien (sp?... same chain as the one in Old Town Pasadena... it's a Belgium chain). Also London, for a big city, is pretty clean... we see almost no garbage on the streets and definitely missing the smell of pee that defined my memories of New York.

More to come...and pictures too