Well, I am slipping again aren't I? It's only the beginning and already it's 2 weeks without posts... Sorry everyone, but I've been unable to write (physically) and the time did not wait for me to feel better :).
I am better now (hopefully) and my hand is back to normal (damn joints) and writing is once again possible!
The last 2 weeks saw the end of our unpacking period and the beginning of the settling down period. It's like the middle part of the beginning, and for me it's the hardest part. It's the part in which the "life and death" feeling that surround you at the very beginning vanished, leaving you with the "what the hell am I doing here?!" feeling... It's the part where everyone wants to know how are you enjoying life, especially in London, and you just don't. Not really. It's the part in which not knowing fills the biggest segments of your day - not knowing where to go, what to do, what to buy, what to do with the kids, with your time, etc.
And mainly it's the time in which you have to take action. And I don't like taking actions. I have reservations. And fears. And abnormalities. I hate meeting new people, I am not good in groups, I do not like going to places I don't know, I hate overcrowded places. I don't especially like tourists. Or buses. Or the Tube.
But this is where I am now. In the city of overcrowded touristy places where every time I go somewhere one of the people working there asks me if everything is ok.
No it is not, thanks for asking.
So of course the right thing was to stay at home, close the blinds and drink some hot coco (what IS going on with this poor excuse for a summer anyway?).
Almost what we did. Not quite but almost (ok, not even close):
1.
Met Ev's aunty Jo, her husband Adrian, and their 2 boys that are in somewhat similar ages to Ron and Yon. Ok, so you know those abnormalities? We (I not we) have to give people nicknames (it's a disease according to Hidai, not an abnormality), so around here they are collectively known as Aunty Jo. It took me a few days to make sure Ron won't call her aunty by mistake, only Jo. He didn't call her anything in the end as he was too busy playing :). They invited us for dinner (is it called tea here? I thought I heard someone say that), a very important event since apart from Uri & Ev they are our closest family here, and they also live 2 streets from us... And a very stressful one as Uri (are you reading this Uri?) was under the impression that we will embarrass him. US? really? We did try our best to behave as the most uncivilized Israelis as we could, but they liked us anyway :) and I know that for a fact because not only did we exchange phones and mails (ok, obviously only Hidai did that. Really, how long do you know me for?), but they invited us for a play date that same Sunday, that went beautifully and closed with a shared pizza for dinner in the pizzeria next to our homes (in which they paid for us because I only took 10 pounds when I left the house for coffee and cakes at the park...)...
2.
Went to the Gym. To do group Pilates. 4 times. Each time it's a different instructor and a different group. It's been great until I broke, and now I have to take some time off of all exercise until I am whole again. The problem is that it is not a real Pilates studio so the instructors are not real Pilates teachers but people that come from many different disciplines like Yoga or dance, so they put less of an emphasis on fixing problems and correct breathing (the fundamentals of Pilates) and more emphasis on exercise) so when your joints, back and knees are not ideal (like me) you have to be very careful in what and how you do. But they are really nice, and the gym is better than I thought (again with the reservations. Don't like gyms), so I will go back when I feel better (hopefully next week).
anyway, if you care, this is our gym -
http://www.fitnessfirst.co.uk/gyms/gyms-in-london/club-222/
3.
Went to an Arsenal Stadium Tour. Seriously, it was magnificent, and if you're in London, that is definitely something you don't want to miss (especially since if you are in London you are probably visiting me and it's a 10 minutes walk :) ). This is the link to the tour -
http://www.arsenal.com/tours
We didn't do the big fancy "legend tour" first of all because it was book solid until September, and second because we don't know anyone of them. The regular tour includes a recording that explains everything and also some video clips so it was great for us, except for Yon who misbehaved through the whole day and even broke his headphones :(. Nevertheless we tried to not let one Yon ruin everyone else's fun and we got to see all the places you will never get to see unless Ron actually goes to play for them when he grows up - the manager's chair, the players benches and dressing room, the director's box, the press room etc. It was really great, Ron (and Hidai) enjoyed themselves very very much, we took plenty of photos and finished in a pouring rain with a very delicious and nutritious meal of Tesco sandwiches (actually, because Yon was behaving badly, he wanted everything I was eating and not his food, so we got him to eat an egg sandwich, a real success as usually he's all "I don't like eggs / vegetables/ fruits, etc.").
You can see some of the photos on Facebook (trust me, it's definitely some and not all).
4.
Gave Yon a haircut. It's a form of torture and punishment both to him and for us. Always a delight Yon. I really don't know how he came to be known as The Monster.
5.
Found a GP (a doctor). We waited because I thought we needed the social insurance numbers, but it turned out we don't. We did need the council tax bill though, so after we got everything we went to the NHS website and permanently today you can actually read and write ratings of your GP.
We have 2 clinics in Highbury, and we chose The Miller Practice (
http://www.nhs.uk/Services/GP/Overview/DefaultView.aspx?id=44192), which was the one Jo recommended and got the best ratings. They were very helpful and after we finished filling the 10,000 forms needed (I especially liked the one asking how much Ron has to drink everyday), we booked an appointment because we need to get Yon back into regular eye checks and to do that we have to go through the GP (on a side note, I was very surprised that there are no paediatricians in the UK but kids go to the same GP as adults.), the doctor we saw on Monday was so very young and had just joined the practice herself, but she did say she will refer us and we should get a letter with an appointment from the eye hospital in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully she is right because we really need to change Yon's glasses as they are 1 year old and are too small for him,, but we can't do it without a prescription from a London doctor, and our GP can't give us one...
6.
Found a cleaning lady. It is a very important thing, a cleaning lady. Especially now, with the kids at home, Hidai working long(er) hours and me being broken, the house looked... Well, let's stay with bad. So we turned to our go-to guy Julio, who is actually a part of the complex's cleaning crew and the guy we gave all the things that we didn't need here to, and asked him if he knows someone, and so we got Gloria, who speak almost only Spanish. Seriously. But she cleans soooo well, and now we set a time and day for a weekly clean (hopefully next week she will not be an hour late though), and I have a clean house. 2 problems with this house - it has a wall of windows, and I am very sensitive to my windows, and it accumulates dust like you wouldn't believe, and Hidai is sensitive to dust. So big problems. But now we have Gloria, and I can try and remember my Spanish lessons, few as they were...
7.
Went to London Eye. On Friday I had so much guilt over the fact that I am neglecting my kids that even the fact that Jewish people thrive on guilt couldn't counter it, and I decided to "kidnap" Hidai from work, and take him and the kids to the London Eye. I cleared it with Hidai first (very spontaneous of me) and ordered tickets in advance, including paying a bit more for the fast track, and off we went. It is still crazy for me that you take the bus and after a few minutes you are in London. Tourist London, where you can get Starbucks, and see the palace, and shop... Actual London... It was a VERY wise decision to book the fast track tickets as there were so many people there! and the fast track lets you skip the whole queue and go straight inside. Well worth the extra money, especially we don't like to wait (another one of those charming oddities. Yes I decided abnormalities doesn't have the same ring to them as oddities), if you've never been to the London Eye, then go it's really cool. The only thing is - look at the map they give you. Otherwise you. like us. will probably only recognise the Big Ben :). And second, you get on and off the bubble (is that the correct term? I am not sure) while it's still moving, because it never stops... It doesn't move quickly at all, just good to be prepared to things like that... The ride itself is really nice, you almost don't feel like you're moving at all so it's not scary being so high, and when you go make sure you have clear skies. Anyway this is their website -
http://www.londoneye.com/.
After that we went on a stroll toward Waterloo Station on the south bank, and we ate at Giraffe restaurant, which is known for being family and kids friendly, but the truth was they weren't and the food was too much - too spicy, too greasy, too un-kid friendly. The desert was good though :).
8.
Went to the Olympics. Well, actually, we wanted to see the Queen's horses, but when we went out of the Tube on Green Park, we literally fell on the 5,000 run-walk (or something like that) at the Mall, so we stayed :). I think we are the only people that got to the Olympics by mistake, but I have to admit in the end it was so much fun, and we got to see the contestants really up close (we are Israelis after all, and if we're there...) and Yon got to enjoy himself at Green Park (he is such a nature loving child, I don't know where he got it from. Seriously I don't). After that we strolled along Piccadilly toward the square, passing some really nice buildings, mascots, museum, church fair (we did go inside, they had a fountain) and the Fortnum & Masons store (we did NOT go in), stopping at Starbucks (mandatory when you are out in London, and also if you register with them, they let you pay using your mobile!) and of course finishing at McDonald's (again - mandatory).
9.
Went to a tour of Buckingham Palace. It was gorgeous! Very recommended and also you get a return visit within a year of going for free. Yon of course was on his best behaviour mode (NOT) which meant he knocked down the rope, thank god not on the statue it stood in front of, and whined the whole way through. But if you go without a Yon, it is lovely and not very long, you get to see all the formal rooms, see a collection of the royal diamonds, try and snick-pick the queen (didn't see her), eat some very pricey but delicious royal cakes, buy way way overpriced royal merchandise (we bought royal chocolate naturally, to eat with the closing ceremony. It was heavenly) and take a tour through the gardens. Ron, I, and Hidai enjoyed it very much. It takes around 3 hours all together, and you can't take any photos and they actually make you shut the phone, so no pictures of the inside I'm afraid, but I will try and upload the Royal Weekend photos to Facebook today.
Anyway, this is the site, and of course - book in advance!
http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/buckinghampalace/
10.
Went to M&M World store on Leicester Square. I took the kids there alone (damn guilt) and although it was nice, it wasn't as nice as I thought it would be, and we were only there for an hour or so, in which Yon disappeared twice so maybe that contribute to my not having so much fun... But even if you are going without a Yon, it is still a very large store that has 4 stories filled mostly with the same things, so the variety isn't that good. Ron bought an M&M football, and Yon a blue M&M soft toy, and of course we bought some M&Ms but keep in mind it's very overpriced... From there we went to Piccadilly through Trocadero Centre (lots of Japanese manga & anime stores, very good to the Super Mario lovers) and ate... At McDonald's :). The kids said they had fun.
So like I said at the start, stay at home and do nothing. That was the strategy. We have until the 5th of September before Ron starts school, and we got a letter saying Yon's house visit will be on the 7th and then we'll know his starting date, so it's still almost a month of kids at home... I like to finish on a positive note, so let's all pretend I just did.
