That Green Grass: London - An Introduction!

So we made it to London! This is Ryan looking very bright-eyed and bushy-tailed on the tube from Heathrow to our new home. As you will not see, a picture of me, who did not look at fresh after two nights of no sleep. The night before we left Chicago, the Hawks (Chicago ice hockey team) won the Stanley Cup (like the World Cup/Super 14 of ice hockey) for the first time since 1961! As we live on Michigan Avenue, a very busy main road, and we live quite close to the ground (the 8th floor - thank goodness we are moving to the 22nd), we didn't sleep much that night because people quite literally went mad until well past 2 am. Hooting (honking), cheering, shouting - the works! Don't get me wrong, celebrating is great - it was just a bit of bad timing for us! But all is well, we arrived in London Town in any case and caught up sleep the next night.

This picture says it all! This is a fairly long-winded story but we almost had to find an alternative place to camp for our first night here! We are staying with two other Chicago Booth guys and together we organised our flat in London from Chicago. To cut a long story short, by late Friday afternoon, our rent money had not cleared in the rental agency's account and they were not prepared to had over the keys until they could 'see' it! What?! Are you kidding? You want me to find a hotel? No way buddy! So after much pleading, calls to Chicago, credit card swiping - unfortunately (or fortunately) not ours because we had already paid all our money to the agency! - our 'honest' faces led the agent to phone the landlord who agreed to let us stay based on the premise that the money would clear by Monday. Thank you to the stars shining down upon us. I do not think I could have taken the additional stress and energy needed, and money never mind, to find alternative digs. Luckily we had a place to sleep - and sleep we did - for 14 hrs!

After essential rest, it was time to explore our surroundings. Above is the Thames and Canary Wharf where Ryan will be spending 99.9% of his time for the next 10 weeks - no jokes, working hours are 9am to whenever (10, 11, 12, 1, 2?) 7 days a week. I just hope someone was trying to shock me with the hours and that they were exaggerating.

View of the Canary Wharf skyline from Greenwich Park. I think Greenwich Palace is in the foreground. We actually live quite close to Greenwich (2 tube stations, 20 min walk) so I am hoping to explore the area more this weekend. It's so pretty and so English. I feel like my British ancestors and I are communicating when I see these parks. I am channelling my inner Victorian.

Where things get real and magic happens.

Team Chicago Booth!! Left: 1x crazy Italian, Middle, 1 x crazier Belgian, Right, 1 x craziest husband. Notice the casual clothes... after a while, I think 'shorts' and 'T-shirt' will feel as if they have been abandoned. Poor 'casual wear', it's not your fault, you just don't pay the bills.