The Week in Review

This past week has been the usual rollercoaster of apartment searches; apartment viewings; and apartment rejections. I am so sick of the whole thing myself that it's not even worth talking about anymore. At the end of the ride, I just keep getting back in line to go around again. Fortunately I am buoyed in this process by the continued good wishes of friends and family, and the occasional therapy cupcake (bring those on, big time!).

Two fun-filled events punctuated my week, and these managed to cheer me immensely. Firstly I had a visit from KH and her hubby who were in town from Canada. I couldn't believe it when KH first said they were coming - we hadn't seen each other since our days in Chicago and though we'd kept up on email and Facebook, that is not really the same. We met up outside my office one night after work and retired to The Wellington, down the street. When KH used to work in London, she used to eat lunch at this pub quite often, but I had never been in there. I have made a note of it now though. After that, we farewelled Mr H (so he could cleverly get home early), and we headed to the newly re-opened Savoy hotel for cocktails at its famous American Bar. Again, this was another one of KH's old London haunts and it was great to see the place with her. I had been waiting for the Hotel to reopen since I got here - and we were not disappointed. I found the hotel interior to be very flashy and a bit overwhelming to be honest - lots of colour, lots of fabrics, textures etc but it just looks so opulent and beautiful you can't help but be impressed. We got seats right at the bar and were therefore treated to the great artistry of the resident bartenders. I can't remember the names of the cocktails I had (not because I had too many, but because they were specialties of the house rather than classic drinks). No matter though, because I really enjoyed them and I think KH and I solved all the problems of the world that night.

Fast forward a couple of days and London celebrated Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Bonfire Night. Traditionally celebrated on 5 November each year, the City of London's parks come alive on 6 November with fireworks displays and family-friendly celebrations. From our lofty location on the riverfront, we could clearly see the bright lights over Battersea Park and it was really great. My contribution to the night was a couple of bottles of Pinot Grigio and a plate of bacon-wrapped dates which the visiting Americans declared to be delicious, which pleased me (though they require no skill, save for not stabbing yourself with a toothpick or setting the sticks on fire under the grill). We over-catered of course, but there is something lovely about cold sausage rolls the morning after a big party. Tipping half-empty beers down the kitchen sink is not quite so glamorous though...

The coming week heralds the return to London of S&C, whose European adventures have been the source of great amusement on Facebook. I hope they're coming back to me with some great photos to match those stories. I also hope I can score soccer (oops, football) tickets for myself and Sco this week - it might take all the flirting and bossing down the phone that I can muster, but I feel totally up to the task.

No doubt there will be more to report next weekend, so stay tuned.