The big picture

Photo credit: Jason Hawkes, The Big Picture, for the Boston Globe.

We've made it! Our first full day in London has been a busy one. First, we moved out of the Sleeze 'n' Fleaze hotel (not as "Grand" as advertised) we were in last night and into our temporary pad -- and this time, luckily, the pictures did match the reality! Excellent news! Definitely swank surroundings from which to launch our lives in this city. We're five minutes on foot to Paddington, and we've already been cruising around quite a bit...

First, haircuts. Yes, you can't live in London without a London haircut, so we took advantage of the 50% off deal for new customers at Windle in Covent Garden, getting spruced up for a mere £20 each. Of course, the rain (yes, of course it's raining) did a number on my carefree waves, but for a while there Gisele and I were twins.

Then I headed to the bank to open an account. FAIL. My problem is that I can't prove my address in Zurich with English documents, and HSBC (the "world's local bank" -- not so much) does not accept my German documents. Strangely, the spectre of the German language seems to stalk us wherever we go here -- the pub, the train station. And we thought we had escaped!!! Tomorrow it's off to Camden to try the HSBC there. Apparently, the bank manager, at his/her discretion, can open a bank account provided you have a letter of employment from a local employer. Fingers crossed!

Then it was off to see some flats...

Dear London:
Carpet in the bathroom is never, I repeat, NEVER a good idea.

We hope tomorrow will be more promising. Swiss Miss (can I still call myself that?) is checking out some places to buy, one of which has a lot of curb appeal... Stay tuned. Maybe there will even be some pictures?

And finally, we enjoyed a delightful dinner at Jon and Michelle and Ruby's. Though we missed Li'l Miss Ruby, who is marching to the drummer of a new and much more restful (for the parents) sleep regime. No matter, we'll catch up with our favourite UK baby at Sunday brunch.

The big picture? It's looking good.