Greetings from across the pond!

Well, it's been about two weeks now since I left Chicago - what a whirlwind! I hardly had any down time to set up this blog. So, I'll give you all a recap of my first two weeks and then I promise the rest of my blogs will be mostly pictures. So, Mike and I arrived at the apartment we share Monday (March 3rd) morning. We tossed a coin to see who would get the master bed/bath - I lost...so it's tight quarters for now. Here's a couple of pictures of my place in London : http://www2.somerset.com/en/uk/london/st_marks.html

View from City Rd

Once we settled in we went out to explore and get our Oyster Cards - the equivalent to the "Chicago Card Plus" and pay as you go phone chips. Here's my temporary UK number in case anyone wants to call me: +44 07946223249. Our walk from the apartment to work is about 15 minutes. Here's an idea of the where I'm living/working in London (A is where I work and B is where I'm living):
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Tuesday we went into the office and got situated. I had conference calls with most of the french sales team however it was pretty difficult to hear/keep up with what they were saying. I definitely have a bit of a language barrier. I also made my first big language mistake! I was ending a call by saying "see you on Tuesday" which is "Je vais te voir Mardi" but pronounced "Mardi" as "Merdi" which means "shitty" instead of tuesday.... oh well. Here's some shots of the London Office:

That night I went out to eat at Wagamama with Wei (http://www.wagamama.com/index.php). Wednesday we ate at Shish (http://www.shish.com/). Thursday I went to Tabernacle (http://www.tabernaclebargrill.com/index.php) with a couple of people from work. Friday I went out with more people from work to a small pub, which was conveniently on my way home. Saturday I met up with my friend Margaret and walked around Mayfair. OMG SUCH GOOD SHOPPING!!!! I could spend a fortune here! Everyone is sooo trendy - I LOVE it!! Margaret and I ate at The Grand Bazaar (http://www.grand-bazaar.co.uk/) and afterwards met up with Wei and his friends in Soho.

Margaret, Wei, Michael and me

Sunday Margaret and I walked around Hyde Park. It was a little cloudy but it definitely felt like spring:

Daffodils in the park

The Serpentine

The Marble Arch

Carnaby Street

This past monday I took the eurostar to Paris. Only about 2 hours and I was in a completely different country! My home away from home away from home in Paris was www.hotel-helios-opera-paris.federal-hotel.com/page_en_1.html.


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Our office in Paris is 30 people big and everyone is really really nice! I went out for dinner with Martin (one of the sales guys) and his friends Monday night. Tuesday and Wednesday I went to an investment conference, where we had a booth set up, from 8am-7pm - both were SUPER long days. Thursday I got to go to a client meeting with Christophe (another sales guy) and then went out to dinner with Marie-Helene (she works in our data group). Friday I went to another 2 client meetings and then ran to catch my train back to London around 5. I'm really looking forward to going back and having more time to explore the city and figure out where I want to live.

My mom is coming to visit this Tuesday for about a week so I'm sure I'll have a ton of sightseeing pictures to post! I'll be in Paris again the first week of April and I think I'll be going to Brussells the following Monday and Tuesday for a couple of training sessions. So, I'll be in London for the next two weeks which will be nice. If you're interested I have a Skype account so we can talk for free!! I've tried it out with my parents a couple of times and it works really well.

Alright, well I think that's enough for now. Gros bisous a tout le monde!! Miss you all!

Cheers.