Flat to Let

Joe and I are in the process of looking for a flat (what they call an apartment). To Let = To Rent. Corporate housing only lasts until the end of Feb. It's been a bit shocking as we will need to pay twice our rent in NY to get a decent 1 bedroom flat - at least $2000.

We spent last weekend exploring the different areas in London. Just like NY, each area has its own personality, look and feel:

+ Shoreditch is like Williamsburg or the East Village
+ Finsbury Park (Home of the football team Arsenal) is like a dirtier version of Chinatown except replace all the Chinese folks with Middle Eastern and remove all the women
+ Clapham (South of the Thames River) is like Brooklyn - No one will go visit us if we live there
+ And the obvious ones - Soho is like Soho and Chelsea is like Chelsea

The wonderful thing Joe and I found out was that the agents here don't charge you a fee, they charge the person that is trying to rent out the place (the way it should be!)

Before we move out tiny (but free!) apartment, here's a peek to what we come home to everyday:

We have cleverly hidden the luggage and boxes behind other large items so you can't see them in the photo of our living room. Joe complains everyday about how the shower only has a little tiny piece of glass to shield the water from the rest of the bathroom. Definitely one of the minor comforts we miss. Our fridge only has milk, flat redbean buns which I toast and munch down for breakfast, and old bacon from 2 weeks ago. Sadly, we never use our kitchen.

Winnie and Shirley are coming to visit next weekend. Uh, ya'll have to do some brainstorming about how to sleep 2 of you on that love seat sized couch. Hee just kiddin', we'll find you some space.
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Snapshots of Joe's trip to Germany:

Joe thought it was quite amusing that he couldn't figure out where the toilette was at first. Viola! there it is! I had to chuckle after placing the photo of 'Bionade' next to a place where 'biohazard' is placed.
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My first Google Video: View of the Louvre courtyard starring Guy#1: Joseph Pak, and Guy#2: Caleb Chen.
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*Travel Update*
+ (Tentative) - Joe and Sandy travel to Hamburg, Germany sometime between March 8th and March 12th
+ March 22 - 24: Snowboarding in Courmayeur, Italy with work
+ March 24 - 26: Lake Como, Italy
+ April 8 - 10: Paris Marathon
+ April 21 - 23: New York
+ May 12 -24: Three Peaks Challenge