As in, "Holiday Road"? "National Lampoon's Vacation"? (Crickets?)

We live in Holloway! North London. "Live" as in hanging out only until February, but we since we arrived in England at the end of August, we have settled into a pretty comfortable routine of daily life following last year's on-the-move adventure. And it feels good. It's been very satisfying to return to wake-up and bedtime routines, having cereal for breakfast, and even wearing some long-sleeved clothing. Also very satisfying to have chosen to be in London in Autumn, which is delivering some amazing sunny temperatures, and a touch of Fall colours. We miss you, Canadian Autumn, but we have been blessed here too!

This country and city are of course not new to us as Clare insists on as many visits here as possible, but being back returns the warm, fuzzy feelings of:

-people offering you tea multiple times a day - the natural instinct when you come in from outside is to always put on the kettle, right?!

-being constantly amazed at the train/bus/underground systems, and how many options there are for getting around (but still continuing to find out ways at how you misunderstood the fare system)

-picking up the "Time Out" magazine every Tuesday morning when passing by the tube station, eager to find out what quirky and/or free events will be upcoming in the city

-and on that note, the abundance of free happenings that fit in very nicely with our current very limited budget

-the way you check your phone in the morning to see rain in the forecast, which prompts the bringing of an umbrella, which renders itself useless as this is really just "England spray" that hovers around in your face (okay, this doesn't really bring a warm, fuzzy feeling, but in a good mood, it can be mildly amusing)

-getting excited about picking up a package of "wonky veg" at the grocery store for 35 p. 35 p!!

-the fact that a package of custard creams costs 40 p. This is actually just irresponsible and dangerous

-most importantly, we are here to spend time with our UK family, and as always, we are having warm, wonderful visits as we descend up on them once again

Our evenings have mostly consisted of getting on a bus (money saver - only 1.50!) and travelling into central London to practice our photography at a park or scenic view. Clare finally splurged and bought a "real" camera over the summer, so she has lots to learn. Favourite hang out spots have been Hampstead Heath, Regent's Park, The City (especially around St. Paul's Cathedral), and Greenwich Park. We have had a couple weekends visiting family in Berkshire, and each time have marvelled at just how quiet and peaceful small town life is compared to London. Suppose this is why people have country homes, right? First goal - afford London flat, second goal - cute thatched roof cottage in the country. Got it. On our weekends in the city we have checked out a Japanese festival in Trafalgar Square, visited the Imperial War Museum to see the beautiful poppy art installation, had yummy pies and cheese at Borough Market, and visited the Hackney Carnival. As the weather starts to get darker and damper, we envision a lot of evening museum visits as just like in Ontario, this stretch between end of October and Christmas can feel like a bit of a slog! But for now we are off to Italy for a 9 day holiday away from the holiday, so we will say, "ciao" and be back for an update in a couple weeks on gelato and pizza.