House hunting and checking out London

This weekend found us house hunting in St. John's Wood, where we'd like to continue living -- nice area, nice home options. We were whisked in and out of several good options so will narrow things down as we land a school spot for Ava.

Speaking of, Ava scoffed at any house that didn't have beds. After all, how can we live there if her and Claire's room don't have beds?

Sat. morning we ran errands -- such normal living after 4 months of hotel staff taking care of us. Drycleaning, found a great butcher (I actually ran across him early last week when I was out walking, before shops opened -- he was unloading lamb quarters, cuts the meat on site. Based on that I decided his shop was worth a try.) Thus we purchased lamb steaks (excellent, I might add), some red wine and a few fruits and veggies, hit the post, etc.

Yesterday we caught a double decker bus; our tube was down so we took a bus to a different tube, ended up in Trafalgar Square and allowed the "Original" double decker bus to show us around. Much better than walking in chilly weather. (Though I really don't think Londoners found it chilly -- everyone was out and about, Hyde Park was teeming with horseback riders, joggers, walkers, tourists, you name it.)

We got a great overview of the city and all the sites we'll want to explore or re-explore -- nice walk down memory lane, too, as Joe and I were here for a week 12 years ago, falling in love.

At St. Paul's Cathedral we dissed the bus, tracked down some good Italian food and made our way back to St. John's Wood amidst sprinkles (Claire, who'd heard the weather report for the day, chastised me for not packing the umbrellas...call me an optimist -- it was sunny when we left).