Our not-so-flat flat, part 2

As promised, I managed to take some pictures in the daylight of our flat (you can click on a picture to get a larger image). We headed out today to do some more exploring of the neighborhood. We started off by walking around to the back of our building to join the tow path next to Regent's Canal. The tow path was used originally by draft horses, who pulled the barges along the canal. The canal system, which connects to the River Thames, was originally built in London in the early 19th century to haul goods and materials into and out of the city. But railways were soon developed, so the canals never were used heavily for hauling goods as they were originally intended.

From the tow path, we walked back to the main shopping area of Islington, exploring the shops, and took care of our one tasks for the day which was to get mobile phones. We managed that, had a bite to eat, did some grocery shopping, and headed home. With a small kitchen and refrigerator, and walking everywhere, we realized we're going to be doing food shopping on a regular basis.

As I posted earlier, it's amazing how green some of the plants have stayed given the weather we've enjoyed here, which as the Evening Standard front page blared yesterday "-10c freeze!" and the headlines today said "Colder than Antartica!" Somebody obviously spends some time tending to the plants, and we're looking forward to doing some of the gardening when the weather warms up.

One last photo for today; this one is a picture of the second, or entry floor, looking from the parlor toward the living room and street. It's quite comfortable and cozy here, and also gets the great morning to noon light in the parlor.

Big day tomorrow, as it is the girls' first day at the Royal School. We visited there yesterday, and picked up their uniforms at a shop in Golders Green. Quite a sight to see them in the uniforms, nothing like they've ever worn to school before. We'll be sure to take some pictures tomorrow, and I'm sure they'll both be posting after their first day.