London

I arrived in London, nearly two weeks ago now. I now have a job and am getting settled in so thought I would start a Blog.

Accommodation
Cheap accommodation in London is pretty rare. I spent the first couple of nights in Bayswater which was a good location but the hotel was somewhat grotty. £35 a night got me a single room on the third floor with a bunk bed that sagged rather badly. There was no lift and my suitcase was packed to the max so a bit of a struggle up the narrowing staircase.

I then moved to the Ace Hotel thanks to a recommendation from Samantha. It is more like an Australian Hostel, (www.ace-hotel.co.uk). About £20 a night in a dorm room. It is clean, recently renovated, has internet access, a bar and a garden.

I am now in London Fields (Hackney) staying with Rob, (a flatmate of mine in Sydney a couple of years ago) and a friend of his Andy. The flat is in a Housing estate that has partially been sold off to private owners. The flat has been renovated and is lovely, it looks out over London Fields.

Sightseeing
As the weather was fantastic for most of the first week, I did a lot of Sightseeing.

Next stop San Francisco

I had a few days with my brother, James in San Francisco.
This is at North Beach.

If anyone's heading to San Francisco the de Young museum is worth a look, it has some interesting modern art. Also if you feel like some theatre there is a Half Tix office in Union square where you can get discounted tickets. I saw an interesting one person play about internet dating. It was funny and involved audience participation.

First stop NZ

On the way to London I stopped off in NZ for a days with Dad. I bought a camera just before I
left and enjoyed trying out some of the settings.
This is a picture taken from Cable Bay, just outside Nelson.