It is amazing to me how much you miss when you navigate new areas by following directions.

Friday I set off on foot to explore the area and get a better sense of what it would feel like to live close by and I was amazed at the neighborhoods and green space tucked away off of the beaten path.

I found a wooded trail off Marlborough Road that immediately enveloped me in nature only steps from a heavily traveled area. Following this path let to different neighborhoods and eventually to a large open park area called Lakeside. I found this park to be an ideal cut through to Old Town that took me by a beautiful old church and cemetery, a lake, several crisscrossing bike paths and lots of birds and beautiful blooming gardens.

As a bonus for my wanderings, I found a flat for let and the agent happened to pull up while I was walking by and offered to show me through. It gave me a completely different perspective to the kinds of properties we viewed Thursday. This one was unfurnished which may, in fact, end up being a good option. Next step...check into furniture!

I had big plans for Friday afternoon but, after a quick trip to The Cooperative Food store, I started browsing the internet for housing and was asleep for 3 hours! At least I was rested for the night (but that actually consisted of another super long walk all over Old Town with Mike). Tomorrow we will have to take a break from the house hunting...

Day 2 in the UK and here comes the rain everyone was talking about! On the plus side, EVERYTHING is blooming here. Beautiful gardens and parks are full of tulips, blooming cherry trees and other colorful things that I cannot identify. The rolling countryside, or Downs as they seem to be referred to locally, are blanketed in yellow flowers that apparently are grape seed used to make oil. I'm so glad we got here when we did. A few weeks later and we would likely have missed that bit of color.

The house hunting today was a mixed bag. There is not too much available for a relatively short lease that is furnished. We found a couple of possibilities but I am inclined to hold out for some options in Cirencester. If we opt to stay in Swindon, we found a charming home in the Old Town area and another home that is a short walk to work for Mike and just around the corner from a beautiful area to walk, ride bikes and even play golf. Stay tuned on that...

Another development today is that we changed hotels and Mike can now easily walk to work. That should make the one car situation easier for the time being. We're off to dinner now - STARVING! Until tomorrow...

Cheers from the UK

Well, it is a new year since the last time I posted and definitely a new adventure. We have just arrived in Swindon, Wiltshire, UK for a 6 month Intel assignment and have spent the last 24 hours learning to navigate and get connected.

Kudos to Mike for getting us around Swindon last night; without a map, in rush hour traffic, while driving on the 'wrong' side of the road. I didn't appreciate that feat until I had to drop him at work this morning and do the driving myself. Swindon boasts the largest roundabout in England with one main circle surrounded by five smaller ones. You could seriously get lost (and dizzy) in there.

After a short time I felt confident enough to go touring the countryside to visit nearby towns that might make a good home base. Upon the recommendation of one of Mike's new colleagues, I headed to Cirencester today and had a ball. It is a charming, historic town in the Cotswolds. I roamed the narrow streets for a couple of hours poking my head into the many unique shops, grabbing a snack at Marks & Spencer & walking on the wide open green space behind the beautiful church in the center of town. We'll see how the house hunting goes tomorrow, but Cirencester is DEFINITELY on the short list.

Today's outing also led to the successful acquisition of a UK mobile phone and (after lots of frustration over an ISP outage) an internet connection to post this blog and connect with my family. Before I knew what hit me it was time to get back in the car and go get Mike again. I only actually got in the wrong side of the car once. It was embarrassing to hop in and realize there was no steering wheel in front of me - did I just admit that?!

We decided to wander through Old Town Swindon and look for an interesting place to eat dinner and we stumbled upon a place called Los Gatos Spanish Tapas Bar & Grill. This is clearly a town favorite and we were lucky enough to be there before 7pm, as every table was reserved after that. We are already planning a return trip on Tuesday to try the many items on the menu we haven't yet tasted and listen to the live music. Tonight we relaxed with a bottle of red wine (Mike would know the name - I just know it did the trick). The owner suggested several of the house favorites including pork meatballs, roasted beets with an amazing sauce, a shrimp dish, chorizo, an egg dish with salmon and asparagus, and a house specialty that tasted something like ham and potatoes.

All in all, the first 24 hours in England was a success. I believe 6 months will go by very fast so we will have to make the most of every minute. We would love to have visitors so give us a shout if you are interested.