Moving Day...

That Wednesday was moving day for the international students; the UK students would move in on Saturday. We managed to snag the keys to Veronica’s room  without having to stand in the long line to register. Here she is being dramatic after climbing all those stairs before opening the door to the flat.

Here’s her room before Hurricane Veronica hit...

...and here it is after.

Due to the limited shelving and cabinet space, we bought a shelving unit with lots of baskets to store clothes and bits & bobs. It fit perfectly at the foot of the bed. We also bought a small shelving unit for the bathroom, which only had a mini-shelf over the sink and no medicine cabinet. There was no time for a long good-bye as we were working hard up until the minute that we needed to drop off the rental car and hop on the train. Jimmy surprised me with an upgraded room on the ferry back to Holland. While we were sad to return without Veronica, we were happy that she was so excited about her future years at UEA.

More Fun in Norwich...

The next two days in Norwich were filled with running errands, mostly buying kitchen supplies and food (Veronica will be cooking her own meals), as well as bedding and shelving for her room. In between, we managed to see some more of Norwich including Harriets Tearoom,which was very traditional,,...

...and The Forum, a very modern building housing the public library, regional BBC headquarters, tourist office and several restaurants.

We also had several great meals, including tapas and cocktails at a gallery/café and Japanese at an Asian fusion place.

Other Sightings in London...

During our walk, we spotted several interesting sights, including this funky ship...

...and this cool graffiti at a skateboarding park .

I also liked the colors of these racing bikes that we spotted on the beach...

...and this view towards Big Ben and the London Eye. We eventually made our way to the Tube for a journey to Leigh and Mike’s hotel where we met up with their friends. We had planned to go out to dinner, but by the time we headed out of the hotel, it was getting late for us and we only had time to join them for a final drink. We then headed to the train station where we bought takeaway food for our journey back to Norwich. So happy that it worked for us to meet up!

The Rising Tide...

We finally reached our goal, the beach of the Thames near the Vauxhall Bridge where British artist Jason Decaires Taylor placed his underwater sculpture The Rising Tide, a climate change protest within view of the Houses of Parliament.  

Our timing was perfect as it was low tide so we could go onto the beach and see the horses.

According to The Guardian, the four life-size horses are: ...a symbol of the origins of industrialization but also as a warning for the bleak future it is creating for the world by their representation of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. While the bodies of the figures and horses are molded from real life, each of the horses’ heads has been replaced by the “horse head” of an oil-well pump – a political comment on the impact of fossil fuels on our planet.

Walking Along the Thames...

As we continued walking along the Thames, we finally stopped someone and asked them to capture a photo of all of us. 

Check out all those red double-decker buses on Westminster Bridge! To think that the city almost did away with those iconic buses.

Giant Bubbles...

There’s always a variety of performers along the Thames. The one that caught our attention was the fellow making enormous bubbles.

Jimmy jumped right in and tried to catch some bubbles along with the kiddies. Luckily no one accused him of being a kook.

While Veronica took lots of photos, Leigh dropped some coins in to thank the fellow for the entertainment.

Meeting Leigh and Mike in London...

That Sunday we caught an early train down to London in order to meet up with my sister Leigh and her husband Mike, who were visiting from California. We laughed that Jimmy bought a James White Apple and Ginger Juice for the journey.

Our meeting plan backfired as I assumed that they’d take the Tube from their hotel, but instead they saw a lot more of the city than they bargained for after their taxi driver got lost. At least Veronica had a chance to take this cool shot of The Shard while we waited.

After discovering that Borough Market was closed on Sundays, we found a nearby pub for fish ‛n chips. Then we took a wander along the Thames to the Tate Modern, where we stopped for a glass of wine at the café on the top floor.

Definitely worth waiting for a table for the fantastic view.

As we made our way towards Big Ben, we found a food truck selling microbrews. Leigh and Mike were definitely a great couple to drink our way across London with.