La Tour Eiffel

Paris Opera House

Paris opera house

Northern violist in Paris for vacation

May tourist photos now

Roofs of Paris

Entering the Chunnel on the Eurotrain

Still life in a British kitchen cupboard in morning

They don't do box springs here

...instead they do "slats"

Standing still

So the guards at Buckingham palace are actually pretty far back. I always imagined them studiously trying to ignore people who'd come up and make faces at them, and rigidly standing in place. The reality is that they slowly scan the area around them and change the side they're holding their gun with every five minutes or so. They also get to march every once in awhile.

I had always imagined maybe going up to one and asking about the weight of their big hats, congratulating then on their posture, and then delivering a rather long soliloquy about the state of the world.

In other news, I can credibly tell you that the Queen's ride is a black Range Rover.

Now all they need to do is grow food!

Day trip to Dorking

My quest for gigs and professional contacts have taken me today to the scenic town of Dorking. This is where the headquarters of the Musicians Answering Service can be found. I have come to have a chat about making contacts.

To get here, I took two trains and then found myself on a beautiful walking path. For the hundredth time since arriving in England, I thought, "I'm not in New York anymore".

Coronation chicken!

Chicken a la King?

Bleak British buildings

Getting a strong bow

...No, not for my viola, but for my fridge! Two litre bottles of alcoholic cider!!!! It's like this place was made for me!

If you want instant coffee, you'll have to wait

Is it only called "expresso" when it's terrible?

Also, if you look at the contents of these shelves closely enough, the reason why England is known for drinking tea becomes apparent. These are all horrible, horrible choices.

British underpasses have fun lighting

It's not a SWAT unit, it's your friendly nayyyyy-boyhood police horses!

The sign says it all

If you're lonely in London, follow the signs?

British Swag. Want.

This key actually works

...And I use it every day. I have never seen such an archaic key being used in North America.

Steep escalators in London

British Non-food

Warning: steer clear of marmite at all costs! Being foolishly adventurous, I tried some, and it is vile!!!! Also, sandwich filler? On par with Spam, perhaps? I don't even want to know about that beef stuff, good God!

At first I was horrified....

But then I thought it was a great idea...

Dusk over the Thames

TJ Max is TK Max

.... and they sell hot water bottles disguised as cuddly stuffed animals.

Hopefully my first mobile post with an image works!

Lessons of London after Midnight

There are no exits here, only "way out"....

Don't mess with British bouncers, they are scary when in action!

British women are clearly impervious to the cold. No wonder the Brits settled Canada.

I almost caused a brawl to break out after I pointed out five queue jumpers to the people in line behind me.

(By now you've probably been able to piece together that I went to some really classy establishments last night).

The buses are not sketchy. They are warm, and well lit. People were actually behaving themselves at 1am on a Saturday.

Drunken French men sing on buses, and rather than being annoying, it was quite cheerful and pleasant. When said singing Frenchmen ended up with an unsuspecting stranger sitting next to one of them, the stranger ended up singing along too. Most lovely bus ride ever.

In the UK: Leopard print and man-bags! suggested listening: The XX - VCR

The instrument to person ratio is much higher than in New York. I have also lost count of how many women I've seen with guitars. In New York, I probably never saw more than five women with guitars (and I went to a conservatory there!!!)

Men wearing leopard print and toting adidas purses. It's like something about Jersey Shore culture got completely twisted as it made its way across the Atlantic, which resulted in Geordie Shore.

There are way more styles here than in New York, which practically has a dress code (burrough-occupation).

People here, specifically men, are much skinnier. Of course there are a few people with some extra pounds, but it's not at all like North America, where you can practically guess someone's age based on how heavy they are. This trend is reflected in the width of toilet seats, which are more narrow here.

Still have a long way to go in terms of getting used to the vowels, and the slang. I like using the phrase "utter shit", I highly recommend it; it's a most satisfying expression.

Can't tell if people think I'm funny, or are just laughing to be polite.

All English pubs resemble The Duke of Duckworth, of St. John's, Newfoundland, right down to the smell. The Duke had much better lamps though!

Northern Violist in UK (suggested listening: Pj Harvey "Let England Shake")

After spending two years acclimatizing to New York, earning a masters degree, playing far too many concerts and falling in love with the place and its people (and its orchestras!) more every day, my spouse took a new job in London, UK, so here we are. I don't actually know anybody in London.

I do intend to blog once in awhile - in New York I spent approximately three hours on the subway everyday (my spouse spent 4+ on trains) so as you can imagine, every moment was precious.

I've never been across the Atlantic before today, and now this is my new home.

Observations so far, from Day 1:

- The English have forgotten to put doorknobs on the doors to their flats.

- The chicken I had in my Thai curry was melt-in-your-mouth soft and was probably from a boneless & skinless cut before it was cooked for my meal, but unlike North America, I couldn't taste any strange chemicals. (I'm rather sensitive to this as I have a ton of food sensitivities and now eat a slightly modified paleo diet, which seldom includes processed food, unless I'm being naughty).

- The yolks of my eggs was ORANGE. not yellow, orange!

So that's it. I have a rehearsal tonight with an amateur orchestra - Bruckner and a Prokofiev piano concerto are on the menu. Delicious. I thought I'd never have an opportunity to play Bruckner, aside from a reading I did once at a festival.

I'm not entirely sure how to break into the freelancing scene, but hopefully tonight will give me a few clues. I need to make contact with (and by "contact" I mean "have a pint with") friends of friends who live here, who should give me a few hints.

It was easier to get started in New York because I was in a school, and after a month, I could've

OMG THERE"S A KITTY CAT OUTDOORS!!!! :D

...nevermind, I couldn't figure out how to open the doors to the garden, and thus scared said kitty away. I'm still locked in. At least I didn't break the doors!

As I was saying, after a month of school in New York, I had enough contacts to strike out on my own, if I had been able. Someone at an institute this summer suggested I go to the Royal Academy and ask them where I should get started. Good advice, but I can hardly march in there and announce, "I HAVE ARRIVED!!! GIVE ME MANY CONCERTS!!!"

Well, I could, but it probably wouldn't produce the desired effect.

I'm sure any amateur orchestra would be happy to have me, I just need to find the ones where other freelancers hang out in their spare time.

I saw many people with instrument cases last night, so there's music in my neighborhood, probably an orchestra nearby. I resisted the urge to accost people on the street, I'll wait until my viola adorns my back - the well-known eccentricity of violists means you can get away with a lot.

I saw a cellist reading The New Yorker on the train and felt a pang of both sadness and happiness, that for a little while, I was a New Yorker.

I had estimated three years to turn into a full-fledged New Yorker, and I definitely needed that final year to complete the metamorphosis. I wonder if it's the same for London, and if I get bonus points for having spent two years in New York first? Of course, no one will ever mistake me for being English. I'm a Canadian who was always assumed to be a native New Yorker (until I said "out" and "about", that is).

A note for travellers/nomads/new arrivals in the UK: We bought unlocked phones in North America and purchased sim cards when we arrived last night - without credit history we weren't eligible for contracts or subsidized phones, and they were cheaper to buy before we left - $200 phone was the same as...wait, how do you make the pound symbol? I'm such a n00b at England. Anyway, a $200 phone in the US was two hundred pounds here, which isn't fair, but there you have it. Also, we went for the O2 unlimited data, texts and 300 minutes. I'll probably be getting Skype credit to use for making many calls.

Also, we got oyster cards (transit card) right away - don't delay! Got them at a combo tube/overland train station. It's about twice as expensive without an oyster card.

Well, I guess I'd better go practice Proko and Bruckner, I have new people to try and not embarrass myself in front of tonight!