The apartment awaiting us was not ready when we got into town. So, we had to figure something out. Mike had another pickup so we couldn't just wait with him. Fortunately, we were able to drop off our luggage in the apartment since the only thing it lacked was being cleaned. But, we had to burn an hour or so while that happened. And, or course, no one we had any contact with was available to help. We had Mike just drop us at the local mall...with car seats in tow. :) We got some funny looks but *shrug* there wasn't much we could do about that. Daniel and I took shifts walking the boys around since we knew they wouldn't sit there for an hour. We ate lunch at a great British restaurant...Burger King. :)
Once we hauled everything back to the apartment, we realized we were officially residents of Cambridge!
The next few days were full of exploring the city and enjoying some local pubs and restaurants. I had a major migraine on Friday morning and Philip ran a fever Friday night but other than that, we've gotten out as much as we can. The position Daniel is taking is a rotating position and the guy he's replacing is Craig. Craig and his wife, Elizabeth have been extremely helpful. They took us on a tour of the city on Saturday, complete with a stop at a little playground in Christ's Pieces. They have two little boys as well just younger, 2 yrs old and 7 weeks. Their 2 yo took to Charlie very quickly!
We did find a playground that was close to the apartment. It has become Charlie's favorite and since we pass it regularly on our outings, it has become a frequent stop for us. Separate post to follow for pics...
Our days are full of walking...lots and lots of walking. The stroller is holding up but is just no match for the cobblestone sidewalks and constant curbs. We quickly realized we needed a new "pushchair". And, of course, Philip doesn't want to ride in it but Charlie does. They've been trading out who gets to ride.
Daniel didn't make it to the rental car place on Thursday after we arrived. When he went to get it on Friday, they had given our car away. :\ So, he called on Monday...they had a car available but when Daniel got there to pick it up, he opened his wallet and had no driver's license. Therefore, no car again. Panic ensued and we began the hunt. It was morning in Cambridge which meant nothing in the states was open and we needed to check with the rental car place in Atlanta as well as CarMax since those were the places Daniel remembered having it last. Turns out Daniel had left it at CarMax. Can you hear the sigh of relief? We had our friend, Kathy, go get it and FedEx it to us. So, Wednesday around lunch, it arrived and off Daniel went to get the car. This time he came home with a car! It's a cute little VW Golf. But, it does have 4 doors and for some reason, the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. :)
The other drama we had was getting a bank account here in Cambridge. They didn't like taking our American proof of address. Then the lady that first helped Danel open the account, didn't send in the complete bank statement so Daniel had to take it back in for resubmittal. We added me to the account which was this whole process all over again. Weird, I know. Lots of paperwork. So many hoops. However, after about a week of back and forth, the account was opened but had a debit hold. Figures. We had money wired from our account in the states and surprisingly had no issues. Final approval (a week and a half later) and we're finally up and running complete with a debit card! Yay! Now I can have groceries delivered! :) It's the small things...
After a few days in the apartment, we were all starting to get a little stir crazy but we are making sure to get out each day, even if it is just to the grocery store. I know Daniel has enjoyed being home and off work but I think he's ready for something productive to do during the day. :) So off to work for him...
On our outings, I tried to get pictures but also tried not to be too obvious at being a tourist. Here is the beautiful Cambridge...
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