Today's is the day...

"You're off to great places. Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so...get on your way!

                                                                                     ~ Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go

We arrived in London at the crack of dawn arriving at the Queen's Terminal. It was an uneventful flight that felt much shorter than 9 hours. I think I caught a nap in between interruptions from the kids to go use the bathroom. 

As expected, it was raining and reminded me of the day we arrived in Warsaw almost 10 years ago. The rain here is a misting rain unlike the pounding rain you find most afternoons in Florida. In fact, that misting rain would make the Florida heat tolerable.

Despite the early morning arrival and no sleep, we had a full day ahead of us.  First, we paid a visit to our dear old Westie who spent the summer with our sponsors. He seemed to be in disbelief that we came back. 

My humans came back for me.

We left him briefly once more and took care of IDs, bank accounts, grocery shopping and even library cards by 2pm on the day of arrival. We felt and looked like a family of zombies. Even a stop at Starbucks did not revive. While it felt like punishment at the time, it was well worth it the following day.

At first, I cursed the person who put us on this flight. Now, I have a better appreciation for it. For the first time ever, we have had no jet lag. No children roaming the house in the middle of the night. No need to snooze in the middle of the afternoon. Note: this does not apply to my dear husband who needs a nap daily regardless of time zone.

Our new home is larger than I expected. Five bedrooms, two half baths, two full baths (one with a shower and tub), a dining room and large living room in two separate areas, a sunroom, and a kitchen three times the size of the one we had in Vienna that connects to a laundry room and a garage. I don't think we have enough furnishings for all of it. A trip to IKEA is in our future.

    A panorama of my large "good things come to those who endure a kitchen in Vienna" kitchen.

The area that stole the show for us, even in the rain, was the front and backyards, otherwise known as the gardens in British English. Wow! The front garden is a vast open space surrounded by a gravel driveway in a U shape and splits off the U into the back garden. The sunroom also leads into the back garden. 

A panorama of the garden/backyard. A regular picture would not capture the entire thing.

The grounds are all fenced in with a stone wall, hedges and some fencing. The hedge has a doorway cut into it that leads to a "secret garden" that contains an apple orchard. There is a little stone shed in the back reminiscent of the stone house near the mall in Washington, DC. Another wooden shed is actually an empty little house with a table and some directors chairs that will make an excellent retreat for the kids once we clean it up. 

The "secret" garden beyond the expansive first garden.

The theme to "Green Acres" kept running through my head the whole time. But, unlike Eva Gabor, this city girl thinks she is going to enjoy small town/country life.