In London again, this time living in Bloomsbury

(David in the "egg" chair in the Silverjet lounge at Newark Airport)

David and I arrived in London this morning, safe and sound.

DD London used to have a special corporate deal with EOS, an airline that catered to business travelers with dedicated aircrafts with only business class seats. It was a good airline, although not as good as Virgin Atlantic Upperclass, the best of the best seats in the sky. We were prepared to fly on EOS again this time around, but, sadly, just as DD London went to book our flights, it went bankrupt. This resulted in our trying a new airline catered to business travelers between New York and London, called Silverjet.

It was awful.

The airline has good intentions, with people from check-in to flight attendants who very much wish their patrons to be happy. But as an airline supposedly targeting business travelers (i.e. people who have their companies pay for their expensive flights as a part of their contract/deal), it just doesn't cut it, and frankly, isn't worth it. The seat, while there was good leg room, was little better than Premium Economy on, say, Virgin Atlantic. We never thought we'd say this, but we think flying business class on American Airlines is better than flying Silverjet. And the food was inedible. Luckily, David and I had smuggled a chicken salad we'd bought AT THE AIRPORT. You know a business class meal really doesn't stand up for what it should when eating a chicken salad bought at Newark Airport is better than the stuff provided on the airplane. David and I still had a good time traveling together, drank a lot of wine but didn't even watch any movies, the TV with the seats being very dirty-looking and unappealing... but we hope to never have to fly Silverjet again. Even our driver once in London said that many business travelers he picks up from the airport, having flown Silverjet, are unhappy. Plus the airline doesn't own many aircrafts and only has one flight a day between New York and London, which kind of defeats the purpose of business travel -- when you travel for business, you usually don't have a day to waste. You need to get to your business destination as planned. On Silverjet, if an aircraft breaks down, there is not subsequent flight that day to get you where you need to go -- you need to wait 24 hours to try again, at which point you're late to your business occasion.

At least David and I made the most of it, I suppose.

(In the airport lounge for Silverjet, before we discovered just how crappy the airline was.......)

(Thank goodness for not having enough food-faith in a new airline...! We bought pre-packaged salad at Newark Airport, which was gourmet compared to the pathetic excuse for food served on the flight. At least wine is most always good, if only due to its alcohol content.)

Now we are in our flat in Bloomsbury, which is nice. It's very spacious and bright, and it is in a more residential area of central London than we have stayed before -- which means we can grocery shop easier and better. There is a big Waitrose just around the corner, which carries everything we would need in terms of cooking at home. There are places to eat, and there is also a gym down the street we can join. There are certain aspects of the apartment that are weird, but we have or are dealing with it. Some of which are:

- Plastic flowers. Like, elaborate ones. Totally unnecessary, totally creepy, absolutely ugly, and only existent to collect dust. This is a fancy apartment block. Why does it need any fake, NASTY looking, depressing, plastic "plants"? Who in their right mind enters an apartment and thinks, "Wow, I am SO glad someone bothered to give the flat some life by filling it with cheap, plastic flowers"?! I spent the first 30 minutes in the flat cleverly finding closet spaces in which to hide these offensive plastic junk, so that I may never have to see them again.

(They look better in the light... click on the image to view it larger and more detailed, for the full fake floral effect. These are all plastic plant concoctions full of dust and totally depressing with which to exist. I am about to shove some of them into the cabinet open behind them.)

- Barney's Womb. That's what I am calling the master bedroom. It is entirely decorated in various shades of purple/lavender. There is even a purple headboard. It's not exactly pretty or exemplary of fine taste in interior design. And with the curtains drawn, it's hard not imagine oneself having been swallowed by Barney the Purple Dinosaur.

- Cleanliness. We've stayed in 3 London flats at this point, and there is one thing they have had in common -- they are never thoroughly cleaned for the next resident. In the last flat, on lovely Floral Street, we found a roasted chicken leg still left in the oven. Thankfully, we have not found any old, roasted and decomposing poultry parts in the oven, but I have had to do a clean over and throw away things. Who wants steak sauce that's been there, halfway used by a stranger, having sitting in the cupboard for who knows how long? This is not a cheap flat. Anyone staying here has certain standards, they are not going to be your typical backpackers scavenging on whatever they can get to save money. NO ONE should enter this apartment and think, "Score! -- There is old steak sauce in the cupboard I can use."

(David in the lounge room, peering into the building across the street...)

(Over looking Coram's Fields, the park in front of our building, from the lounge room...)

Besides these above issues, though, the flat is great. It's a proper apartment unit, and it is comfortable. The natural light is wonderful, and having a park to look over is very calming. It's nice to know that we can carry on having a domestic life of going to the gym and cooking our own food, here in London, despite being displaced once again from New York.

(Our trolley at our local Waitrose... eating healthfully well and organic is so much easier in London these days...)