Wednesday, October 19th 2005

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Let me tell you about the area around Paddington Station. A part from being one of the 3 biggest stations in London (with Pancreas and Victoria), it is very well located to reach the centre. Busses go to Picadilly Circus via Marble Arch and Oxford Street, to the West via Notting Hill, towards Big Ben and Knightsbridge etc.

It also offers a wide variety of shops, restaurants, cafes and more importantly (well, at least for me at this stage) several internet cafes. I found mine by chance, 10 steps next to the Tube entry Paddington, small upstairs but quite big and still cosy downstairs.

I didn't count the hours I spent down there, sat in front of the computer, browsing jobadverts, saving my CV on every jobpage I could find, answering and writing emails and last but not least drinking countless Cappuccinos - the best in town I have to say! It was also my first regular contact, as the guy at the desk knew me quite quickly and used to bring me a Cappuccino without me having to ask for it.
I remember this place vividly, even the smell of fresh grounded coffee mixed with the somehow burned scent of about 30 pcs running. I would have my first really exciting news about jobinterviews in there, I would also get some bad news from home or about jobs in there. It was just a place but a really important one.

Then there was the Angus Steak House were I did enjoy many rare steaks with fries and mayonnaise - not the healthiest option but definetely falling under the cathegory "comfort food".
Just as important was the Cafe Nero in the morning for a nice Espresso or Latte or in the afternoon for a quick read through the papers and a blueberry muffin.

The Italian place with the best Spaghetti Carbonara in town (really!) and the most charming italian waiters was another delight to go to.

Somehow, Paddington and neighbourhood was my home for the first months, even after I moved into my flat in Sheperds Bush I still went to this Internet Cafe - one likes what one's used to.

Tuesday, October 18th 2008

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Off flathunting again. This time however, I combined it with a shopping trip to central London, Soho, Carnaby Street, Regent Street... it seems funny now that I also had lunch at the Digress Bar that day, a bar I would later have lots of after-work drinks as it's located 5 steps from the entrance to my later job.
That tuesday I was far from knowing about BioMarin, my later employer and was mainly worried about getting a roof over my head! On top of Carnaby Street, right next to Liberty House was a letting agency I decided to visit.
They had various studio flats on offer, one of them in Sheperds Bush, 150 GBP a week. For some reason, I didn't have to pay any fee to get to see this one - still don't know why exactly and I certainly didn't ask!
The apointment was scheduled for 2pm that day. Armed with an A-Z (my very important friend, this throughout my entire stay in London), I took the central line to Sheperds Bush and then walked the last bit to the flat. This mainly as I still wasn't comfortable with taking the bus, something you can only do if you already know the city a little.
The lady was already waiting for me when I got to the Terraced House. I instantly liked the flat, it was small but cosy and more importantly clean. It was fully furnished with a high bed, a small table with two chairs, two chestdrawers a shelf and a TV. The bathroom was tiny but cute.
After the shitholes I had seen the day before, this seemed like a little piece of heaven and I wanted it straight away.
The small matter of getting the deposit from my Swiss Account to the Landladys account until Friday wasn't easy, certainly easier that a. getting a bancaccount in London and b. getting the deposit back a year later...more about that further on.
That evening, I spent hours in the internet cafe in Paddington, moving money over, sending the good news to friends and family and still working on moving forward with the next big thing - a job!

Today I realise how much energy I had back then, how little or not scared and worried I was. Everything was going to be fine, I didn't just hope for it but knew it!
Today I realise how intense these early days in London were and am sure they tought me the most about what I was capable of, about how much I could acutally take.
The small matter of getting a place to live and a job - something I had never really had to worry about before and only after this experience do I know how important they are. So important there is no space for anything else, no homesickness, no lonelyness...