Half a Fortnight

We’ve been here a week – a week! Half a Fortnight!

I don’t know what I really expected we’d have gotten done in that time, but I think we’ve done pretty well so far. Especially considering getting anything done with a jetlagged toddler in tow is 196.3% more difficult than it would normally be. So it’s been a flurry of phonecalls and appointments around naps and times Neil can go into work late or come home early.

Last night we got our first big grocery delivery (which is super common here, and super awesome), and just today I managed to finally get us all the way unpacked into our temporary digs. Now it feels a little more like home, and it’s a lot less crazy-making to get through the day-to-day.

We also got our bikes re-assembled relatively quickly, so we’ve been cruising around on those to run errands, etc. Traffic can be a nightmare and parking is nearly non-existent, but Oxford is exceptionally cycle-friendly, and basically flat, so it’s been a real treat to pedal around.

The big achievement of the week though, has been finding our permanent rental! We were in the right place at the right time to get into a really lovely townhouse in a popular, family-friendly area of town. We’re near a great park, a pub with “the best pub food in Oxford,” adjacent to the City Center (the neighbourhood, Jericho, is where travelers would stay the night if they arrived after the city gates had closed), and steps from the beautiful Port Meadow.

Other than our cursory bike-ride around the new neighbourhood, we haven’t yet been out for any serious exploring. We hope to remedy that this weekend in between running a few errands, and perhaps trying out our soon-to-be local pub for Sunday Lunch!