Back to routine

Sunday, 03-02, 12:00

It has passed a long time ago since I published my last post. I’ve spent one holiday week in Spain and by the way it was really cool: six nights in “Formigal” (Pyrenees), 1 night in Madrid and 1 night in Roa. There is a saying: “you can not see the mountain from the top”. Sometimes to have a clear and objective idea or knowledge about something you have to get away from it and to watch it from the distance. That’s what is happening with Spain and all that I left there and even with the new things that I’ve discovered recently.

I think I haven’t done anything very “special” in London in January. What do I mean for “special”? Is it because I already feel at home and living here is not a novelty anymore?

I’ll tell what has happened this week as an example of my new routine. Work at the office is getting better. My desk is already cluttered with my stuff. My English is still rubbish but at least I can hold a conference call with native English during 2 hours (as this Friday, it was too long!) without so stress as I had at the beginning. Still I don’t fell very confident and I’m sure that I don’t understand the nuances of some expressions but at least I can get by and I can endure this.

Here in UK, the famous TV series in Spain (Camera café) would not be successful as it is impossible to find a person near the vending machine more than the time required to come the coffee out to bring it to their desks. That’s why I have my daily coffee at 9.15 just when I come in the office or after lunch as for me there is no coffee without a chat and at that moment it is easier to manage company to sit down in the canteen for a while. I usually have lunch two or three days a week with my colleagues from my department and the rest are for to meet some friends from the office, most of them from the Spanish Community. I have a very good atmosphere with my colleagues. London is incredibly open and you feel at home after 2 weeks living here. In some way it reminds me Madrid. I don’t spend more than one hour for the lunch time but at 6.30 as the most I leave the office. It is a good deal. The last new is the football team that some colleagues have launched called the “Orange Galacticos”. They asked me several times to join them to have a “Primera Division” representative but I have to admit that I haven’t played football for the last 10 years!

I’ve got used to working here. The main difference is the fact that I have to take care of a lot of details, everything has to be planned in advance and it is not possible to use short cuts. But on the other hand it is nice to go to the office knowing that you are not going to have suddenly a crisis. That disorganization is part of the Spanish culture although I have to state that things here are easier as there are more resources for everything.

Here Wednesdays have replaced Thursday as the weekly day to go out for dinner. As usual I did it with my Belgium and Dutch friends. We had an invitation to go to a Scandinavian party in Kings Road so we tried to find a restaurant near there. We were adventurous and we came into “The Bluebird”. A very trendy place very suitable for the “Loaners” (people from Chelsea, it comes from the “Loane Square” that is in the middle of the neighbourhood, as my nice friend Sophie explained to me yesterday). Nice style, very posh, good service and … crap food, nothing special at all. People must pay to be seen instead of for having nice food I thought. The worst thing was the bill, extremely expensive although it is true that we ordered also “some” cocktails and “digestive liquors”. Anyway, it is likely that I come back but never for dinner, just for a drink. Afterwards we went to the club “Raffles”. We found the same atmosphere as in Bluebird: very modern, good style but the drinks were incredibly expensive and the people we met there they seemed to be for posing. And we didn’t meet any Scandinavian person at all! Most of them they were sit down and drinking champagne. I thought, does everybody like champagne as the only thing to drink? I have to admit that the place was glamorous but a little boring. We were nearly to leave it without having any drink but in the end we decided to stay. Fortunately I was the most responsible one and I left it around 1 whereas my friends stayed there more time… I could notice next morning in the office!

Saturday afternoon, I was having a very nice lunch in front of the Saint Paul’s Cathedral in Café Rouge with a good company. We had a very nice conversation addressing subjects such as the actuality concerning Media companies in UK and Spain, policy (general elections are coming in Spain), work and life in general. I’m very keen on having these quiet chats during the weekends, with a good café late or lunch and if I make the most of it by exploring London it is perfect.

Saturday night, I went to have dinner to Lonsdale. It is without any doubt the most visited place by me during the weekends since I moved here. There is very good music, prices are reasonable and people are nice. It is the typical place in Notting Hill. I like the style of people here, mixing formal clothes with informal ones. I didn’t want to look different and I wore a formal coat with jeans, and a beard of 7 days! We were 2 Belgian, one French man, one French woman and I. At the end of the dinner one Scottish man and another French girl joined us. We ordered some wine, Pinot Noir from California and 2 bottles from Chile to start and Blue label Johnny Walker to end... The dinner was ok and ten times better than Bluebird as my Belgium friend didn’t stop saying. He revealed me where his obsession for food and wine come from. The thing is in Belgium it is very popular to have gastronomic weekends for all the family. So from their childhood they are educated to be very picky with the food. I’m sure it is part of the Spanish legacy. As time goes on I’m more convinced about the fact that Spaniards take after Belgian. I was hoping to leave home very early but at the end it was 11 when I left.

So I haven't known new places. Today, the typical things that you can expect from a Sunday: put in order my apartment, reading the newspaper, cooking, gym, watching “the match of the day” on TV (Torres scored yesterday again!) and Skyping … So do I have a new routine? I think so. Madrid is over for the moment…