Welcome to the Neighborhood

Now that we've been in our flat for three weeks I can say with confidence that I love our neighborhood!  It truly is Nappy Valley, so called because of all the families with young children who live here.  Jon and I went for a walk the other night and the number of estates (station wagons) and people carriers (minivans) and, generally, cars with carseats in the back parked on the street outside the rows of terraces houses was astonishing.  I spent the better part of an hour this afternoon wandering up and down Northcote Road, our local stretch of antique shops, clothing stores, and cafes, and found myself constantly dodging prams (strollers).  I really like the vibe of living in a family-friendly neighborhood.  I think Jon would maybe prefer to be somewhere slightly trendier, with more 20somethings, but I like the slower pace of an area where the streets are quiet by 9pm.

Also, I've grown to love my walk to the tube.  When we were looking at flats I specified that I didn't want to be further than a 10 minute walk from our closest tube station, but the flat we chose - actually, the flat that Jon, John, and Sam chose - is a 15 minute walk from Clapham South.  I have to admit that I was really annoyed by that at the beginning, but now I love my morning and evening walk to and from the tube.  It's a little slice of me time, space to gear up for or unwind from the day.

(I'm now sitting in a cafe with wifi a 10 minute walk from the flat - just had the most delicious eggs benedict with salt beef instead of ham, nom - and plan on exploring the market in a minute to pick up ingredients for Sunday's roast lunch.  Guest of honor tomorrow: Liz H., a friend from home who's in town to watch the Women's Rugby World Cup.  Yay!)