Time flies when you're having fun

It really didn't take me long to break my promise of posting weekly! The last three weeks have been both incredibly busy and fun. I've now been in my new job for just over a month and settled into my new home in inner South London. I'm loving the morning walk to work and being back to feeling like I have a home. I'm even starting to go to the gym occasionally, so life is beginning to feel a bit more normal. My apartment also has a pretty amazing view!Aside from work and finding a home, there have been a few highlights over the last few weeks:

Visiting Richmond Park
Snow in London
Seeing more beautiful winter lights at the Magic Lantern Festival
Christmas parties galore
Catching up with Melbourne friends in London
Meeting lots of new people

Richmond Park was absolutely beautiful, even on a cold day. We were fortunate to get a fairly clear sky for the first half of the walk. The park itself is quite large and perfect for spending half a day wandering around deer-spotting. The deer are quite tame, although not to the extent of the deer in Nara, Japan. I met a new friend at the park and we were there for about four hours. This was a good amount of time to walk across the park and explore different areas. We had originally intended to do the circuit walk around the park, but we gave in to the temptation of wandering around looking for deer instead. We ended our long walk with a very satisfying lunch at Pembroke Lodge.

I was very fortunate to experience an actual snow day on Sunday 10 December. It turns out Australians aren't the only people to get excited by snow - people all over the city were taking photos, videos and in some cases, even building snowmen! It made for a very pretty day and a lovely beginning to winter.

We had our office Christmas party last Tuesday in a beautiful old stately home in Kettering, near the company head office. There was still plenty of snow on the ground, which made for a beautiful train journey on the way. Everyone at work is lovely, which makes settling in so much easier. The London office had round two of office Christmas drinks on Friday night at Commercial Tavern, a beautiful old Victorian pub near Old Spitalfields Market.

I went to see the Magic Lantern Festival at Chiswick House and Gardens on Wednesday night with a few friends I've met in London. I love how London makes the most of the early sunset and cold, dark nights with so many Christmas lights and festivals. It really does make winter a whole lot more fun! The lanterns were very impressive and worth a look if you happen to be in West London before it closes on 1 January.

I've also had some lovely dinners lately. Some Melbourne friends were in London this week as they start their year of travelling. We went out for a delicious dinner at East Street - the first South-East Asian food I've had since leaving Melbourne. I had another delicious dinner at Padella with a friend of a friend the previous week. This pasta restaurant is absolutely delicious and I can definitely recommend it if you're ever around Borough/Southwark. It's very popular, so make sure you arrive early to get a spot in the queue.

Don't be fooled by all the fun I'm having though, I still don't have a bank account! I knew this would be one of the main challenges of moving to the UK. The rumours are true - it really is this difficult. Fingers crossed I'll have an account soon. Thankfully I have a Monese account to tide me over (I strongly recommend Monese if you're in the same position). The pile of life admin hasn't ended yet, but I see light at the end of the tunnel. I'm going to Germany for Christmas and New Years, so stay posted for more exciting adventures!