Moving Week

We had a very busy week.  It was MOVING WEEK!   We were asked to separate and label all our belonging prior to moving week to make it easier for the movers.  It's very difficult to go through the house and separate out where each item was going.  We even had a hard time figuring out what furniture to take and what to put in storage.  Since the home in London is way smaller then the home we were living in, we really needed to think about what to take and what not to take.  The different catagories we need to figure out were:

1. Air shipment
2. Sea shipment
3. Storage
4. Items we will take with us on our flight
5. Donation
6. Trash

It was very hard to make different sections with three very active boys in the house.  So on the first day of packing (air shipment), we weren't sure what the movers were going to do first.  We realized very quickly we were no way ready for them.

Before

After

It's amazing to watch the movers pack (sea shipment) all your stuff in a day.   All your sentimentals, all your life belongings, all your kids things, all your junk in boxes that will come back to you in about two months.  Then, when you do get them, and start opening one box at s time, you'll start to realize how you really don't need most of the things you had them pack for you in the first place.

The movers had packed and shipped out in three days.  All our things, gone.  Our house was empty.  It was empty of all the stuff but somehow, I did not feel empty at that moment in the house.  I still felt all the love, fun, wonderful memories we had shared with everyone who walked through our door.  I remembered our first thanksgiving dinner we had with our wonderful friends and the last thanksgiving with our loving family.  I remembered all the times my boys played soccer near the kitchen.  I even remembered when Ayan fell and had to go get stitches when we first arrived to Raleigh.

I will never forget the wonderful time we had with the family.   It was nice we were able to get together most of the weekends, but the 5 cousins got to see each other at school everyday.  It was wonderful to see all 5 cousins become closer and tighter.  I'm so thankful to have spent good quality time with my brother and sister in-law.  I will miss you guys the most. 

I will always have a soft corner for Raleigh.  Everyone I met has been so warm and kind.  Over the years, I am grateful for the wonderful friendships I have made while living in Raleigh.  I will truly miss our family, friends, teachers, and neighbors. 

My First Trip To London

So, I finally set foot in Europe on April 26, 2015.  I fell in love the minute I stepped out of the taxi.  It felt like home.  The home that I had left behind right after I got married.  I love city life. I love the sound of cars passing by, people walking all over the place, buses and taxis everywhere, cars parked on the streets.  I was in love!!!
 
As I was walking from our hotel, I realized a home just three doors down from the hotel, someone very famous had lived long ago. 
 

 
 
We had a great start.  The first day we were able to do some sightseeing.  We took the boys to the London Zoo (they wanted to go to LEGOLAND).  It was so nice to have a zoo right in the city.  The boys are pretending to be gorillas. 
 

 

 

The next couple of days was home searching.  We went through a lot of home with kids in tow.  They did such a great job.  Gitesh and I were so proud of them.  We started to realize just how different homes in London are.  They are narrow and tall.  Most homes we saw were at least 3 stories tall with little garden in the back.  I guess this is something we will have to get used to. 

 

We did some more sightseeing.  We were able to take the boys to Natural History Museum.  I was in awe at the architecture of this massive building.  It is just breath-taking. 

 

 

We ended up in a wing where they had Minerals.  It was great for Aarav since he just finished doing research on it.  The Mineral room is massive. 

 

 

 

On our last full day in London, we went to see two major sights. 



London Eye





Big Ben
 

 

 



 



 

We all really enjoyed our trip before the big move.  We are all looking forward to living in London, but we will miss all our family and friends at the same time.  I hope some of you will come and visit us.  We look forward to having you over.  



 

 

 

 

Welcome

Welcome to my blog... I am excited to share some of my experience as the Dubal's live and travel in and around London.

First off, I have never set foot in Europe (airports don't count).  So, this will be a fun and interesting experience.  So, to go live in an foreign land for a few years will be a bit exciting and scary at the same time.  But mostly, FUN.

Please stayed tuned for more posts.  I'm still trying to get a hang of blogging. But before I go,I would like to thank my dear husband, for pushing me to create a blog that we can share our experiences while we are living in London.  Also, the other person I would like to thank is Vaishali Desai for really making me realize how important it would be to do a blog.