Checking out the beach

Since I have been in Bermuda, I hadn't really been to a proper beach. Yes, you can see the harbor and the sea all the time (even from the windows in my office) but still hadn't been to the beach. That was my mission for early this afternoon. Workout and head to the beach. If only the weather had stayed nice. The locals will tell you that the weather changes quickly. Went to Elbow Beach, isn't it beautiful! Would probably have been even more so if there was some sun in the sky. Also, Elbow Beach is the beach where everybody goes to hang out and party on Christmas Day. Nick's going to love being on the beach at Christmas!!

It started to rain while I was at the beach so I decided to head back. On the way back I stopped by a nursery that caught my eye. It immediately made me think of Adrian. I can't wait for her to come visit. There are so many nurseries and a huge botanical garden which I haven't visited yet but plan to.

A shot as I was driving back into town to the hotel.

AND last but not least, my new crib. We have part of the guest house in the back. Our new home is approx. .8 miles from my office and downtown. Can't beat it. Will get more pics when I move in.

Now I'm going to relax for a bit before I figure out where to watch the HOKIES!!!!

I survived my first week!!

Good morning all!! So I am happy to report that I survived my first week in Bermuda and at PwC Bermuda. Things went quite well actually. The first couple of days were spent in classroom type trainings, then the last few days were spent doing all the errands I needed to do while juggling a laundry list of self studies that I was required to do.

Moving to a different country proves to be a bit of a hassle when you think of everything you need to do. New health insurance, new bank account, new cel phone, new everything. I was running around like a bit of a crazy person. Also, the majority of my time not doing trainings was spent looking for accomodations. The group had a good laugh at me b/c I think I saw nearly every 1 bedroom on the island. While it was a bit daunting it forced me to get on the scooter with my map and head to all the different parishes to look at places. 1 bedroom apartments are EXPENSIVE. It was a bit of a shock to get used to for me at first. A decent one bedroom apartment (600 sq feet) is going to cost you around $1,800-$2,000. A LOT more then what I paid to own my 3 bedroom townhome, but its about the experience.

Thursday a few from my new group went out for Mexican food for dinner. We all wanted a treat after the first week and of course I wouldn't pass up Mexican. I was sooooo excited to find a decent place that I called Nick right away, haha. I forgot my camera unfortunately; however, we did come back to our hotel and had a couple more drinks. The guys and me and Lynsey!

Friday was spent doing some trainings and viewing apartments. I found the place!! If you can believe it, traffic in Bermuda can get quite bad, taking 45 minutes from one side of the island into the "city." 45 minutes doesn't seem bad but on a scooter in the rain thats a LONG time. Needless to say, when I got information on a place less than a mile from the city I immediately jumped into looking. I couldn't pass it up. I signed on right on the spot. It is a guest house of a larger estate that has been converted into apartments. It has a pool and a separate bedroom and was inside my budget, almost too good to be true. Also, no crazy landlords!!

After I secured the apartment, I headed to pick up my gym pass and do a quick workout. After, I met up with Lynsey and her team at the "Ferrari bar." It has half of a ferrari in the wall and is quite cool. Also, while walking downtown there was a cruise ship docked. It's funny to see the cruise ship because it is so much bigger then anything else on the island.

I'm headed out to my first Bermuda workout class. Hopefully, I will feel the burn like in the US. Have a great day, mine should be fun! Cheers!

Sunday Funday

So I realized that I didn't explain my last blog post title. The commentator at the rugby match on Saturday used lovely before every word. Being a British colony the British influence is prevalent. I thought lovely tackle was funny, huge men hitting eachother and its lovely, WHAT?!

So Sunday I woke up early (after quite a late night) and decided it was time for me to
a) get comfortable with the scooter and b) explore the island. I rode around for nearly 2.5 hours on the scooter seeing bits of the island. It was about 75 degrees and absolutely amazing. Couldn't have been a better day. See the pics below!

The first couple of pictures are the view from my hotel. The hotel is in the capital of Bermuda, close to the harbor, not on the ocean. It is the most populous area in Bermuda.  The others are just scenes as I was driving. I didn't make it to any of the famous beaches as I got a bit lost but had a fabulous time seeing bits of the island. Also, I think I have conquered my anxiety of the scooter, it just takes a bit getting used to. 

Tomorrow is my first day at PwC Bermuda! I'm excited to go ahead and get started. Have a great all and hope everyone had a great weekend!!

That was a lovely tackle

What a fabulous first weekend in Bermuda! I think the only thing that could have made it better would have been having Nick here to enjoy as well, but I will be sure to see that his first weekend was as great as mine.

I arrived at the airport on Friday afternoon. My buddy was at the airport waiting, sign in hand. I had heard about Bermuda shorts, but they weren't kidding. He had lime green Bermuda shorts with a maroon sweater and navy socks pulled all the way up. He put me in a cab and followed the cab in his scooter. I got settled at the hotel and then went out with him and another few coworkers. We had a few drinks and then headed back for an early night.

Saturday was quite a day! There are 8 of us that all arrived in Bermuda on Friday that are starting with the firm tomorrow. We had scooter training all morning/afternoon before we were unleashed onto the scooters. Needless to say I was somewhat nervous about the scooters. My parents know of all the accidents I had when I first started driving a car and I was just hoping I wouldn't have a similar record on the scooter. Some pics of scooter training.

After we completed the training and got our new scooters, we all went for a late lunch at a pub not too far from our hotel. Knowing that college football was on was pretty tough! Every tv in the pub was tuned to English football (aka soccer) and I was missing home. HOW BOUT THEM HOKIES!!! So glad for another win!

Saturday night we attended the Bermuda Rugby final. The rugby competition consisted of 10 or so teams that played all week. There were two games on Saturday night, USA v. Argentina for 3rd place and New Zealand v. South Africa for the winner/final. USA lost horribly 40something to 0 and New Zealand won the final. The rugby match was interesting, a lot like American football without pads. The match felt like a big high school football game but was great. There was also a tent with a band and lots of drinks after. Such a good time!!

Saturday was such a fun day! I couldn't have had more fun! Tomorrow I will post pictures on my wandering around the island on Sunday!

  

Peace out US!

So today is my last day in Charlotte. It's funny, we have been working so hard to get to this point for what seems like a long time, that now it is finally here, its almost surreal. The littlest things have caused me to tear up this week. For example, heading to the gym today on a beautiful fall day in Charlotte and I was in tears. I've been so fortunate and blessed and Charlotte has been good to me. I met my husband here, I have created a great network of friends, had my first job out of college, owned my first house.

All in all, I'm ready to get to Bermuda. My buddy (someone for work who will help me adjust) is planning on picking me up at the airport and taking me to the hotel tomorrow pm when I arrive in Bermuda. Saturday morning is "cycle traning" aka learning how to ride a scooter from my understanding. I plan on spending the weekend exploring and looking for places for Nick and I to live. I'm so excited and anxious I almost can't take it.

Thanks to everyone for your support! Next time I blog, I'll be in Bermuda!