Igor and Heeseung finally made it to London, after a completely unnecessarily long flight. Igor would have been very enraged and appalled at the length of the flight, had the airline not fortuitously bumped him up to first class, where, as Igor reminded Heeseung, he belonged. Unfortunately, Heeseung received no such treatment, and remained in the back with the rest of the plebeians.

The first view Igor and Heeseung had of London came as the aeroplane tilted, sending their gaze into a streak of brilliantly pink-tinted sky before dipping down into the clouds. The separation between murky cloud and foggy ground was almost indistinguishable, but then —

Igor and Heeseung were in London, where a grey haze was cast over everything.

Then, in the wee hours of the morning, Igor and Heeseung straggled over to Bedford Square (well, Heeseung straggled. Igor strutted.), where they received welcome and the keys to their flat. And then they were off again! What a whirlwind adventure. But actually, Igor was sound asleep by this point, waking only after arriving to their new home for the next four months.

And so, here is a brief photographic tour of Igor and Heeseung's first two days in London.

DAY 1:

Igor's bed. Heeseung sleeps on the floor.

The view out the window. Can't see? Here's another look.

Igor thinks it's quite nice, especially the square. Luckily there's a gate so Igor can keep all the undesirables out.

While the flat is wonderful, there was no internet for the first weekend, and thus, no contact with the outside world. Heeseung was unhappy, so she expressed her frustrations through the magic of folding and rolling her clothes. Igor couldn't care less because there was nobody worth talking to, anyway. After all, Igor is always where Igor is because Igor is... Igor.

To stave off the need for contact with the United States, Heeseung went to an internet cafe. It smelled funny. Igor abstained, because it was too bright in there. Happy colors? A sure sign that something is wrong with a place. Igor went to the ritzy cafe down the street to enjoy tea and biscuits, instead.

DAY 2:

The next day, Heeseung got up late and had a leisurely breakfast of flavored rice pudding. A chocolate croissant may have also been involved, but she won't say for sure. Igor, in the meantime, was still sleeping. Not that he was jetlagged, because he doesn't get affected by such common afflictions, but because he simply wished to sleep. (He does need sufficient beauty sleep, after all. Being beautiful is harder work than most people think.) Heeseung also spent the morning (or, as some people may define it, the afternoon) reading Henry James's The Portrait of a Lady for a class because Igor enrolled her at Yale-in-London, so embarrassed was he to be seen with her in her uncultured state. This was a small detail Igor chose not to mention to Heeseung until the planeride to London. Actually, he buzzed a flight attendant, whom he made relay the message. After all, Igor wasn't about to walk all the way back to ... coach.

Once Heeseung had trudged her way through roughly one-tenth of the book, she and her flatmates decided to go out and explore London. Igor knew it would not be worth his time (and couldn't be bothered to wake up). Meanwhile, Heeseung discovered that the Tube is very short, that is, very compact and low to the ground. Perfect for people who are short, compact, and low to the ground. Igor says it's only obvious that the Tube would be small because it fits him better (although, he would also like to note that, for a turtle, he has quite a long and beautiful neck).

Actually, Heeseung and co. (also known as Igor's minions, 1, 2, 3, and 4) were not simply exploring — they were looking for the Tate Modern. But they got lost. Oh well, exploring, getting lost — to-may-to, to-mah-to. During this time, Igor was— asleep.

While minions 1-4 were lost, they came across the Thames. It was a little chilly.

But it's OK because shortly after, they found the Tate! On display were some good things, some strange things. When Igor heard about their museum visit, he only remarked that once, he could have been a great artist...

Upon returning to the flat, the minions decided to do some flat-bonding. (Of course, Igor chose to pass. Bonding with the help? He shuddered at the very idea.) The bonding was made complete with fruit (courtesy of minion 4), bread (courtesy of minion 1), cheese (courtesy of minion 3), and fine drink (courtesy of minion 2). Much fun was had by all, except by Igor, who believed there was far too much merriment, as he notified Heeseung with a sniff of disapproval. Igor may have so strongly felt this way because he did not partake in drink, for reasons that were not divulged, but one might be led to suspect it may have had something to do with a certain turtle's weight-gain resultant of his indulgent tour around Europe this past summer. (Although turtles like Igor — proper turtles, that is — never divulge such information.)

And so went Igor's (and Heeseung's!) first weekend in London.