Biometric

Well, Dave and I got our biometric appointment out of the way. We took the tube down to Clerkenwell late yesterday morning and got there about half an hour early -- because in addition to being fearful of forgetting some crucial document, I was also fearful of being late. We had coffee at a Costa caddy-corner to this ornate pub. Don't you love those caryatids on the top floor, and all the other sculptural elements? I think the whole place is closed and undergoing some sort of renovation. There's actually a workman standing in the middle floor's center windows, working on the window frame.

At the appointed time we went to the immigration processing center, and stood in a line, and then stood in another line, and then went to a counter where we handed our passports to a guy who scanned every page. Then we went to a machine that took our picture and our fingerprints. And then we were done. I thought I was supposed to submit all the paper documents that went with our application and I brought them with me but they didn't ask for those at all -- I guess the scans I'd sent them earlier were sufficient.

And now we wait.

After the appointment, we wanted to have some kind of special lunch, so we wandered through scenic Charterhouse Square and found a little French restaurant called Le Cafe du Marche. It was perfect. We wanted to sit outside because the weather was glorious, but alas, there was only one outside table and it was reserved. But indoors was nice too, and I had a blue-potato-and-broccoli salad and John Dory with vegetables, and a bright orange Aperol spritz. (OK, two Aperol spritzes.) Dave had a seafood soup and coquelet, or spring chicken.

Before any of that happened, I sat with the dog in the garden, reading. Above you'll see some of her antics in a condensed version of our morning.

Back to work today!