Two years in London and still going strong
A country cottage in Surrey
It’s hard to believe two years of living in London have flown by so quickly. I fully intended to share a post with my reflections after one year but got busy and now all of a sudden more than two years have passed! I’ve been in London long enough that it now feels like a second home, although I do continue to live like an ex-pat, by making the most of my annual leave and bank holidays (that’s right, I’ve converted to bank holidays instead of public holidays). In two years, I have visited:
Berlin for Christmas and Nuremberg for New Years’ Eve in 2017/18;
Devon for a weekend summer break in 2018;
Lake Como, the Cinque Terre and Tuscany for a summer holiday in 2018;
Amsterdam for a break between Christmas and New Year in 2018;
Sussex to walk the Seven Sisters for a May Bank holiday in 2019;
home (Melbourne and Perth) to see family in 2019;
and various day trips from London.
Listing everywhere I’ve been may look like a lot of places, but I’m still itching to see so much more. What has really made London great though are the experiences living in this huge city. When I moved here, I fully believed I would have time to write regular blogs about my life just living in London, but I soon realised life was far too busy and I only managed to commit to blogs about my holidays. Looking back, these are my favourite places and experiences so far:
exploring Richmond Park and watching the deer as if I was in the wild;
Deer in Richmond Park
meeting other sewists through groups like London Stitchers Meetup and New Craft House;
country walks and pub lunches with my hiking group;
visiting so many amazing galleries and museums. I became a member of the V&A purely so I could see the Frida Kahlo exhibition after it sold out - and it was totally worth it! I also love the London Fashion and Textile Museum;
taking a Go Boat along the canal in summer;
Go Boating on the canal in London
weekend treats at Maltby Street Market and Mercato Metropolitano (and Crafty Fox Market);
wandering along Brick Lane on a Sunday, eating food and trawling through racks of vintage clothing;
summer picnics in Regents Park and Hyde Park;
Summer 2018 in Hyde Park
Notting Hill Carnival - and riding Santander bikes home after the carnival;
enjoying the simple pleasures of my local farmers market;
London’s love of decorations - whether it’s Christmas or flowers all over Covent Garden in spring and summer.
Christmas in Covent Garden
Frieze London - we went in both 2018 and 2019;
going to the theatre - although I feel like I don’t go enough;
The view from the Thames Path
running along the Thames Path from Tower Bridge to Surrey Quays. When I lived near London Bridge, I did this run almost every weekend and never got bored of it. Now that I have moved out of that area, it’s the main thing I miss (even more than being able to walk to work). One big bonus of London’s grey in-between weather is that I can run all year round.
St James Parkin Autumn
With all of the great things about a big city like London, there are, of course, a few downsides:
I miss the prevalence of high-quality food and coffee in Melbourne without having to break the bank every time I feel like eating out. Londoners seem to love chain restaurants - I’m yet to understand what’s so great about Pret, Eat or Wasabi.
‘Tube nose’ does make me somewhat concerned for my health. The Tube is also quite expensive.
The Tube during the rush to and from work is horrendous. I definitely had a major advantage when I was able to walk to work. Now I aim to take the bus if I get out of the door quickly enough.
Rent is sky-high. Now that we don’t have flatmates, it does feel like we’re paying quite a lot for what is essentially a small two-bedroom flat in a converted Victorian house.
So, what next? There are still so many places to see in and around London and I would love to explore beyond Europe this year.
More museums! I have been to a lot of the big, famous museums but there are so many smaller, highly rated museums that I’m yet to visit. Some of the museums on my list include Sir John Soane’s Museum, The Horniman Museum and Gardens and The Wallace Collection.
More stately homes. I have visited a couple of stately homes since being here but there are so many more to see.
Travel outside of Europe. I have seen so many beautiful parts of Europe since living here but would love to travel further. Morocco is very high on my list for this year.
More time by the Mediterranean in summer. I said I want to venture beyond Europe this year but I still can’t resist another summer by the crystal clear, blue water on the mediterranean. We couldn’t get over how beautiful the beaches were in Zakynthos so we would like to go somewhere similar this year.
Visit Cornwall. This is one part of the UK that I’m yet to visit and would love to see.
More sewing. I didn’t have a sewing machine for the first ten months in London and then was lucky to receive a new machine for my 30th birthday. Since getting back into sewing, I am once again hooked and have even branched out into pants/trousers (the English words are getting the better of me). I would like to make more of my clothes this year and try to resist impulse shopping.
More blogging. Life gets busy when you’re trying to maintain a busy full-time job, travel, seeing friends, sewing and exploring on the weekend. I haven’t exactly been good at making time for blogging over the last year so I need to up my game.
More relaxing and yoga. All of the running around doing things gets tiring. This year, on top of my huge to-do list, I still want to find time to unwind, rest and continue practising yoga.
Here’s to an exciting 2020!
