Guest Post : My London

Ever since I was a little girl, London has always been a dream destination of mine.  It took many years to get there, but two years ago Alex and I made our first trip over.  For the past two summers for one week in August, we have called London our home. We stay in a lovely hotel in the Bloomsbury section of London, very near the West End, Covent Garden and right down the street from the British Museum.  What I like to do when I am visiting any new city, is to get up early and explore on my own, while Alex is sleeping.  I like to pretend that I am living there, so I can get the lay of the land before we go out together.  Spending mornings in a small cafe in Russell Square watching the world go by and gazing at the lovely water fountain in the square made for a peaceful morning and to this day the memory puts a smile on my face.

Our days were spent wandering with truly no plans.  We like to see where our feet and the Tube would take us.  Sometimes we would just hop on the Tube and decide at the last minute what stop we would take to explore new areas. One day we ended up at Wimbledon and on another occasion with were walking along the Thames River in Fulham on the path to Craven Cottage to watch a soccer match. Both areas were an absolute delight!  My favorite thing to do in a big city is to get lost - those are the best adventures.  We’d stop in at a few pubs along the way throughout the day, to quench our thirst and always would meet such lovely people. The first summer we were in London, we met a really nice young man from France that was going to school in London and bartending.  We were excitedly talking to him about our day trip to Paris on the Eurostar.  We never saw him again, but he and Alex had exchanged emails, so a few weeks later we received an email from him asking how we liked France and what we did in Paris, and an email relationship began for Alex.

I remember the first morning I was wandering around looking at the buildings, I felt like I was on a movie set, it seemed like I was walking thru a dream.  The gorgeous architecture, the colorful doors, double decker buses, cute cabs and the fabulous flowers that decorated the pubs were a feast for my eyes.  

Of all the beautiful places in London, my favorite places are the parks - Hyde Park, St. James Park, Regents Park, Kensington Gardens and all the small squares like Russell Square.  I have to say the best part of our trips are being able to spend quality time together - wandering, talking, laughing along the way.  The people that we meet from all walks of life are the icing on a very wonderful cake!

I’d like to thank Simone for giving me this opportunity to share my love of London (we haven’t even scratched the surface of it yet - we will be back!) and wish her a lovely time on her holiday in the South of France.

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”

Cathi lives in California and writes the blog 

Everyday Adventures of a Curious Gal