I was just going through my blogposts and realized I’ve never actually posted about London here. Over the past 10 months, I have somehow started to consider it my backyard (it’s only a 35-minute train ride from Guildford!), so I never really thought of appreciating it for what it is. So I thought I could tell you some of my favourite things about London.
The first time I visited London was in September 2022, showing up without having done any research (very uncharacteristic of me) or made any plans in place because it seemed so overwhelming and too big to plan or to conquer. I let our friends show us around, following along with no thoughts in my brain. By the end of the day, I had been thoroughly charmed by the history and the hustle bustle of the capital city.
Over time, I’ve realized London is so much more than just the city of London and the famous royal landmarks there. I’ve fallen in love with its little coffee shops and independent bookstores, strolled through many of its parks and green spaces, devoured every free museum it has on offer, and I’ve loved every bit of it. I love the underground and overground, I love that I can catch a train going practically anywhere, I could write essays about how much I admire its public transport system. I love the general vibe of it, how everyone there seems to have a purpose, how I feel more important and confident just being there. I love finding hidden gems like Little Venice along Regent’s Canal, or The Vaults under Waterloo Station. I have a list on my google maps of Things to do in London, and another of things I’ve done in London. It’s amazing that no matter how many new things get added to the second list, the first list never seems to shorten. You could spend a lifetime here and never run out of things to do and see and experience.
Modern day London is also the place where so many people begin their lives over again, where people reinvent themselves, where I can find a halal place to eat on every other corner, where I find buskers singing Kal Ho Naa Ho, where I can walk for hours and not get bored, and where I truly feel alive.
TLDR: I love London
