I Heart LDN

The price of a taxi in London could make a person faint. Come to that, the price of a ride on the Underground could bring on the vapours, too. The same could be said for a night out in one of the capital’s dining establishments. I am, unapologetically, a South-West Londoner, having defected to SW6 two years ago, so I’m biased. Living in West London, the East almost seems like a foreign country. Like any good Londoner, I love to complain about the city I’ve lived in, or in close proximity to for the entirety of my life.

I’d like to say I’m a well travelled individual. I’ve traipsed and trespassed around the world for a year. I’ve foraged through small towns and rambled, searched and explored large cities. But none compare to LDN. For example, there is no Borough Market anywhere else is the world. Yes, there are plenty of similar markets. Not the same. In Borough you can even request the name of the pig you are about to devour.
London has totally held on to its reputation as one of Europe's hippest capitals with new landmarks and trendy hotels, restaurants and clubs opening up all the time. The hotel scene is ever expanding with recent openings including boutique hotels and stylish B&B accommodation in the pretty neighbourhoods of Notting Hill and Chelsea as well as more centrally in Bloomsbury and Mayfair. London is steeped in history and architecture, with prominent sights at every turn, from Big Ben to the London Eye, the National Gallery to the Tate Modern. All I can say is London is a timeless city offering a fascinating mix of old and new.

London is a queer, mysterious place. London has the London Stone and the grave of William Blake, though no one really knows exactly where he lies. London has double-decker buses, a thrill that never palls even for a native. London is less impressed with itself than New York, although that city no longer proclaims itself “The Capital of the World”, as it used to. I like that London shrugs and lets its citizens get on with their lives - even if it costs them an arm and a leg to do so.