A Year in London

My time living and working in London in 2012

Picking up where I left off

/ Maria / 2 Comments

I’ve been in London for almost two weeks now, so I think it’s time to get caught up with my blogging! I spent the first week of September backpacking around Croatia with Lisa (more about that in my next blog entry) and I’ve been settling into London over the past week and a half! I’ve moved into my new flat and so far I love it! I have a nice room on the ground floor with a double bed and lots of space. Best of all, I have a kitchen and wifi, which is a huge improvement over my stay at the YMCA last winter.

My bedroom

I couldn’t have asked for a better first week back! After settling in, I managed to see some of the last few events for the Olympics. I was lucky enough to catch the end of the marathon for the Paralympics. I hung around the public viewing area at the end of the race and managed to see a few athletes crossing the line! I also went to the parade for all of Great Britain’s athletes from both the Olympics and the Paralympics. It was pretty exciting to watch all the athletes go through the city with their medals!

I was also lucky enough to go to two concerts my first week. Right after arriving, I went to see Lady Gaga perform in Twickenham with Lisa and Philippa! I’d describe her show as more of a production than a concert. The set was a huge castle and the entire show told a story, although it was Lady Gaga, so it was a pretty messed up story. She may be a little bit crazy, but she’s definitely an entertainer. She performed all of her hits, complete with intense dance sequences and about a dozen costume changes! Later in the week, I went to see The Script at a much smaller venue. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but they were really fun to watch and I really enjoyed their show as well!

At the Lady Gaga concert

I did start work last week as well. It’s always nice to go back to a company and actually have an idea of what’s going on. I was able to jump right back into stuff and I’ve been enjoying it so far. Unfortunately, my friend Etienne is moved to Singapore with LMC last week, so I went to his going away party to say goodbye to him as well.

This past weekend I did a bit of shopping in Camden with Lisa and Philippa, and on Sunday I caught up with some of the friends I met last semester! I’ve starting going back to the Salvation Army church that I attended in the Winter and I’ve also starting going to the Hillsong Church here in London. I attended it a few times last semester some friends and the energy there is really great, so I figure I’ll check it out a few more times this semester!

I’m excited for this upcoming weekend because me and my flatmates have decided to rent a car and take a small road trip to get outside of London and see some more of the UK! I’m living with 5 other people, so it’s always a bit busy, but so far everyone is really great and I’m enjoying it. Aside from that, Rocky has come for a visit again and so hopefully I’ll get to see him soon!

Of course, I’m still missing everyone back home and I’d love to hear from you, so skype me!

Love Maria

Olympic decorations on Regent Street

The Best of London

/ Maria / 1 Comment

I’m currently reading the book “Londoners: The days and nights of London now – as told by those who love it, hate it, live it, left it, and long for it” by Craig Taylor. As you can probably guess from the title, it’s a collection of short stories about the many different experiences people have had in London.

The book starts with a quote from Samuel Johnson, “When a man is tired of London he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” It’s interesting to read about the different perceptions people have of London and to learn what people love and hate about it. Even though I’ve only lived in London for 4 months, I’ve decided to share my favourite parts of London. For those or you that haven’t spent much time in London, I hope you enjoy this post. For those of you that have lived and loved London, please share what you love about it!

My top 5 places to visit in London:

St. James Park

5. St. James Park
Even though St. James is one of London’s smallest parks, it’s also one of the most beautiful. St. James is located right in the center of Westminster and all of London’s major attractions. If you walk north you’ll find Trafalgar Square, go west and you’ll come across Buckingham Palace, and go east and you’ll eventually end up at Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. No matter what time of year you go to St. James, you’ll find green grass, beautiful flowers, and dozens of different birds; in the summer you may even come across the resident pelicans!

The South Bank

4. The South Bank
One of my favourite walks in London is to start from St. Paul’s, cross the Millennium Bridge, and then continue along the South Bank. I’ve already raved about how much I love Borough Market, but there’s a lot more going on then just the market. Once you leave the market you end up walking along the river, past the reconstruction of Shakespeare’s Globe and the Tate Modern until you reach the London Eye, and finally, Westminster. There’s lot’s to explore along the Bank.

Spitalfields

3. Spitalfields / Brick Lane
Spitalfields Market and Sunday Upmarket are easily my favourite markets. They have everything you could possibly want – from trendy clothing stalls, to vintage jewelery, to food stalls from all around the world! Once you leave the market you’ll find yourself on Brick Lane, which is where London’s Asian community thrives. There’s dozens of international restaurants and sweet shops where you’ll find delicious food and great deals!

Tower of London

2. Tower of London
While the inside of the Tower of London is definitely worth a visit – the area surrounding the Tower is the part I really love. The Tower is located right next to the River Thames and Tower Bridge. I love just sitting by the river and watching London move all around me. From here you can see all of London’s quintessential landmarks while enjoying a plate of fish and chips; if you’re lucky, you might even get to see Tower Bridge rise!

1. St. Paul’s Cathedral
St. Paul’s is my number one, favourite place in London. There is so much history in London; it has survived countless fires, the great depression, and two world wars, and yet it has still evolved and developed as time has passed. St. Paul’s is the very embodiment of the survival of London as it stands proudly in the city center. Both the interior and the exterior are incredibly beautiful and host one of the most gorgeous views of the city. No matter how much London changes, St. Paul’s will always be there, a true testament of time.

St. Pauls

What’s your favourite part of London?

From the Algarve to Madeira: Why you should visit Portugal

/ Maria / 1 Comment

After I finished work in London in April, Seth came to visit me for a few days and then we took off to Portugal for a week. I’m not really sure where I got the idea that I should spend my vacation in Portugal – I’d heard lots of good things about Spain and so I thought if I was to visit Spain, maybe I would visit Portugal as well. However, after a quick google search of Portuguese attractions, my interest in visiting Portugal greatly increased. Our 10-day trip from Spain to Portugal turned into a trip to just Portugal. I don’t think we could have done either country justice in 10 days and I’m glad we decided to spend the whole time in Portugal!

The Algarve

We flew into the Southern coast of Portugal to visit the Algarve. The Algarve is a long string of beaches and sandstone cliffs extending across the southern coast of the country. We stayed in a small town called Lagos for 2 days and had an amazing time exploring the area. We felt like we were in Paradise! Since we travelled in April, it was still sunny and warm, but not yet crowded with tourists. We spent our time eating in sidewalk cafes, strolling down white sandy beaches and enjoying as many flavours of gelato as we could find! It’s not quite warm enough in April for swimming, but if you’re used to Newfie summers I think you’ll be able to handle it!

After a few days in the Algarve, we took off for Lisbon. I can’t say a whole lot about Lisbon because we spent most of our time doing attractions outside of the city, but the city has a great feel to it and the cobblestone roads make you feel like you’ve gone back in time a few years. We spent a day hiking along the Arrabida Coast line – it reminded me a lot of home and we enjoyed the opportunity to experience a lesser-seen part of Portugal.

Funchal, Madeira

For the second half of our trip, we flew to the Portuguese Island of Madeira. Portugal has two sets of islands located near the coast of Morocco: the Azores and Madeira. Madeira was definitely my favourite part of Portugal and I’d recommended it to anyone as a fantastic place to go on vacation. Madeira is much further south that the rest of Portugal and so it’s a lot warmer; even warm enough to go swimming all year long. We stayed in Madeira’s capital, Funchal. Unfortunately most of the beaches in Madeira are small pebble beaches, but if you’re willing to take a short boat ride to the nearby island of Porto Santo, there’s a white sandy beach that stretches for 9km!

Madeira is an entirely volcanic island, formed of high cliffs and mountains rising right out of the ocean. It’s hard to go anywhere on the island where there’s not a breathtaking view! There are also a lot of tropical and exotic plants on the island. Usually I don’t pay that much attention to the flora, but it’s impossible to ignore it in Madeira. One day we took a cable car up the mountain and visited the most beautiful garden at the top! I can’t tell you much about the actual plants, except that you’ll completely lose yourself in all the bright colours and beautiful scents!

Delicious meal

Finally, Madeira also has incredible sea life and seafood. Every night Seth and I would try something different. Madeira’s special is black scabbard fish, which they serve with fried banana – it is delicious! On our last day, we went out on a catamaran looking for sea life. We were lucky enough to find about a dozen dolphins that entertained us for the better part of an hour. Unfortunately I lost my hat overboard, but the crew was nice enough to fish it out for me!

Anyways, Portugal has now become one of my favourite European countries that I’ve visited and I think you should make this a must-visit country on your next trip to Europe!

Obrigado,
Maria