Leaving London (for now!)
In less than 24 hours, I will be saying good-bye to my little flat on Finborough Road and boarding a EuroStar train bound for the CIty of Light to begin my month in France. It is almost impossible to believe the first "leg" of my adventure is coming to a close. I have been living in London for nearly three months, and while some times those first few days getting settled feel lightyears away, other times it feels like I just got here!
With the exception of being a British germ magnet, and a few pangs of homesickness generally brought on by seeing Cavalier Kings Charles Spaniels, I have loved being back in London. So much has changed since I was last here, for both London and me, and I have really enjoyed getting to know each other again. Especially exploring new-to-me neighborhoods like Borough, Angel/Islington, Maida Vale, Battersea and Marylebone.
The hardest part about being in London this time around, is that while it did come with some wonderful friends already in place, and I have made some new ones as well, I am on my own a lot of the time. This is a complete 180 from when I was here as a student, sharing a two bedroom flat with seven other girls and having half of my college friends roaming around the city. There was always someone to play with. Back then, escaping to a museum, taking a long walk in Hyde Park or seeing a matinee in the West End was half for the experience of being alone (not that I didn't love you girls)! Now, I crave those times when my friends are available to join me in my adventures. But this is what happens when you move to a new city and don't have a job (especially in a city that works as hard as this one!): you have a lot of time to yourself, which is not such a bad thing when you are tasked with tackling some of the big picture questions. Thankfully, I rather enjoy spending time with myself, and since it is pretty much impossible to be bored in London, I certainly have not been moping about!
If anyone had told me this time last year that I would have gone to Wimbledon, the British Open, seen the Rolling Stones in Hyde Park, and spent days wandering through some of the most amazing art galleries in the world, I would have thought they were crazy (but I'd also probably have asked to have whatever they were having, because I like the way they think!).
As much fun as I have had wandering about this city, going on mini travels around the country and just soaking up this experience, by far the best thing that has happened during this time was falling back in love with my camera. Photography has been something that I have loved for a long time, but something that I never gave enough time. Now, I rarely leave my flat without my camera and find myself looking at the world in new ways. I bought my current camera just before my first trip to Paris in 2012, and I am excited to take it back with a bit more know-how.
I am really looking forward to my time in Paris, but it's easier to leave London knowing that I will be back in October (this time, living in Notting Hill!).
