With family living in London, I am a frequent visitor and every time I set foot in this momentous metropolis, I like it more. Truly, London is growing on me.
London Calling: My Fondness For This City Is Growing
My family lives in the Bermondsey district of southeast London, part of the Southwark bureau. They have a beautiful home just a block from the Thames and I am reminded each time I visit how lovely it is to actually live in London.
Sure, the drive in from Heathrow is somewhat excruciating due to the heavy traffic no matter the time of day (even at 11:00 am, it took us 90 minutes). Sure, London is hardly homogenous: like any major city there are better areas. And Bermondsey is not Kensington or SoHo. But it’s actually quite easy to get around London by Underground and the neighborhood is quiet and clean and gentrifying.
What I appreciated so much this time was great coffee and the beautiful Southwark Park all within short walking distance. Grocery stories too. And even a little stone beach looking across the Thames to the City of London.
And I loved falling asleep at night with a cool breeze and the gentle sound of rain coming through the open window during a time in which Los Angeles was hitting triple-digit temperatures.
LA is difficult to top when it comes to the food scene, but there is also a great diversity of food in London and we enjoyed a delicious dinner from an Israeli place called Bala Baya.
And London is full of history: a world capital steeped in charm and tradition.
I guess the point is that as I travel the world, I could easily see myself living in London.
It’s a city I enjoy returning to over and over and find myself liking more and more each time.
And while there are many cities around the world that I love, there are few I would want to actually live in. London, though, is one of them.
This is part of my summer to Europe trip report.
