Category Archives: london

You Won’t Get a London Top 10 List From Me

I’m sitting in a north London flat drinking red wine after just grabbing my favorite naan for 1 Quid from the shop that’s between my tube stop and the apartment and I’m wishing that I wasn’t already leaving for Rome tomorrow. My time here is never long enough. It’s like Paris in that way.

Now, my London isn’t of Big Ben, Buckingham Palace or a luxury hotel with to-die-for views. It’s the curry places, the vintage clothes to be sourced in pop-up markets, the artisan coffee shops, the long walls of abundant street art in dodgy parts of town, the places that still sell working-film-cameras, the pubs tourists don’t go in the neighborhoods tourists don’t know about and the little corner outside Kings Cross station that will forever mean something to me which cannot be put into words – written or spoken.

I believe that sometimes travel bloggers concentrate so much on Top 10 Lists and hotel reviews that they forget travel should be about more than ticking off lists and going wherever others recommend. London is one of the places I travel to again and again because I can be traveling but be without some of the burdens that come from always being in a new place and on assignment to report every detail.

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Harrods of London, a Time Capsule of Memories

Iconic is an overused word. Classic doesn’t quite encompass it all. Beautiful fits but may not be an accurate adaptation for every person.

I’ve seen all three words used to describe Harrods of London. For me, it’s a memory. My strongest from London when, barely a teenager, I accompanied my mother across the pond on my first international trip. Your first is always special and the things that happen during that first use of a passport, even more so. They set the standard for all trips which follow. For better. Or worse.

All of the places that I went shopping after seemed to lack a certain luster that implanted itself into my memory. No dress was exotic enough, no leather purse as supple. No shoes as sophisticated. Even the most luxurious shops seemed to be missing something. So when I returned this year as a woman so far removed from that innocent girl, I was surprised to find Harrods unchanged. I had been sure time would have dimmed the hallowed halls and changed my golden memories into a tarnished reality.

I was wrong. Harrods is still more fantasy-movie-set than shopping mall. The Egyptian Hall may not be Cairo or the Valley of the Kings but it is shiny and entertaining. The food halls give you a taste of Paris and Tokyo even though they are neither. Christmas World may not be the North Pole but if one has any inclination toward the holidays at all it certainly puts one in the Christmas spirit. Since I am older, my priorities have changed. This time around it was the food and the imaginative store windows outside that charmed me most instead of purses, shoes and couture clothes.

Still, it’s nice to know that in a world of insanity and constant change, some things stay the same. No matter how much time passes.

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Where to Stay in London: Part 2

Though I do prefer to experience a place through the most local and authentic channels possible – sometimes there is nothing like a hotel at the end of a trip to really finish things on a high note.

So when I had the chance to end my 10-day stay in London with a stay at Tune Hotels, I was excited. Though Tune was convenient to Westminster and the London Eye, it was also tucked away enough into an area that is not particularly touristy that I still felt as if I was experiencing more of the “real London” when I explored around my hotel than if I had stayed in – well, Piccadilly Circus.

My friend Isabelle was staying at Tune during the same few days I was. Together, we managed to find the hotel on Westminster Bridge Road despite poor directions from a mutual friend and when we finally stumbled upon the red door right next to a coffee shop we were like explorers in a desert longing for an oasis. Tune was our Oasis. With smiling faces to greet us no less. (That’s not just the stock footage talking, ask Isabelle, the gentleman who greeted us was quite handsome and very friendly.)


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While I have your attention: Learn more about my work this May with ProjectExplorer.org in Mauritius or donate to support the incredible things being done around the world through travel, video and cultural education!

Where to Stay in London: Part 1

Whenever I travel I prefer to have the most authentic experience possible, that allows me to really get to know a culture and a place beyond tourism brochures and Top 10 lists (you won’t see them on my site). It isn’t always possible. However, it’s for this reason that I enjoy the chance to stay in apartments or with locals when I am traveling.

I had such an opportunity in London through Roomorama. Initially the experience was not a good one when the first apartment that was reserved fell through. I was already in London and on-site. However, my contact at Roomorama scrambled through the night to find a new place (she in Singapore, me on London time and desperately needing sleep) and around lunch time the next day –  I was finally in. WiFi problems persisted throughout my stay but even that provided an upside because I took more time to relax and enjoy downtime than I ever do when I have the benefit of connectivity.

The spacious, modern apartment on a canal in a residential area of London wasn’t particularly convenient to the tube or public bus routes however it was absolutely a local experience. During my stay there, I got to know the man at the corner store where I’d buy late night snacks, found a grocery store and shopped for many a meal (one with friends which led to a nice night in with pizza and beer), wandered the canal and watched the boats go by, even finally found the closest Overland station. It was wonderful to come home from a long day at a work conference and be able to have my own balcony, kitchen and private bathroom within my own private room. It was fulfilling to have what felt like a local experience instead of an insulated hotel-only experience in London! View full post »

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Leaving London for the Country

By train and by car, on the rightful side of the road, I saw England outside of London. I was determined my 11 days in the United Kingdom not be dominated by the hustle and grime of the city. Edinburgh was a thought. One that didn’t work out. When my dear friends Terry and Sarah offered their house in the country village of Isham, it seemed just the ticket. I won’t pretend I didn’t picture something out of Bridget Jone’s Diary. I even practiced my Bridget accent, remembering the time (drunk) I might have impersonated such a voice for Terry and Sarah during a dinner in Austria. All sorts of cliches occupied my mind as my train from St. Pancras sped toward Kettering. I expected quaint. I didn’t expect this:

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While I have your attention: Learn more about my work this May with ProjectExplorer.org in Mauritius or donate to support the incredible things being done around the world through travel, video and cultural education!
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