Hubby’s Christmas gift, an evening with his favorite comedian in London. For me being back in a city I love. Haven’t been here since… 2010 (minus the airport stopover last year).
London calling again, yeah!
Being back in the city I love threw me back into 2003, the year I spent in London as an au-pair. Time for a love letter 🥰
Dear London,
everyone asks why I love you, London, as if it’s not clear to them why I love you as much as I do. I love you as you are.
You welcomed me and made me fall in love with you instantly. That was back in 2003, my first time far away from home (and daddy promising „one call and I’ll pick you up and bring you back home“). Well, I fell instantly in love, and extended my au-pair half year to a full year & no need to be picked up earlier (and dear parents don’t complain now for not coming home often enough… you encouraged me to leave… and I’m thankful for that).
London, I love your British accent. It sounds like amore to me (hope hubby isn’t reading that…yeah, well the Irish accent is nice too). Until today I have difficulties pronouncing „Hermione“ from Harry Potter correctly (thanks to Emily and Chris for your patience).
I love your parks, St. James Park still being my favorite but won’t forget the Bon Jovi concert in Hyde Park – me and 89.999 others. And of course jogging around Queens Park to prepare for my police sports test and meeting Heike Makatsch. Yes, she lived & jogged there, too.
Well, in the end I didn’t pass the police test (1.5cm too short) but thanks to you London, I was inspired by a photo exhibition which made me decide to start studying back home (who wants to work for the police anyhow?! lol).
I loved celebrating the Queen and queued up on her birthday parade „Trooping The Colour“ with thousands of others. I will never forget Buckingham palace, as I starred at the famous balcony and envisioned the Royal Family waving my way. lol. And of course I saw the guards changing as well as crossing the forever famous Abbey Road!
I remember celebrating my 19th birthday in Covent garden in a bar with other girls, which was super fun. Covent Garden, one of my favorite areas in London, not only for the delicious Cornish pasty.
London, I love you despite what people told me about you and your reputation for rainy weather and food. I love the certainty of a gentle rain in London and the matter of fact way everyone carries an umbrella and never puts away their boots for the season. But back in 2003 I remember excellent weather and a never ending summer. Also, you can cross London Bridge, cheeks flushed like Bridget Jones as the snow swirls. (And yes, it sucks when the flight gets cancelled due to storm “Isha”).
I loved your old style double decker busses back in 2003. You exchanged them, the red color suits you very well and looks great.
I love the way you have food to appeal to all and chefs from around the world that have made London their home and used your ingredients and their expertise in restaurants worthy of any city in the world. I love you as you are. We are here for Chinese food, burgers, Indian… I remember having a cup of tea in the fancy Ritz hotel, after that my weekly hard earned money as au-pair was gone. But we all felt like Queens that afternoon, it was totally worth it. And sometimes a simple egg & mayonnaise sandwich will do! I discovered hummus and pita bread thanks to my host family who were vegetarians. They would invite me for an Indian every week (at that time I didn’t appreciate it as much as today).
I love you for the quiet genteelness of Mayfair and the boisterous bustle of Camden Market on a weekend. I love the courtyard of your Victoria and Albert Museum and its serenity in the midst of a treasure trove of artifacts that you house and protect for the all the world to enjoy. I love that it is affectionately called England’s attic and holds within its walls everything from diamonds to paintings.
Of course we liked spending weekends in your city center best. The first weeks we focused on the classic touristic sightseeing, don’t get me wrong there’s plenty… but then we discovered your „Time Out“ magazine and moved around more like locals. Oh, we had plans every single weekend. We had a blast. We loved all of it.
London, you are a city you can walk 500 miles… and still not finished discovering so many things. I love all of you. I love you from the northwest, Queens Park my former home, to the east and the Tower Bridge.
I love you to to eastern edges of Canary Wharf and its business briskness with pubs near the waters edges to welcome those at the end of a long day. I love you from Primrose Hill on a cherished sunny day and further out to Greenwich and its precise time it keeps and the naval history that explored the world. I love your views of the Thames from Embankment and over white painted bridges in Chelsea. I love you as you are.
I loved seeing graduated students taking their photos in front of Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. I loved taking an Uber boat (how cool is that!!!) on river Thames and watching your sky turn pink when the sun went down. I love all your bridges… one more than the next. I remember crossing them all on one day. Back in 2003.
London, you do offer that Instagram reality, the must-see tourist traps, obligatory stops on any agenda. But there’s also its grit, which sounds quite Oliver Twist and is harder to find in the guide books. Mary Poppins told us that there’s a woman somewhere feeding birds who just wants a chat, but you could just as easily meet a gang of hipsters who travel from city to city solving mysteries. You can lose yourself for the night.
London, I love you for your shows. I’ve seen them all back in 2003, buying spontaneously half priced tickets for the same day. And had enough money left for Häagen-Dazs ice-cream across Leicester square ticket box.
London, I love you for the shopping opportunity. Regent street, Oxford Street, Carnaby Street, Covent Garden… I still have the sneakers in „jungle style“ at home for which I saved my au-pair salary for many weeks… my favorite au-pair task was when my host mother asked me to return kids clothes in Oxford Street. It happened that I washed the expensive school uniforms wrong, dark & white mixed and the white came out dark.. oh dear. Good that Sainsbury’s helped me fix that again.
Oh London, I love your coffee shops. Nero still being my favorite coffee chain. I remember conveniently getting a coffee to go and meet friends in a park at the weekend. I love finding a quiet place in one of your many coffee shops in the bustling city like you are.
There’s no definitive London, no single bit of architecture nor any event that defines it. London, you in yourself are a series of ever-happening moments, a multitude of instantaneous instants. It’s the alchemy of the city that brings it to life. Lots of cities do this – they’re concoctions of elements, equations that shouldn’t add up but do, potions that cast a spell. As they say, Paris is for lovers. And Rome wasn’t built in a day. Athens is for muscly Adonises and girthy columns. London, you are a melting pot of cultures. Another reason to be in love with you!
London, you are still one of my favorite cities (sorry but NYC and Shanghai are amazing too). London, you will remain the first city I fell in love with! And maybe you are the reason why I love traveling so much…. Anyhow, hope to be back again. And this time sooner than 13 years…
I love you, London! Thank you for being you. Big hugs & kisses. Love. Always.
Your Queens Park girl.
xxx
Stuttgart547 