“Happiness is the experience of loving life. Being happy is being in love with that momentary experience. And love is looking at someone or even something and seeing the absolute best in him/her or it. Love is happiness with what you see. So love and happiness really are the same thing…just expressed differently.”
Is there anything as pretty as London in the autumn?! So I took a little overnight trip to the big smoke a couple of weekends ago to enjoy the golden light over this beautiful city. There is something very magical about London at the golden hour, the tube is packed as everyone commutes home and the streets are littered with tourists who are not quite ready for dinner. This was by far the quietest I had ever seen London during a sociable hour. It was also the prettiest but that’s the thing about autumn light in the UK, you can never predict it which makes the experience so much more magical.
Are you even a tourist in London if you don’t get excited and photograph a telephone box, letterbox or pretty much anyone wearing a uniform. What I love about the above image is the man in the phone box with a selfie stick, that is a whole new level, and I take my hat off to him! I swear as I took this picture I could hear the whole population of London tut at me……#sorrynotsorry
“London opens to you like a novel itself…. It is divided into chapters, the chapters into scenes, the scenes into sentences; it opens to you like a series of rooms, door, passsage, door. Mayfair to Piccadilly to Soho to the Strand.” ANNA QUINDLEN, Imagined London
Despite being (just about) a grown up and understanding science and how things work, there are still some things that take my breath away and for the moment I am in them, I am filled with total awe and amazement. To be a stranger watching me, you would think it was my first time out in the world. The list of things that make me look like an alien visiting planet earth for the first time includes fireworks, leaves turning red, sunset, rainbows, sunrises and the way the light turns golden in the autumn. Christ that sounded like a passage from a Jane Austin novel if ever I heard one. But how can you be thankful for everything you have if you don’t stop and appreciate the world, ok I’m going to shut up now before I hate myself.
Very exhausted but ready for the evening, I reapplied my make up as best as I could with sleepy eyes and headed out for dinner. My idea of a good night out has wildly changed over the last decade or so. From my early twenties and wanting to drink everything in sight while staying out long enough to watch the sunrise. To late twenties, feeling like a grown up drinking cocktails, dancing and being in bed by 2am then there is where I am now. Mid 30’s just wanting food and to be in bed by 10pm with a cup of tea. Not sure if I got boring or wise but damn do I feel refreshed the next day!
“One thing about London is that when you step out into the night, it swallows you.” SEBASTIAN FAULKS, Engleby
If you’re seeking a dash of old-school glamour, look no further than Nightjar. This downstairs Shoreditch haunt boosts incredible cocktails and lives music. Sometimes the best combinations juxtapose, and so it is here: a mix of live 1920s jazz and swing coupled with the most exotic cocktails imaginable – the garnishes alone are an art form at Nightjar. We googled cocktail bars and the Nightjar came up, although we walked around for twenty minutes swearing at google maps until we noticed a doorman stood outside a black door. A doorman stood outside a door may not sound weird but this door seemed to lead nowhere so we investigated. By investigated I mean I asked and luckily we were at the right place because the phone was about to go in the Thames.
I have no idea what this cocktail was but that could have been due to the bottle of wine I had during dinner. But I do remember it was delicious and it made me smile so what more could you ask for in a cocktail. The one negative I had was the service was not great, in fact, our waiter was pretty shocking.
Reflections!
As I tucked into a much-needed breakfast I remembered the below quote and realised it won’t be long before I am back again.
“London is a bad habit one hates to lose.” ANONYMOUS
We spent the morning strolling the city under its perfect blue sky, doesn’t everything look better with a pretty colourful sky?! Let’s face it these pictures wouldn’t look the same under a blanket of grey sky. I literally say this everytime I visit London, but I don’t visit enough, I am making 2019 the year I spend more time in Lonon.
