When the world gets a little bit closer
“It’s a lovely day, dear, you should go out and have a wander.” My flatmate’s Scottish mother was visiting, and I had just mentioned how surprised I’d been by the amount of sunshine lately. So, I took her advice and went for an aimless stroll. Well, that’s not entirely true – it wasn’t completely aimless.…
She wasn’t supposed to be queen. But at 10 years old, on December 10, 1936, when her uncle David (King Edward VIII) abdicated the throne, her father became King George VI, making Elizabeth the heir presumptive. I read somewhere once that on that day, as cries of “God Save The King” echoed throughout the streets…
I tend to try and blend in when I’m traveling. You know, adapt to the local customs, take pics and videos discreetly, don’t stop in the middle of the busy sidewalk to read the map, and just try not to be obnoxious in general. I never want to be that tourist. And I’m typically…
Can we just talk about British toilets for a second? You’ll forgive me if I don’t include a photo in this post… Most of the hotels I’ve stayed at over here have had normal toilets where things go down as they should. But some of the pubs and restaurants, and now my new flat, seem to…
“Where are you going to live?” This was the question everyone kept asking me before I left the states for London. And my answer – even days before my flight – “I have no idea!” Before making the leap to London, I spoke with several relocation agencies (as well as other expats who had already…
It had been raining for two days. No surprise – it’s London. But on that Friday morning (the morning of my birthday) the sun was out in a great big way. I immediately jumped out of bed, threw on my running shoes and headed to Kensington Gardens, where apparently everyone else in London had also…
An American, a Brit, a Taiwanese and an Irishman all walk into a bar. Except it wasn’t a bar, it was an apartment – the last of seven I had viewed that afternoon. The four of us, apparently all sent out by the same leasing agency, kept running into one another all day, and the…
There I was standing across the river dreamily gazing into the face of Big Ben. And it hit me. It was time to make a move. For the last two years, I had been pursuing my dreams adjacent, but not my actual dreams. Granted for the few previous years before that I hadn’t really been…