HAMPSTEAD HEATH

A cute bicycle repair-coffee shop-gallery on Hoxton Street employs two of the friendliest and helpful men I’ve ever met and they gave me detailed list of things to do around London, one of which was to visit Hampstead Heath. So, I lured Will away from the pub (he’s not an alcoholic, he’s just English) and we hopped on the Northern Line for an afternoon in the fresh air.

Hampstead Heath is massive, quiet park with giant fields and multiple ponds. You completely forget you’re still technically in London while you're there. We got sandwiches from a shop in the swank little town that surrounds the park, hunkered down for a picnic by the model boating pond and then napped in the sun. It was so, so lovely. 

+ If you'd like to see a few more shots of Hampstead Heath and the surrounding town, keep clicking the last photo above. 

THE TATE MODERN

When I lived in Australia for a year (over 5 years ago) I stayed in Melbourne for a few months and lived at the downtown Flinders Station Hostel. Over many games of doubles pool (partnered with my friends from Little Creatures, either George and Joe --- I contributed very little as I'm awful at pool) we became friends with two fun New Zealanders, Amy and Steve.

In preparation for this trip, I reached out to Amy to see if she'd be in New Zealand or in Europe when I am (she currently works as a pastry chef in Swenden) and luckily enough, it turned out we'd be in London at the same time! So, one afternoon I met up with her and her sweet Swedish boyfriend Martin for a walk around the city and a visit to the Tate Modern. 

Millenium Bridge

LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL

The London Design Festival was on last week, which consisted of pop-up shops at local retailers. I explored the trail around Shoreditch and found myself wandering into beautiful shops filled with items I have no actual use for as I'm currently living out of a backpack but were lovely to peruse, nonetheless. Pitfield and Good Hood had such different but gorgeous set-ups (with built-in cafes!) I could unpack my bag and live at either quite happily (sort of like how I usually feel at Anthropologie). 

Good Hood cafe

Good Hood

Pifield

This little photobook about man who lived in East London his whole life was in Pitfeld... "I'm Jewish but I go to the Christian church because the people are nice. We see movies together. Last week we saw Piranha 3D."

+ Keep clicking the photo above for more. 

NIGHT OUT IN LONDON

To be honest, every night in London was a night out but this one was a particularly good one. A mix of English, Swedish, Canadian and American folk from the hostel plus a rogue Italian (not sure where he came from) gathered and after a few pints we had made our way to a few bars and later to this massive half-outdoor-dance-club, Cargo. 

This is Will. He's from Guernsey, England which he insists is a terrible place (it looks lovely if you google it)  and he's trying to move to London. He's quickly become my best friend at the hostel. He talks a mile a minute and with his thick accent and English slang I can't understand half of what he's saying but what I do pick-up is an absolute riot. He gets very protective when we go out and I talk to strangers even though up until 4 days ago, he was a stranger. He's a good one. 

The cover charge at Cargo was steep (£20 and the USD exchange rate is brutal currently) but it was well worth it. A great night out. 

STREET ART IN THE EAST END

Between Jack The Ripper murder sites and Indian food restaurants, the East End was filled with great street art. 

+ Keep clicking the last photo for a few more. 

EAST END

Went on a walking tour of London's East End. Gritty and colorful, it's full of history and great shopping. 

Rough Trade on Brick Lane 

After getting some much needed sunglasses (it hasn't rained once yet!) at the vintage markets, I stopped into Rough Trade and had a nice listen to the Adult Jazz record in the listening booth. 

FUN FACT OF THE TOUR: back in the day, London was filthy and gin was cleaner and cheaper to get than drinking water (and kept folks warm during the Great Winter of 1739).  The gin they were making was super strong (80% or 160 proof, today it's 40%) and it was usually cut with other cheap toxins, so it often straight-up killed people or put them in a coma. The coma-ridden would be declared dead after 3 days but would sometimes wake-up later, buried alive and banging on the coffin. They started burying people in "safety coffins" that had a bell in them that the buried alive could ring to alarm cemetery night-watchman to save them. Hence, we have gin (and not Zack Morris) to thank for the phrase "saved by the bell".

LONDON

I'm staying at the Dictionary Hostel in London which despite 16 person rooms and 4 AM false fire alarms, has proved to be fantastic place to live. There's a cute cafe and bar attached which has made it easy to meet locals and fellow travelers. 

The hostel is in the heart of Shoreditch, which reminds me of Williamsburg, Brooklyn with well-designed coffee shops, bars and restaurants at every corner. I'll be surviving off homemade omelettes the rest of the week but the banh mi at Keu and coffee at Ruby was well worth it. Needless to say, I have completed abandoned my budgetary-restricted cappuccino limit already.

Everyone is suspiciously gorgeous in London and while I was expecting the locals to be cold (like in Boston, where we politely ignore one another) they've turned out to be wildly friendly and charming. It's been a lovely start. 

+ Keep clicking the last photo above for a few more shots around London. 

AND I'M OFF

After saving a lot of money, selling my things, moving out of my apartment, quitting my job, a few farewell dinners/dance parties, a ton of Carvel ice cream cake and some teary goodbyes (my Mum held it together better than Sandy)... I hopped on a one-way flight to London to start my round-the-world trip. 

I'm in London now and I don't think it's actually hit me yet. It probably won't until a month in when I remember I don't have a return ticket. (!!!) 

LAST OF JP

After four and half years and two apartments, I said goodbye to darling Jamaica Plain. I'll miss the runs around Jamaica Pond, lazy Sunday brunches on Centre Street, soy cappuccinos at Ula Cafe, reading on our treehouse of a porch and running into friends at City Feed. And of course, my lovely roommates in apartment #3. 

+ Keep clicking the photo above for a few more photos. 

AUGUST

August proved to be a solid month filled with parties: birthday, housewarming, engagement, wedding and of course the usual weekend dance party. Great way to end a great summer. 

MADRID

Since we had both visited Madrid before, this time (between wedding festivities) Jess and I kept our itinerary loose and relaxed. We'd wander about aimlessly and see what popped up, motivated only by the search for coffee, tapas or sangria. Good things followed. 

Plaza Mayor

ANNA + BERNARDO'S WEDDING

Watching one of my best friends get married in Madrid was so surreal and so, so lovely. I can rattle off the faults of the wedding industrial complex with the best of the skeptics but this wedding was just such a gorgeous blending of families and a celebration of the sweetest bilingual pair. It may sound a bit melodramatic but it was the kind of day that gives you faith in love, marriage and kind of humanity too? Everyone was genuinely thrilled to be there with Anna and Bernardo and we all proved it by dancing til 6 AM.

Jess, Anna and I

After the official kiss and "yo quiero"

The courtroom where the ceremony took place had definitely never experienced a crowd like the one Anna and Bernardo brought. People came from all of the world (India, Argentina, Thailand, the US and the locals from Madrid) and the ceremony was in both English and Spanish. I managed to tear up even during the Spanish parts when I had no idea what was being said. 

After a paella lunch with Anna's family and a mid-afternoon siesta (a tradition I wholeheartedly believe America should embrace) we ate, drank and danced ALL NIGHT. 

 +  Keep clicking the last photo for a few more shots of the day. 

COSTA BRAVA: TOSSA DE MAR

Tossa Beach

After Barcelona I headed to Tossa de Mar, a little beach town on the Spanish coast.  The gorgeous beaches are right on Villa Vella enciente, a fortified medieval town lined with cobble stone streets and hills that provide an amazing view of the wide open Mediterranean sea. Sunning on a beach in an area that's been populated since the Neolithic period and looking up from my book to see a castle from the 14th century was pretty wild. 

+ Keep clicking the last image above for more photos.

BARCELONETA BEACH

After a delightful bike tour introduced me to Barceloneta Beach, it quickly became one of my favorite parts of the city. The man made beach was created for the '92 Olympics with it's sand straight from Egypt and the palm trees shipped over from Hawaii. The boardwalk is lined with open air bars and seafood restaurants but if you'd rather not leave your towel, Pakistani's walk the beach selling cheap cervezas and overpriced mojitos. Dance clubs are located right on the beach as well, so I enjoyed quite a few late nights/early mornings/lazy afternoons on that imported Egyptian sand. 

GRACIA BARRIO

The Gracia neighborhood in Barcelona was quiet, charming and the best area to get lost in. Between wandering in and out of boutiques, I stocked up on fudge at Çu Kor and had a nice little window-seat lunch at a La Vietnamita, a banh mi spot that played Vampire Weekend and had (much appreciated) hang-over cure drinks. 

Fudge-makers at Çu Kor (the peanut butter fudge is on point)