Wandering down to London

One of the nice things about living in Edinburgh is how easy it is to get to London from here. The train takes just over four hours, departing from the middle of Edinburgh and depositing you at King’s Cross. There are plenty of flights, as well, but once you deal with getting yourself to and from airports, it’s taken you just as long door-to-door (and you’ve had to surrender your liquids).

The frustrating thing about this train route (and, as it seems, most UK trains) are the wild fluctuations in ticket prices. Booking well in advance seems to be the way to go. Be sure to get (free) seat reservations, as well, as the train can get quite full. Pick up some lunch from M&S Food at Waverly Station, and you’re off. (How much do I love the prepared food options in this country?)

But enough about trains. London! I love London. It’s ever so fun, enhanced by the lovely friends we have there. Every time we visit, it’s more of the same: food, drink, art, theater, and wandering. Now that I think about it, it’s quite similar to our New York routine (just toss in some family). We know what we want from big cities.

London is a huge city, but in a completely manageable way. The residential neighborhoods in west London feel small and cozy, and are lovely to explore.

The tube is the fastest way to go long distances, but we prefer to take buses whenever we can. Sitting at the top of a red double-decker bus is the perfect way to cover a lot of sight-seeing in a short amount of time.

After eight months in Edinburgh, London city center felt a bit overwhelming at times. So many people, hurrying every which way.

The city was already getting decked out for Christmas, or Christmas shopping more specifically.

There’s so much to do in London that I am always torn about how to spend limited time there. It’s tempting to pack our schedule full of musuems, shows, and social engagements, but I’m always happy when we leave some unscheduled time just for wandering around.

Now that we live on the same little island as this alluring city, we are sure to find ourselves there multiple times per year. I am looking forward to getting to know London more intimately.

We’re already plotting what shows to see and restaurants to try on our next visit. I can’t wait.

The photo count in this post is getting rather unruly, so I’ll save the London food porn and theater reviews (Book of Mormon!) for another day.