i heart london

i heart london

inspired my good friend johanna @ trendy gourmandise, i set out this weekend to fall in love with london all over again.

what i love about paris, is how much parisians love their city. they embrace their culture, are proud of their landmarks and truly believe, there is nowhere in the world quite like their beloved paris.

we in britain, on the other hand, seem completely repulsed by everything that defines our nation.

i am one of the many million londoners who everyday roll their eyes at the group of american teenagers lost on the tube, lose my patience at visitors failing to grasp the simplest of sentences and angrily push past the japanese paparazzi when trying to cross piccadilly circus to get to boots.

i have lived here (round two) for almost 7 months now, sure i have my favourite parts of the city which are unique to london and there is the odd tourist to be found but it had been years since i had taken in the sights. the sights renowned for being quintessentially london.

on saturday afternoon, i hopped on the tube to westminster to begin my trail of rediscovery.

i crossed over from big ben to county hall and had the most pleasant walk along the thames until i reached millennium bridge and walked to st pauls to pause for lunch.

it really was the most pleasant experience, it was a beautiful day and the one thing that struck me was how happy everyone i passed seemed to be. as if we were all on this journey along southbank together, united in the joy of fair london.

this city can be hard, it can be cruel, it is chaos all the time and you can sometimes question, is it really worth it?

the big ben may not be quite as nearly impressive as the eiffel tower, the sun does not shine over trafalgar square in the same way it shines on place de la concorde but london's charm is undeniable.

and sorry paris, we definitely have one over you when it comes to our fashion sense.

london, i love you.

dorrian