Day: 24-30 Km travelled: 42.54km Steps: 65 000
September 30th – October 9th, 2017
London has always been near and dear to my heart, even before I ever stepped foot on the island. While most North Americans dream of visiting romantic Paris, I longed for historic London. It was therefore an obvious destination choice when I decided to take a trip to celebrate a milestone birthday years ago.
It was indeed in Kensington Gardens 
that the seeds of this adventure started to germinate. Strolling in the Sunken Garden , basking in the warmth of the sun, I was struck by a moment of clarity. I knew I had to come back, to this place and everywhere else, and I had to be in those places longer. I wasn’t sure how or when, but I knew this travel journey had just begun. I could feel it in my soul; the longing to explore, to learn, to see, to do. To travel. I was hooked!
London was also the place where, 4 years later and 20+ days into my year-long adventure, things started to gel. I was truly on my own, my travel companions were back in Canada and from this point on, I had no fix plans and no safety net. A routine began to set in. I slept in when I wanted to. I did laundry and shop for groceries in the neighbourhood. I slowed down and took a breath. I was slowly starting to transition from tourist to traveller.
I had also started to notice that weather, specifically rain, affected me greatly and biased my perspective and enjoyment of this adventure. Once more, London had my back. The Big Smoke was beautiful! Crisp and sunny, perfect autumn days (only 1 day of rain, the very first and as previously mentioned, it “forced” me to prolong my stay at Buckingham Palace – so, win win). Interestingly enough, my last visit to London was also filled with sunshine, after 2 cold and rainy weeks in mainland Europe.
West end theatre district
Other than museums, there are a lot of things to do in London. I took advantage of my extended stay to check out some of its famed neighbourhoods, such as SoHo, Chinatown, Picadilly, Knightsbridge, Trafalgar Square among others as well as window shopping the Oxford Street area. Historic luxury department stores such Selfridges & Harrods commingle with high street favourites such as H&M, Gap and kid-friendly Hamley’s.
My last days in London were over Canadian Thanksgiving. Being away from my family (and my mom’s amazing ‘tourtière’ & stuffing) threatened to damper my spirits however I had a plan: I was going to the movies! I had wanted to see ‘Victoria and Abdul’ with Dame Judi Dench before leaving Canada, however did not have the opportunity. I loaded up on candy and ice cream ( I learned years ago that ice cream is a traditional intermission treat while at the theatre) and settled in for an enjoyable 2 hrs. It was an awesome movie! I highly recommend, no need to be a monarchist to enjoy!
Selfridges: the U.K.’s second largest shop. Opened in 1908, it is the flagship store on Oxford Street. It is such an iconic part of London, that its early years were immortalized in a television show ‘Mr Selfridge’.
Some of the quirkier things for sale: a solar-powered, waving Queen with matching corgis!
Sadly (and surprisingly), I opted to pass on this souvenir!
The day offered me time to reflect on the last few weeks and all that I was (and still am!) thankful for.
Trafalgar Square Crowd at the Victoria Memorial watching the ‘Changing of the Guard’ at Buckingham Palace
As October 9th dawned, I was thankful that I was about to get on a plane and head further north towards my next destination: Scotland!