After an incredible camping road trip through the Balkans at the tail end of the summer, we settled back into the simple London life… jokes! There is no “settling” in London – there is always something to do!
The week after we arrived back in London, we celebrated a dear friend’s 30th birthday, saw the ‘Sum of Us’ play off-West End (I wrote a review!), and, on 18 September, we ventured out on a beautiful sunny day to explore Open House London…
Blue skies
The annual Open House London weekend, which takes place in September, gives Londoners the chance to explore behind the closed doors of some of the capital’s biggest, most renowned and most secret venues – for free! It’s a chance to explore a little bit of hidden London and have a poke around some of the most architecturally interesting buildings in the city.
We checked out Crossrail’s Farringdon Station – currently a massive hole in the ground – and learned that it will become one of Britian’s busiest train stations. When it becomes a link between Thameslink, Crossrail and London Underground services, over 140 trains per hour will flow through the Farringdon interchange.
Unable to get into the Bank of England for London’s #OpenHouse (the queue was hours long at 9am!), we decided to visit The Monument, a tourist attraction I’ve frequently walked past on my way to work and been meaning to climb for three years. The Monument in the City of London was built in 1667, after the Great Fire of London in 1666, to give hope that the “city would soon rise again”.
At the top of the 311 steps we were treated to some amazing views across the city.
Striking colours
In October we danced to the Wombats at Alexandra Palace.
And had a very cultural night listening to the incredible Royal Philharmonic Orchestra present The Music of Bond at the Royal Albert Hall…
… followed by a quick costume change…
… and a night of dancing to our friend, DJ Dan Harrison, at the world-famous Ministry of Sound. Talk about contrasting events! And, all on the same night!
Later that month, I was part of a team that hosted a charity wine tasting event to raise money for WildHearts. It was a great night and we helped raise £1,700 for a great cause.
Gold, red and grey
As we approach Halloween, the seasons and colours have started to change.
Large red apples fall from the trees in our back garden. Gold (leaves) litter the pathways. The skies are streaked all shades of grey.
I’m totally crushing on London at the moment!
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