East/West Side Story

Having just moved in to the West End of Brisbane (which I love, despite my moaning about my expensive studio here) it got me to thinking I should give you all a (incredibly biased) tour about town. So, part one, for you lucky travellers - where should you find a house?!

Le copain and I lived in totally different areas of London. I in zone 2 East End (just past Liverpool st, a veritable gold-mine of sub-continental Asian immigration and dodgy landlords, and him in the (so aptly named) 'frog-valley' that is South Kensington, zone 1. Big, white apartments, interior design stores & macarons. I don't even need to describe it... I have pictures.

Observe.

East

West

Obviously this is generalization at it's worst, but, for an antipodean tourist (or indeed, any tourist) - this is going to help you work out where you will want to live.

For those who need a cheap place and don't mind a bit of grit: Council houses in the East or South. Let me admit - I couldn't hack that. I did for a few months and then upgraded to a full time job and thus a little studio in a block of apartments above a pub. Maybe I lived in a particularly dodgy one, but getting followed home at 10pm or, should you choose the 'safer' option and take a cab, being solicited by the driver. I paid about 200 more (per month) to live on a main road closer to a night bus. Highly recommended.

Hot spots to visit in the South and East: Brick Lane, Columbia Road, Brixton, New Cross, London Fields, Borough markets.

Towards Liverpool street on Shoreditch High St.

For those who want somewhere right in town, a little gritty, a lot cool: Try up North, Camden (good luck to your bank account), Angel/ Islington, Highbury. You'll be paying more rentwise - but the area is vastly populated and seems more peaceful than in the East - I've always felt fine walking around there at night (as a young lady, that seems important). If you're willing to go a bit further out of time I highly recommend Stoke Newington - feels a little edgy and cool, but also a bit like a village. Other people are on to this though, so prices could rise.

Hotspots in the North: Camden market, KOKO nightclub, Regent's canal, Notting Hill.

Camden Markets

For those who don't consider money a factor: Lucky you! Take your pick! Honestly, if I were young, single and had a very full bank account I would probably still live in the East, maybe Shoreditch or so. But, the real budget busters are South Kensington, Notting Hill, Chalk Farm (Primrose Hill), Kensington, Knightsbridge, Chelsea, etc (there are so many horribly expensive places I'm not going to name them all - I defy you to find someone who will!). The boy was living in a teeny student residence and was paying 170 per week. About double what I paid for a much bigger room. I suppose it's all about the postcode, darling.

Hotspots in high society: Harrods, V&A Museum, Museum of Natural History, Hyde Park, Mayfair.

Most of the people I worked with would choose to live somewhere far out of London (Northampton, Kent, Reading) and commute in daily. But watch out for nasty train fares - and for the younger generation, living out of the smoke is certainly not 'cool'.

All the luck possible guys. Get in contact if you want an opinion.



(P.S: Again, excuse my monumentously awful generalizations and, indeed, the fact that the South and North of London are more or less cut out - this blog is for illustrative purposes!)

The final countdown

Today, is my second-last Monday at work, which is actually monumentally scary. I've been relying on this income for so long, aside from that though, the stability of having a job is actually quite nice, last week my firm passed around an email asking if anyone wanted to volunteer redundancy, I feel very lucky for what I have. I've forged strong relationships and enjoyed (most of) my time here. But, the tickets are booked, the bags are half-packed (can you believe it? I'm somewhat organised!) and I am still planning on getting home to the motherland next month, frog in tow. Scary stuff.

I am unhappy to admit that this weekend hasn't been the most productive - I have been bowled over by a sickness. The worst part, is that I *can* function, I feel... ok. But as soon as I'm out in the elements, I cough worse than a pack-a-day smoker (as a non-smoker, that's weird and yuck), my nose runs, my throat seizes up and only hot liquid fixes it. So, going out at night has been out of the question and I hate myself for it. But I did get out in the daytime, and saw some beautiful things.

The lake in St. James park had frozen over, this is the view toward Buckingham Palace

It seems I was not the only one getting ready to go in to hibernation, the squirrels are getting chubby and even cuter than normal. An added benefit (for evil photographers like myself) is their overwhelming curiosity (or is it gluttony?)

Oooohh! Is it a chestnut pour moi?

I also took a walk around Euston and St. Pancras, now, I know it looks like I've been a big liar about my inability to be out at night - but this next photo, I kid you not it was about 16.30, and not long after I walked into a Chinese takeaway (oh the shame, sitting in a chinese takeaway alone!) and begged for Won ton soup. Thankyou, ginger and chicken stock, you saved my throat from ultimate peril!

St. Pancras - worth the runny nose

Tomorrow I get to meet up with an old friend from Australia who is here for the Christmas season, I can't wait. Seeing an old friend is always fabulous, and we are going to go and see the Christmas lights and festivities around Hyde Park (photos promised, as always), which just makes it even better. Aside from that, my main plans are to visit galleries, shop till I drop (which I worry about slightly, I'm not a good shopper), indulge and do all the things I won't be able to to in Australia. Above all though, I need to be healthy for next weekend (my going away party!), so lots of broths and early nights for me!

*

I never got time to post about my last trip to Paris (26 - 29 November). Let me tell you it was lovely, mindblowingly so. I got to see my family (or some of the extended clan, at least) and finally physically introduce mon amour to them (he got raving reviews of course, he's the perfect gentleman *swoons*). We took a walk through St. Germain en-Laye (lots of frost, but only a teeny bit of snow). Visited Christmas markets, feasted with le copain's family (who sent me home with hand-picked porcini mushrooms from a nearby forest, could I be any more spoilt?) All in all, fantastic.



Christmas lights & market on the Champs Élysées



And now, just 15 days until I fly from Madrid to join le copain in Toulouse for Christmas. This 3 week break is the longest we've had since we've met, and it covers our anniversary. Now, there, my friend, is where romance went. I don't really mind though, we both have way too much to do as it stands.