views from the sky garden + random things i love about london

this past sunday evening, the boy and i went to the sky garden – the public space on top of the “walkie talkie” building in east london. we watched the city light up for the night and felt endeared even more to our current hometown.

here are some random things i love about london:

• it’s just really, really pretty
• the fact that every new skyscraper gets some lookalike-object nickname that really sticks – the cheesegrater, the gherkin (british for pickle), the walkie talkie, and of course, the shard:

• the high prevalence of jaywalking by londoners (general rule: look both ways and then go ahead and cross wherever you want)
• church bells (i can’t get over that i hear them from our flat every single morning .. and often around town, too!)
• constantly hearing people speaking in tons of different languages
• pound coins (i just think they’re the best coin of any currency i’ve ever used – i love how thick they are!) (that one is super random, i know!)
• the fascinating fusion of old and new almost everywhere you look

• loads of unique neighborhoods with quirky corners to explore – it’s neverending!
• buildings that pop with colour between old stone or brick, or all in a row
• the plethora of healthy fast food chains (pret, eat, itsu, pure, pod, wasabi, tossed…) and restaurant chains we’ve fallen for (nando’s, wahaca, wagamama, pizza express…)
• the gorgeous white buildings along picadilly, regents and oxford streets

• being called “love” quite a bit more than i ever have in america :)
• free amazing museums!!!
• the bulb lights strung in swoops along the thames river bank
• tower bridge – that light blue colour of the cords! the castle towers! the fact that everyone thinks it is called london bridge (and is falling down, maybe?!) … and, the roadway raises up (cool)!

• the views from waterloo bridge
• the constant energy in the streets (i walk out our door each day and am immediately swept up in it!)
• those distinctive red double-decker buses and phone booths – they really make me happy! oh, and those iconic black, round-headlighted cabs
• the skinnier tube trains that make you feel like you are literally being sucked through a tube
• the parks, and the grass that is always incredibly green
• the houses of parliament and big ben – quite possibly my favourite man-made structure on the planet

i’m so glad i’ll be adding to this list for at least a few years to come. we sure do love this city.