My Love-Hate Relationship With London

I must confess, as a Londoner born and bred (well, sort of), I tend to have a love-hate relationship with my home city. Some days when I commuted, when I looked around at all the depressed faces on a Monday morning, getting tetchy about jumping the queues for the tube or stopping for a second on the escalator, London pressed down on me and brought any other worries bubbling to the fore.

I've always battled with trying not to let this taint my love for everything that London offers. Opportunities, history, music, theatre, art, shopping, sports, markets- just pure, unadulterated VARIETY. I truly believe that you can never be bored in London. Granted, with little money your options are limited- but there are still dozens of activities to keep you occupied, if you are open to a little 'wandering'. 

On that note, I have realised that I am happiest in London when I am simply wandering around (or running), and simply soaking up its ambience. The best way to see this is to pretend you are a tourist...to keep seeing London through fresh eyes.

I want to celebrate the five best things about our new part of London- Southwark. This area was never really on our radar, and I was worried it was going to be a bit too 'corporate' and soulless...but that could not be further from the truth!

1. THE OLD VIC (AND YOUNG VIC)- On an eventless Saturday night, a partially inebriated Patrick and I decided to go and see a play at one of London's oldest and most famous theatres. With 1 minute before the performance was due to begin, we also managed to get half price stall seats! We went to see an updated version of 'Fortune's Fool', a Russian play written in 1848 by the Russian playwright Turgenev. In the first half of this play, we are introduced to a newly wed aristocratic couple who return to the wife's inherited country estate, and learn of an old gentleman who has lived there for 30 years. After a shocking ending to the first half, the second half sees a more touching ambience, as all the characters try to cope with the unexpected news they have just heard- as well as cope with the odious next-door-neighbour. A great impromptu evening, and a lovely theatre!
2. THE RING- When we wandered in here, we just thought this was a cool local pub with American feel about it. All the boxing photos around just seemed to be a nice touch; it was only when we read up about it that we realised the birth place of modern boxing was in the site opposite, where Southwark underground station now stands. As well as pretty unique history, this pub probably does some of the best hot dogs in town- and some pretty decent nacho's too (even Patrick thinks so!)
3. MESON DON FELIPE-  a great tapas restaurant that looks very understated from the outside, but is bustling almost every day of the week inside
4. MAD HATTER HOTEL- Ever since Patrick sampled a steak-and-guinness pie in Melbourne, he has beem finding for a similarly-perfect meat pie here- and sadly has not found any that compared. The pub attached to this hotel- which actually feels more like a hotel attached to a pub, with the well-established feel of the drinking joint- always seems quieter than the other pubs around, so is a great place to retreat after a long and stressful day!
5. BLACKFRIARS WINE BAR- Situated under one of the bridge archways, this is not your average pretentious city bar; it is locally owned, and does great pizzas and nachos!

We've only been here a few weeks, so hopefully there is much more to discover. We may have seen an ugly side to this city this week, with the miserable weather and tube strikes- but I am determined to keep feeling the love for London.