iPhone Photo Diary | London, England

London. I read about it in books all my life. And yet, when I finally arrived for the first time at seventeen I was… unmoved. That’s the best word I can come up with to describe my initial reaction to the English capital. It was pretty, certainly. The museums were impressive. But I didn’t regret that our time there was limited. In fact, I spent most of it looking forward to catching the train to Paris, which we did after just a couple of days. When we arrived, Paris was, just as I remembered it, coffee cream coloured and charming and full of life. It overshadowed London instantly – and ever afterward.

The thing about London was that I knew I was missing something all along, but I couldn’t figure out what, or how. I just – didn’t get it. And two subsequent trips, one in my late twenties and one in 2017, didn’t help. It seemed, on both trips, like we spent most of our time running around without getting much of anywhere, constantly fighting crowds but still experiencing very little that felt meaningful. On top of that, everything except the museum entry fees seemed to cost so much, even before factoring in the currency exchange. After that final trip, I resolved not to bother – if I was meant to figure London out, the opportunity would come up, somehow, someday.

…that’s exactly what happened last November. I found myself with a combination of leftover vacation days, favourable flight prices and the urge for just one more trip for the year. So I booked London, hoping for the best. It was an impulsive decision, but a good one.

I did a lot of things differently on this trip, not exactly intentionally, that altered my experience of London profoundly. For a start, I chose to stay in Clerkenwell, an area that’s central and well-located but less touristy. (So much so that I’d barely heard of it, even in books, before I booked my stay.) I was within walking distance of Farringdon station. And close to King’s Cross, too, so I could quickly and easily go anywhere I wanted on the tube. Beyond that, I resolved to stay well way from traditional attractions. I’ve seen Big Ben and Buckingham Palace and Kensington Garden. They’re all lovely, but I didn’t feel the need to revisit any of them, and put no pressure on myself to do so. Instead, I spent time with Gwen, visiting places I knew I would truly love – book stores, museums and aesthetically pleasing cafes.

But also – and here comes the big surprise – I didn’t plan any of it. Apart from making a single reservation at a cocktail bar, I decided what to do and when based on how I felt each day. And also how far I really felt like walking. That isn’t my normal approach to anything in life. But in London, it worked. I rarely encountered a crowd. Wherever I went, I was there because I genuinely wanted to be, not because I’d read about it in a guidebook. London is so vast and, in retrospect, I think that I’ve often wasted a lot of time while there trying to tick all the London boxes instead of just enjoying my time. I gave myself permission not to see or do a single thing that I “should” when I visited last November. It was, at least for me, revolutionary.

There are some cities where the tourist attractions can’t be missed. Places where you will find yourself so in awe of them that you can’t help wanting to return over and over again – Athens comes to mind. London isn’t one of them. The secret, I think now, is to understand that you’ll never see it all. And that you shouldn’t bother to try just for the sake of some holiday snapshots. There’s too much, never enough time, and only so much wonder in British architecture, anyway. London offers so much beyond that, catering to nearly every possible interest. It’s not just possible, but easy, to plan a whole visit focused solely on books and art. And still not have enough time to come even close to seeing everything!

When you do go, choose a focus – music, books, sport, whatever you love – and stick with it. But don’t try to force anything. In its expansive size, London quickly becomes chaotic. Plans might need to change, and you might need to be the one to change them on the fly. That’s okay, because as these photos, which are just the smallest selection of what I captured on my phone in three days, show, there’s always something to see.