House Sitting London, England
February 20-March 28, 2013
We were very excited to begin a new journey in the city of London! We are house sitting in the neighborhood of Highgate, one of the nicest areas of London to live. We're caring for a rescue cat named Orson and the home owners are very lovely, warm and kind people who live quite interesting lives! We're also very lucky to be house sitting right next door to Doug's cousin Caroline and husband Nigel. They are amazingly wonderful and generous people and have made us feel so welcome. It was quite amazing to step out from the London tube station into the streets of Highgate...Like something out of a movie or storybook...Rows of charming old victorian and georgian homes with wispy chimney smoke, cloudy and chilly, wet and green. It was awesome.
The House and Pets
The home owners are very lovely and kind people who made us feel very welcomed. We also have an added bonus of living directly next door to Doug's cousin Caroline and husband Nigel whom are also outstanding people that are kind, warm and generous.
English Tradition of Cream Tea
Cream tea is actually a combination of scones with clotted cream and jam served with a pot of English tea. It's outstanding! Caroline and Nigel have made us feel so welcome, they've been amazing and generous hosts.
Crouch End and Highgate Neighborhoods
Exploring the nearby neighborhoods of Crouchend and Highgate. Of course we needed the standard red telephone booth picture!
Famous Homes
Only a short walk from us, is Highgate school where Gwenith Paltrow drops her kids, and a section of row houses called "The Grove" where Jude Law, Kate Moss, George Michael and Sting live! Seems so unbelievable! Nobody invited us over for dinner....maybe next time.
Our first English Pub experience!
We stopped in at a pub called "The Flask" and tried a couple of pints of local ale and a lager!
Primrose Hill
On this day, we started with a walk in a park called Primrose Hill. Primrose Hill is a lovely little park with good views of the city. With 7 million people, its amazing how much green space they have here...lots of large areas for walking and enjoying the outdoors.
Camden Town Market
After following the canal footpath, we accidentally came across Camden Town which is a lively and eclectic mix of shops and characters. Also located here is the famous Camden Market full of food stalls and hundreds of stalls selling wares.
Columbia Road Flower Market
On the weekends, this market fills with all varities of plants and flowers with sellers calling out all kinds of banter!
Leister Square
Leister Square is a touristy area full of souviner shops, theatre shows, restaurants.
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square seemed like the central heart for Londoners but also quite touristy!
Big Ben!
Quite by accident, we came upon Parliment Square with of course the famous Big Ben clock tower!
Westminster Abbey
Famous Westminster Abbey, a large and beautifully ornate church in parliment square
The London Eye
Famous London Bridge
We actually saw the original London Bridge that was taken apart and erected in Arizona! This one is the replacement.
Neighborhood of Greenwich ("Grenich")
The area of Greenwich is interesting because the prime meridian line is located here that separates east and west for the world.
Neighborhood of Hoxton and Shoreditch
This area has lots and lots of streets you can get lost in with all kinds of shops. It also has Brick Lane which is a famous street to have curry.
Evening out with Friends
When we were traveling in Guatamala, we met a wonderful couple (Amy and David) who live in London! We were able to meet up with them and had a great evening having some pints in the pub followed by a terrific Indian dinner!