My second cousin Angela and her husband Rick had invited me to visit them on my travels and after all my changes of plans and moving around I realised that time was running out if I was going to make it before Luke arrived and we were off to Croatia, so I booked a bus from London to Manchester and off I went.

The trip on the bus was a bit of an experience in itself. The bus station in London was quite big and arranged so that everyone crowded into too-small waiting areas (obviously I was there super early so I got a seat) and then all the buses left every half hour. All the buses were filled simultaneously then the doors to all the waiting rooms were locked and then the buses left in a big group. It seemed like a very good way of avoiding having people dashing between moving buses but it also meant a traffic jam on the way out.

Before getting on the bus I saw the Peggy Porschen bakery and I tried to have a snack there but the service was so slow I had to leave.

I was sitting in the second row and enjoyed listening to the bus driver, who had an almost impenetrable northern accent, talk to a lady in the front row who obviously took buses all over the country and only had one arm. They chatted non stop the whole way and by the end they were both making jokes about her having one arm and she was sharing some cakes she’d made with him. They were both very funny and the lady next to me kept chuckling to herself as we listen to their banter.

Upon getting to Manchester I had to change to a train, which meant a short walk across town and then I accidentally got on the wrong train as there were two trains on one platform. Luckily I’m the sort of person who doesn’t mind asking people if I’m doing the right thing and jumped off the wrong one just in time.

Soon I was in Macclesfield, a picturesque town in the Cheshire Hills, where Angela and Rick were already waiting in the car park. Seeing family always lifts the spirits and Angela and Rick looked exactly as they did when Mum and I saw them five years ago.

As this was just a quick overnight visit we didn’t have time to do much but I was perfectly happy to just sit and chat and catch up on family news. Angela had recently had a cochlea implant and was getting used to hearing again. It was interesting to learn that music didn’t translate properly through the device and that it was still important for Angela to use lipreading to understand people.

Rick had retired from his work as a minister for the Church of Scotland but had since been ordained as a minister in the Church of England and continues to do bits and pieces locally. I can well imagine that being a minister is not a job that finishes abruptly when a decision is made to retire. Angela and Rick moved around quite a bit for Rick’s job but are now living in their own house.

Kettleshulme is a small village in a beautiful area that seemed quite similar to the Lake District. We went for a drive on the way to the train station in the morning and I could easily imagine doing a lot of walking in the area – out of hay fever season. As we drove around everything still looked very green but the lack of rain this year has had a dramatic effect on the local reservoirs, which were lower than ever before.

I also got to meet Angela and Rick’s dog, Teal. A friendly spaniel who wanted to sit on my lap and sniff my face as often as I would let him.

His expression would alternate between desperation and annoyance.

As soon as I arrived I wished I’d made more time to spend with them, and being able to sit with family and enjoy beautiful home-cooked food and properly relax after dashing about in London was a real pleasure. If you’re reading this, Angela and Rick, thank you for a lovely visit, it was just what I needed and it was so good to catch up!

Over my couple of weeks in London I stayed in five AirBnb flats, the last one was with Luke and we’d prebooked it months ago, the rest I booked fairly last-minute. I’ve never had a really bad AirBnb experience and in London it’s a much, much cheaper option than hotels, and more private than hostels. Also you get to see inside a stranger’s house so there’s plenty of opportunities to goggle at weird habits or admire nifty storage solutions and such.

The first place I booked was a room in Lambeth, which is on the south side of the Thames but a very short walk from Big Ben etc. As far as proximity to the big tourist attractions go, this place was probably the best location. I was a bit dubious about booking somewhere with no reviews but it turned out to be pretty great. The guy who lived there was between housemates and his landlord had said he could advertise on AirBnb. He also had a German shepherd puppy, which pretty much sealed the deal for me. I think I put a photo in another post but here’s Cooper again.

Apart from the location and the dog, the best thing about this place was that it was on the ground floor. I kept forgetting to check this when I booked later places – not that I mind stairs but some are really steep and narrow which is awkward with a big backpack. Which was something I learned at my next place, which was…

An attic in Camden! I always visit Camden when I’m in London. Even though it’s a bit of a cesspit in some ways it’s also colourful, interesting and has great alternative clothing stores. Believe it or not I don’t always wear polar fleece and moisture-wicking clothing. I found a fantastic store called Collectiff that sells 50s and 60s-style fashion that is exactly the sort of thing I like.

This AirBnb room was very nicely decorated, had an ensuite, fridge, kettle and microwave. This is very rare! In fact it was the first time I’d stayed in a room with a fridge since I left Australia. I don’t know whether mini fridges are more expensive over here, but it’s so handy to be able to buy milk and make my own breakfast and cups of tea, as well as cooling a bottle of wine. The only downside about this property was the very steep, narrow and curved set of stairs, but it was a small price to pay for a big airy room.

I rewarded the owners of this excellent property by losing their keys when I left my raincoat (my $150-down-from-$500 gortex coat… it pains me to think about it) in a shop changeroom. I called them that evening but it wasn’t there. I used to be quite notorious for losing clothing when I was a kid – hopefully this is the first and last time on this trip.  Anyway, my AirBnb host didn’t seem at all upset and didn’t want to take any money for replacing the keys.

Next up I moved to Spitalfields, primarily because I had read about the markets and Brick Lane and hadn’t ever been to that side of the city. The room I booked was in an artist’s apartment that was on the ground floor but I kind of wished hadn’t been – it was a pretty rough area with tall housing estate-type flats all around and several loud arguments happened during each night, as well as people driving like maniacs and revving their engines up and down nearby streets. The flat had two rooms for rent and in the other one was a young woman who talked loudly on her phone for hours each evening. I was very glad I’d brought my headphones. I have a feeling the young artist also liked to cook a lot of stir fries as the kitchen had that patina of oil that comes with spattery cooking – it meant nothing seemed properly clean and I ended up eating out for most meals and avoiding the kitchen.

The street art in the area was pretty amazing though!

After Spitalfields I left London for a night to visit family but then came back for two nights in Camden at an odd little apartment that also had two single rooms for rent and was advertised as women-only. It was in a terrace house that had clearly been hastily divided. The hallway was half the normal width and a few of the doors barely opened wide enough to get through. The whole place was decorated in pink, although not to a crazy level, and the window in my room didn’t open. It wouldn’t have mattered except the weather was in the high 20s each day and the room became rather stuffy. It also had a foam mattress, which didn’t help with cooling down. The young woman who lived there spent a lot of time in her room with the tv playing loudly but the door ajar – as it was directly opposite my room it meant I kept my door shut all the time. The bathroom was also adjacent, which meant every sound came through the walls too. Lucky I’m a heavy sleeper!

On my last day I left all my luggage and caught the tube to Heathrow to meet Luke and then left him at a cafe in Camden while I went to retrieve my bag then we walked to the next place, which was only a few blocks away.

Our last AirBnb was definitely the best, with a super friendly host, a decent sized room with lots of light, and a good quality mattress. It also offered, much to my excitement, a choice of quilts of varying thicknesses. None of the other properties I stayed in offered anything except a winter-weight quilt, all of which were far too hot for summer nights.

Really, AirBnb isn’t far different from staying in hotels – you get what you pay for and it’s always worth booking as early as possible. When travelling alone it is nice to have a friendly host to chat to and ask for advice. Also, if you’re coming to London it doesn’t really matter which part of London you stay in as the public transport is so frequent  so picking a nice place close to a train station is really the key thing to do. That being said, as the weather got hotter the Tube became almost unbearably stuffy and I wasn’t sorry to be leaving London for Cambridge!

In between museums and galleries I’ve stumbled across some great things to see, do and eat in London.

Food!

Arepa with plantains from Camden Market.

I don’t think, in my whole life in Australia, I’ve ever been given a free meal by a restaurant, and yet it has happened twice to me in London.

First time was a Mexican place in the financial district. The sweet potato for my burrito took about ten minutes to prepare and so they gave me the burrito and a drink for free. I wrote them a really nice TripAdvisor review.

Then the next week I went to a ramen restaurant in Soho and my food took about half an hour (which wouldn’t even raise an eyebrow in Melbourne) and the manager came and apologised to me personally and said the meal was free. It was outstanding ramen – I ended up talking to her briefly and she explained their philosophy and how it was made and how passionate she was about quality.

The funny thing was that the couple next to me, who complained twice about their food taking too long, got apologies but no offer of a free meal and probably heard me saying that there was no rush and I was fine and not to worry about how long it took. I did feel a bit smug, quite ruining all my good karma from being so patient and good-mannered.

Bone Daddies in Peter Lane was the place. If you go I recommend getting in before 6pm. From their window you can enjoy a view of people lining up for a clothes store across the road. The waitress in Bone Daddies seemed shocked I hadn’t heard of the brand, Supreme.

Markets!

I like browsing markets. I stumbled on the Marylebone Summer Fayre which, if you don’t know London, is a super posh area so the festival had an opera singer and oysters and champagne stalls along with the other, more normal, stuff. I ate some amazing middle eastern food and watched people salsa-dance for a while.

Books!

I visited a couple of book stores because, despite having an infinite supply of reading material on my phone and iPad, I can’t look at screens solidly for hours without getting a headache… plus I like buying books.

Daunt Books was right on one of the streets where the above ‘fayre’ was being held so I went in.

Its a gorgeous building.

I immediately discovered that, for reasons unimaginable, the fiction categories were all lumped together. Since I usually head straight to science fiction and fantasy, I cursed to myself and left. Who would do such a thing? Monsters, that’s who.

Luckily, on my way to the British Museum, I passed Waterstones. A huuuuuuge bookstore in a gorgeous building with a whole room of science fiction and fantasy to itself. I bought a book, just to reward them for their good sense.

It turned out to be rubbish but I can’t really blame the store for that.

With trees all around it, it was a difficult building to photograph but I assure bibliophiles it’s worth a visit.

Street Art!

I spent three nights near Brick Lane and before that I was in Camden. Both are excellent spots for street art and walking around finding these gems was one of the highlights of my stay here.

Truly, there is something in London for everyone!