A Lady in London

This morning I realized that Sunday marked the three year anniversary quitting my hedge fund job and beginning a new life in London.

It is hard to believe that it has already been three years since I moved to the UK. That said, looking back on the time I have been here, I feel like I have explored a lot of the city’s main attractions.

But there are still a few things I haven’t done. A couple months ago my friend Julia was telling me that she had spent an afternoon walking along Regent’s Canal. It was something I had heard about before, but had never tried. We decided to walk it together with one of our mutual friends, Natalie.

Of course, another month went by before the three of us found a date that we were all in town and had an afternoon free. But we did. Two weekends ago Julia, Natalie, and I met at Warwick Avenue tube station in Maida Vale to start our walk along the canal.

The part of Regent’s Canal that we walked was only two miles, but in that stretch we saw many facets of the London landscape. In the beginning the canal was lined with barges, which are the English equivalent of house boats. Most of their inhabitants were quirky in one way or another, decorating their homes in bright colors and leaving mysterious objects lying around outside.

As we approached the north end of Regent’s Park, the scene changed dramatically. Away went the barges and along came the opulent homes of some of London’s wealthiest residents (or more likely well-heeled foreigners who visit once a year).

From there the landscape changed again, this time taking a more zoological tilt. We found ourselves walking right alongside the ZSL, or London Zoo. The cages of many animals lined the canal, and as we strolled by we caught a glimpse of a peacock standing alone amid the squawking of its fellow birds in the aviary.

Moving on from the zoo, the canal reverted back to its original scene. Once again river barges hugged the banks, and we saw all kinds of amusing objects including semi-painted wooden clogs and bicycles in fancy dress.

At the end of the row of boats we came to Camden Town. The area was bustling with its weekend markets and canal-side bars, one of which temped us to come inside. It was good timing, as the rain started to pour just as we settled in for some post-walk mojitos.

Regent’s Canal runs through more of London than the stretch we walked that day, and I’m glad it does. It means that there is still more of London to be explored, and more to look forward to in my next three years and beyond.