London chapter II

Evidenced by an ever dwindling number of blog posts, my rigour and determinism to capture all of my foreign adventures in writing have obviously faded over the past months. Yet, given my present circumstances, I owe it to my future self to conduct at least a very brief capture of ‘London, chapter 2’. It has been well over three years since I spent 10 weeks here, working in the City and living in Whitechapel. When I was offered to start the new year with another stint in London, I needn’t think twice. It almost feels like I never left.

While work is busy and rather demanding, the absence of a commute makes that I still have loads of time to enjoy life here. My temporary home is in Bow Lane, a cute little alley a stone’s throw from the St Pauls Cathedral, which is buzzing with office workers during the week. In the weekends however the City is deserted, bar a few lost tourists who wonder why there is no one around in the heart of the UK´s capital. It’s a handy spot nonetheless, from where I can walk, cycle, or tube easily to almost any place in inner London. Returning to a city that is familiar to you, where you have lived (albeit briefly) before, and where some of your very best friends are, is a little bit like coming home. In fact, I am having such a marvellous time here, that the idea to stay here for a few more years is very tempting at times. But well, we will see about that. For now, let’s recapture the bliss of the past few weeks.

Last night I had sushi and cocktails with Dana at Brilliant Corners in Dalston, whereafter we went for a few more drinks at Ruby’s, a cool underground bar. The weekend had started well on Friday as I cracked open the first Peronis with Alan at Madison’s, which were followed up with drinks at De Hems with Aernout, Helena, Vasiliki and Alberto. I had met Aernout at Vasiliki’s and Alberto’s house warming party a few weeks earlier, and I really enjoyed going out for a few drinks with the four of them. We finished at a respectable hour this time, unlike at the occasion where I first met the guys, when a taxi driver dropped me off at my apartment close to six in the morning. Having finished the night at ‘Egg’, an underground techno hub, was definitely not my cup of tea, but nonetheless an experience worth coming out of your comfort zone for! My antidote to all this alcohol consumption are long runs along the Thames, as I did again today. Taking a train to Greenwich allows you to follow the river all the way back to the City, and these blissful 12km pretty much clean up my system for another week of enjoying the better things in life. In many ways the weekend already starts on Thursdays, as I had some beers with Bart-Jan last week, as well as with Alan and David the week prior. I met Bart-Jan at his own house warming party, which I happened to attend as Koen, visiting from the Netherlands with Mark and Inge, knows Bart-Jan from childhood. All very random, but I cherish these coincidences as the times I’ve been out for a beer with him in the weeks after the house warming were all very enjoyable. The weekend that I had the gang over featured more cool activities, as we went to see West Ham play an atrocious FA cup game at Upton Park, had lunch at Brixton Village and enjoyed the view of the City from –again- Madison’s. It would be a bit odd to describe a corporate bar as a ‘local’, but yeah, I guess this place would quality as mine. Apart from last night I see Dana once every fortnight, and it is a really good feeling to catch up regularly now that we’re finally in the same city again. This includes Vietnamese food in Shoreditch and amazing cocktails and jazz music at hip Oriole. The same holds for Vasiliki, who with whom I’ve been out for drinks a few times with always new plans in the making. Another blast from the past was invigorated as I met up with Natalie after six years of absence, the last time being in Tilburg in 2009. Beers with Scott were even more proof that Erasmus has its reverberations long after the final exams have been passed. It´s these and other things that make life here such a feast, and I will enjoy it all I can. As alas, also this stint is temporary and it won´t be long until I´ll have to pack my bags again and say goodbye for a second time.