339 days ago, I moved to London…
In those first days, people would ask regularly ‘are you absolutely loving it’? Those exact words.
And I didn’t have a good answer. Did I? I really wasn’t sure.
It was good. I liked it. It suited me. But love?
It’s hard to love something so familiar and so strange all at once.
But, after nearly a year, I’ve realised that to love London is to admit you’re thrilled by something massive, sprawling, wonky, overcrowded, brilliant, bonkers, irreverent, complicated and altogether glorious.
It’s like a proper relationship. You’ll have your good days, your bad days, and the days that make you feel like there could never, ever be another city for you.
Which is strange to say as I know a big part of my heart still belongs to Edinburgh (and I gave away some of it to Brooklyn and Tokyo too)… but it’s impossible to think of anywhere else when you’re staring up at Big Ben or gazing down on St Paul’s.
It’s the old and new. The history. The heartbeat.
It’s the music that spills out of tiny flats on hot summer nights. It’s the solidarity of waiting on late buses. It’s the smiles in the crowds. It’s the voices you hear in the streets. The laughter, the anger, the humanness of it all.
So here’s to you, you wildly strange place I now call home… this is my love letter to you, all with the help of a shiny marble and a rather gorgeous Spring day.
Yes, I think we can definitely call this love.
Love you London. Thanks for the last 339 days, here’s to many more xx
@Convo_Pieces Ahhh, gorgeous! Lovely photos and summed up how I feel about London perfectly.
@inbetweendays aww thanks 😀 that’s so lovely of you to say x
adore this post, beautiful pictures and words! love, love, love!
Aww, thanks Rachael. Really pleased with how the pics turned out, so very happy you like it! x
Zoe you are amazing! London looks so dreamy. This is precisely why I love your blog and instagrams!
Oh shucks, Sam Sews! Think the setting and the setting sun did help! Very glad you like them though x
This is why I miss London! Sigh.
Aww, sorry Susan! (I get like that seeing people’s Edinburgh pics!) x
Wow! These photos are utterly captivating xo
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Thanks so much Laura! x
Beautiful post Zoe, and exactly how I feel about being here too! x
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Aww, thanks Leanne! Lovely that you feel the same too 🙂 x
i remember my first year in this city was a bit lost and wonky. 12 years later, it’s home. Lovely set of photos!
Thanks lady! Nice to know that it’s not just me that felt a bit wonky! x
Wow, these pictures are amazing! I feel the same about London, I can’t imagine living anywhere else and am often struck by awe and gratitude when I’m just walking down the street, to call this city my home. I’m glad you feel the same!
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Thanks Katie! Really chuffed you think so. Yeah, I wasn’t really sure I would feel that way but it definitely snuck up on me! x
Great pictures 🙂 London sure looks pretty in a marble.
Thanks Annie! Yeah it worked really well, very pleased with them – think the nice weather definitely helped! x
Absolutely love this post Zoe! Gorgeous photos, love the marble idea 🙂
I hope this ends up being me after we move cities this summer! Eeeek! xx
Oooh exciting Bex! Me too… come live in London and we can hang out! (Lots of other reasons to live here too but that one is good for me!) 😉 x
I didn’t “get” London when I lived there. It was too big to be practical, everywhere was so far away and so expensive, and I felt very much like a fish out of water. It was wasted on me as a student – probably because I didn’t know enough people to enjoy it with, or have enough spare pennies to do it properly. After moving to Edinburgh I didn’t go back for three years, until my boyfriend temporarily got a job there, and for some reason by then it was fun again. Every time I visit now I miss it desperately, and I do wonder whether I should give it another go, just for a while, just for long enough to make sure one way or the other.
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Interesting Gwen! I sometimes wonder if I should have moved here earlier but I suspect I might not have ‘got’ it then either. I remember very much always liking visiting here but never wanting to live here – mainly based on not liking the Tube! Which is strange as I actually prefer my London commute to my Edinburgh one. I’m biased as to whether you should give it another go… but then I’m also biased about Edinburgh too!! x
Love this love letter to London by @Convo_Pieces http://t.co/iGpCs0uaPR
What a wonderful post! Such a fabulous homage to my favourite city 🙂 I miss London so much and you’ve given me goosebumps detailing all that I love about it. Thanks Zoe. Kx
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Thanks Kylie! (And aww, what a nice thing to say!) x
RT @_theonlyplace: Love this love letter to London by @Convo_Pieces http://t.co/iGpCs0uaPR
I love these photos! So, so clever. I’m really into photographing reflections at the moment – but I’ve been looking for ones that already exist rather than finding my own – so will have to try something similar!
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Ah cool, you’ll have to let me know how you get on B! x
Oh my this almost made me homesick for London. I think it takes a while for it to properly sink in that you live there (or it did for me) and that it is real. I am so glad you are enjoying it though x
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Aww, in a good way I hope! Yeah I think actually ‘living’ here is something I’m not used to yet. Hope you’re getting that way with Edinburgh? x
This is an awesome idea. Really amazing photos! You should definitely come back up to Edinburgh and do it here too 🙂
Jennie x
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Thanks Jennie! Might have to do just that… be cool to see how different it looked! x
Loving this Zoe, you always have such wonderfully creative ideas! x
Aww, thanks Claire! So lovely of you to say x
This is such a lovely post Zoe – and such wonderful photos, what a brilliant idea! I’ve lived in London for over 7 years now and I still completely love it, but there is a little part of me that’s thinking about making a big move… we’ll see!
Oh interesting Sally, that sounds very exciting! Nice to hear you’re still in love with London after all this time too x
Beautiful.
Px
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Thanks Penny! x
ah, what a brilliant post, and those photos are magic! x
Aww, thanks Charmaine! x
Aww that’s pretty much how I feel about London too! Very much like a relationship with up’s and down’s but definitely lots more highs than lows. I lived there for a year and now I’m back in Edinburgh but I want to move back when I find my dream career down there. x
LovefromLouLou.com
Think Edinburgh is a relationship sort of place too somehow! I’m definitely seeing it through rose-tinted specs at the moment! x
Beautiful pictures and you sum up London so well, all the things I loved about living there! xx
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Aww, thanks Kerry – that’s so lovely to hear 🙂
Amazing pictures!!
Thanks Lyndsay! 🙂
I just stumbled across your blog and this was the first post I saw! It’s definitely endeared me to your blog 🙂 . All of the different monuments in London seen through a marble is like a proper artistic concept! A metaphor for London…
I’m still in the process of getting to know London – I like it but I’m not sure if it’s the only one for me. It’s a little bit too much like where I’m from – just on a grander scale.
Great post!
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Aww, thanks Alyssa! Your blog post is reminding me that I need to do more North London – I’m a SE London gal so don’t get over there as much!
Funny, I was just saying the same about south London! I’ve only been to Brixton…once. :S
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Those pictures are fantastic Z. I am glad you fell in love with London. It has a little bit of my heart too! Xx
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Z, these photos are amazing! Edinburgh misses you so much, but we’re so glad you’re happy there too 🙂
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Incredible pictures! I don’t understand this marble, but it’s very cool. Lovely words, though I do understand what you meant at the beginning. I find ‘are you loving it? don’t you think it’s amazing’ to be quite a rude question as it’s implying that you really should be, rather than asking how you’re finding it!
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