Julie and her secret park

I’ve been meaning to write about this story for a little while now, as it happened a couple weeks ago, but life can get so crazy here in London, I haven’t had the chance to write this blog entry. But one Saturday morning, my friends Ali and Christian and I went on a walk to explore the part of the city where the beautiful London Centre is located. The best part of this walk was actually when we ran into a local named Julie. She was out walking her dog, Scooby-Doo, and when she saw us raving about how cute the streets here were, she told us about this little park a little way off that we should visit. When we expressed interest, she offered to walk over to the park with us to ensure that we’d find it. She was so kind and fun to talk to! And the park she showed us was so cute! It ended up being super small, and in front of some really nice houses. It felt like a little piece of heaven in the middle of a city alive with busy people and tight schedules.

Julie's secret park :)

What I loved about this encounter was how un-touristy it felt! We discovered a little pocket of happiness in the city that we probably wouldn’t have found had we not run into Julie. And on top of this discovery, we were able to have this genuine, real-life, human interaction with a native Londoner. It felt spontaneous and authentic, like the type of last-minute excursion that wasn’t on your schedule, but ends up being the best part of the trip. These are the types of experiences that I hope to have during my time here in this magical city. This is the London I want to fall head-over-heels in love with!

Me and Ali in front of our home sweet home!

Still can't get over how dang cute these streets are...

Christian and me in front of the park!

-Em