You start with a list, whether it’s in your head or actually written down, of places you want to go and things that would be cool to see. Maybe you don’t go, maybe you go to some, or maybe you never meant to go at all, for some, it was just an exercise. With us, it became a defining characteristic of our lives together. Making lists of places to go was a pastime. A map covering an entire wall of our house tracked where we had been. Our current trip is, in some ways, a culmina

Category 🗽 New York City 🇬🇧 London Founded → Incorporated / Modern City Founded: 1624 as Dutch New Amsterdam → Incorporated: 1898 as the consolidated City of New York Founded: c. 47–50 CE as Roman Londinium → Greater London created: 1965 Age of Historic City ~402 years ~1,976 years Modern Administrative Date January 1, 1898 April 1, 1965 Land Area ~303 sq mi / 784 km² ~607 sq mi / 1,572 km² Population ~8.6 million ~8.9 million Population Density ~28,400/sq mi ~14,700/sq mi

Using AI to generate custom walking tours, as opposed to relying on standard tours outlined in guidebooks, masks most issues related to navigating London without getting lost and, through the miracle of the algorithm allows us to map out highly specific punk rock landmarks, including the 100 Club and the Sex Pistols' former flat on Denmark Street, early Rolling Stones history at Regent Sounds Studios, hunt down Churchill’s WWII haunts and re-enact movie scenes around Notting

In the last week we’ve experienced what’s expected in London: London Bridge, Tower Bridge, Big Ben changing of the guard, many miles walked, polite people, many confusing subway lines, but also the unexpected: Sunday Roast (didn’t know that was a thing), Yorkshire Pudding (it’s not pudding it’s like bread meant to soak up gravy), STP [not Stone Temple Pilots], sticky toffee pudding, it’s not pudding either more like cake), it is not foggy and I have not seen one identifiable

How long does it take for a new city to feel like home? For me, just under two weeks. Okay, if they didn't have arrows with "look this way" at EVERY street crossing, and I actually had to count money instead of using plastic, it might not be as seamless to settle in and feel comfortable. The fact that a) there is no language barrier, b) most of the food is familiar and c) signs are in English really give London an edge over some of the places we are planning on living. To

We are starting a new life, not taking a “vacation”. Airbnb facilitates embedding yourself in a community vs. being a “guest” in a hotel. This means no room service, no turndown service… no set “service” of any kind. Okay, so we are used to having to figure out how to work strange coffee makers, showers, and TVs; but if it wasn’t for “You Tube” tutorials, we may not have been able to cook food or clean our clothes. But these minor challenges are not what stands in the way

Each of the previous visits, no matter how rushed or unplanned, had their charms (the beer at the London Pizza Hut is amazing) but the idea this time is to experience London at a slower pace. Not sure if this is necessarily the best way but it’s definitely different. We’ve been here a week and last night was the first time we spent any time in the city proper. We’ve joined a gym, saw the Odyssey, hiked up to the two best view points of the city from Northern London (Primrose

The sites people want to see when visiting another country are an interesting study in human nature, i’m not sure if there is a conclusion to be drawn but it’s a phenomenon. Jennie and I are sticking to our goal of 5 mile walks each day, mostly through Regents Park and along the canals in Camden town. The canals were first designed as an avenue for hauling coal and grain to the docks in London - now they cool just to walk along or hire a boat to pole you along or even a boat