No more sleeping in — CHLOE HYDE

Nov 26

Nov 26 No more sleeping in

I've just finished my first week of working in London and can officially say I'm no longer on holiday! It was great to get back to work (and probably a lot better for my bank account), but I have to say the 6.30am starts were a bit rough. Thankfully I'm relocating to zone 1 next Saturday so I will be able to sleep in much later and spend a lot less time on the tube.

Since I was still getting used to the longer days and early starts, I didn't do anything too exciting during the week. My new office is in central London, which is so convenient. The only issue is the large number of tempting shops that I walk past to and from work every day! I had a quick walk around Covent Garden after work on Tuesday. There are plenty of shops and food in this area, which should make for nice lunchtime walks.

On Saturday I went to Portobello Road for a wander. There were so many people, it was a bit overwhelming! I don't remember there being quite so many touristy shops on Portobello Road last time I was here - it feels a bit like the antiques are buried behind a lot of less exciting stalls. The houses in this area are definitely worth looking at. I love all of the bright colours - something you don't often see in Australia.

I then made my way to the Natural History Museum to kill some time before I met a group of other London newbies at Winter Wonderland. The new section is very well done, but there's just nothing like the great old halls of 19th-century museums! The suspended blue whale skeleton is enormous and so impressive in person. The hand-painted plants on the ceiling are also amazing - make sure you look up if you're ever in the museum!

Winter Wonderland was so much bigger and more amazing than I had expected! Last time I was in London, it was just a collection of German-style Christmas Markets. Somehow Winter Wonderland has managed to combine mulled wine and German sausages with carnival rides and flashing lights, and done it well. There's even an adult merry-go-round that involves a rotating bar with table tops on the traditional horses! What's not to love?

I spent my Sunday exploring the Old Spitalfields Markets and Brick Lane. This is such an extensive area of markets - once again, much larger than I expected. It's also a great spot to pick up bargain clothes or a coffee made in an old London taxi. This is a great area, which I can definitely see myself frequenting.