Across The Pond
Dear London,
The sun has come out with a vengeance in Manhattan and I think I am, quite possibly, the only person in 30 degree heat with a cold! I’m not talking the traditional sniffles… I’m talking surrounded by tissues but with the a.c. blasting beautifully chilled air at me, it’s so confusing!!!
Needless to say, I spent most of the week feeling sorry for myself and ensuring that Ted suffered along with me. However, I managed to sneak in a couple of trips to snap the city.
Read MoreDear New York,
It sounds like you are settling in very nicely! Culture shock is always a big part of going anywhere new - just remember, you can’t make a New York omelette without breaking some cage-free, organic, $1 extra eggs. I expect the omelette will be that extra bit tastier for it, too.
I am glad you are getting the basics sorted – just remember - routine is very important, and the best part of living in these big, exciting and vibrant cities is the diversity of the routine you can choose. Having a diverse routine sounds like a complete contradiction, I know, so before I completely lose everyone by spouting nonsense here’s a rundown of what I mean.
My lovely girlfriend and I have got ourselves entrenched in a pretty set weekend routine, and we love it (and very quickly and maybe unfairly resent anyone or anything that pops up to break it!).
We start the day with a good breakfast (usually around lunchtime, of course!). Living in bigger cities means you have more access to a wider choice of food, drink, and restaurants - we usually eat at mine though and ignore the plethora of cafes serving delicious brunches (as I like to cook something tasty myself to kick the day off) and this is usually one of three choices: bacon and scrambled eggs (the normal British kind, none of your fancy NY nonsense), American style pancakes with streaky bacon and maple syrup, or a bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon (it appears as I write this, you may have the upper hand with my breakfast choices now, dammit).
Obviously it’s important to add fresh coffee and a few glasses of Prosecco and orange juice as a suitable accompaniment.
Then the “routine” is to go and see an exhibition somewhere. There are so many free museums and amazing exhibitions running constantly in London that it is really easy to make it part of your weekend schedule to go and see something new. Learn something interesting. Take advantage of living in a place where shows and exhibitions are constantly changing and refreshing.
This weekend we went to see the Ancient Rome and Greece collection at the British museum. Next week it looks like we are going to go to a late night exhibition about Butterflies and Moths. Last week we went on a day trip to Cambridge (not London I know, but a 50 minute train for £16 from King’s Cross makes it faster than my weekly commute to work and so basically the same thing!).
Then dinner, either at home from any of the literally thousands of restaurants offering take away, or out to go and visit one in person.
So, we have a routine. But the choice of things to do, see and eat as part of that routine is incredible and something I am 100% sure I would miss if I lived anywhere else.
Anyway, enough of my rambling about how much better London is than anywhere else in the world (for now, anyway). Time for the photos!
“Bridges” turned out to be really fun for me - last week I treated myself to a shiny new 50mm lens (the same model as you have, which is awesome) and although the Thames is possibly one of the most photographed rivers in the world (citation needed, but sounds likely) I am pretty happy with my pic! I managed to go for a walk along the shore of the river when the tide was out - something I think everyone should try at least once, just to investigate all of the cool (and sometimes gross) stuff that gets washed up over the years, and I found some different views of bridges than I usually see day to day.
Perhaps we should introduce a critique section so people can let me know how I can improve as I go (maybe along with a guest submission gallery, I loved the addition last week from Ross!)
Anyway, my turn to choose the theme, and here’s one that both goes hand in hand with the topic of routine and that is an integral part of both of our cities:
I hope you don’t have to break your morning routine to get the photo!
London
Dear London,
So, we have been here for 10 days, and we're starting to settle into a routine: we've ridden on the subway; we've received post; Ted's got a bank account; I have a U.S. cell number (look at me taking on the local lingo); we've cooked (in a teeny, tiny kitchen that is scarily "large" by Manhattan standards); we're about to do our first load of washing (in the laundry in the basement of our building that looks like it could be the crime scene of a CSI episode).
All in all it looks like we're settling into living in New York well, but the culture shock is still there, hiding in odd places.
We went food shopping yesterday and I stared at eggs for about 5 minutes... which ones do I buy? Why are there so many options for egg consumerism? In the end I found myself blocking someone's way and grabbed the nearest carton... organic and cage free... They sound like the ones I normally buy, but WOAH they're a dollar more then the others. I noticed the local shopper looking at me wondering why I was so intense about eggs... to save face I put them in my basket and left.
And it wasn't just the eggs that proved to be a hurdle in my food shop agility course, it was everything. Each product presented a new dilemma... it was only when I felt fondly attached to the (overpriced) Heinz Baked Beans that I realised how ridiculous I was being... Yup, it took me that long.
I'll treat you to more on 'settling in', 'moving' and 'New York way of life' stuff in future letters, and in the meantime here is my snap for Fire and Water.
New York, Bethesda Fountain.
Although you said the theme was a cliché, it proved surprisingly difficult to incorporate fire, so I too focused on the water aspect of this week's theme, using a little bit of sun flare as my "fire".
We were strolling through Central Park at about 6.30pm, walked through the arches under the terrace (where a super classy function was happening... just like Gossip Girl! Not sure if that reference is lost on you, but think high society, darling) and I couldn't resist taking a snap of the sun streaming through the trees. I love a good bit of sun flare!
Fire and Water, courtesy of Newcastle!
It's exciting to say, that we inspired an addition to Fire and Water from Newcastle this week, thanks to another friend we left behind, so cheers Ross!
Well I know that both cities have some pretty exciting bridges so this week I'll be scouting out the best shots I can find in the Big Apple!
Well, better be off - I've got washing to do in a basement worthy of a detective show.
Happy snapping,
New York.
Dear New York (that’s right, that’s your name now),
So you finally made the move! I can’t imagine how mixed your emotions must be right now - possibly a lot of fear mixed with excitement. But probably just a whole lot of jetlag at this point.
Since I am still living in sunny (I know, right?!) England, I see it as my job to remind you of what you are missing here (since you and Ted abandoned me in the UK and I get petty when I’m jealous).
Will aka. London
My aim is to write you a letter - and hopefully get a response - every other week, with a challenge. We need to take a beautiful photo of the relative cities which we call home, to make the other person as jealous as possible.
We will have a theme challenge, and take photos accordingly each week.
So! To begin!
This weekend me and my amazing girlfriend took advantage of the sunny anomaly that is currently the weather and went on a gorgeous walk along the canal. The trees were all in blossom, the ducks were out in force and clouds were far and few between. We also had The First Barbecue of the Summer (a momentous event that should be recorded every year). Nothing burned and the food was delicious. I made an apple and blackberry crumble, but forgot to put any apple in it (maybe I’ll put the recipe somewhere).
With all that rattling in my mind when hunting for inspiration - I have found our first photo theme for the month - Fire and Water
There is nothing like a vague cliche to begin a themed photo project.
I’ll write again soon!
London
