London has a fairly well-deserved reputation for being an expensive city to visit. If you don't have some insider know-how and few like-a-local tips, your London trip could be anything but cheap. We are Londoners, at times, we've lived and worked in London, our kids were born there, we've slow travelled in London and we've taken many a weekend or short holiday in our favourite … [Read more...]
Living in London
Living in London
We love London, to us it is home, one of our homes. We lived there full time as a young couple and with babies and young children. We took off to travel and returned to London intermittently to live as slow travellers or short - medium term residents. Living in London blog posts from over 20 years of living in London, one of us Australian, one of us from elsewhere in the UK, but loving London and London life. London, still, is where we most love to live. Hopefully our experiences of living in London with and without kids, as expats, locals, foreigners and travellers, can help you.
5 Weeks in London, Costs and Experiences
The cost of living in London is billed as high and on previous visits taking rentals, lets or AirBnb apartments we've needed a lot of cash just to support ourselves. This time, our full 5 weeks gave us zero housing or accommodation costs, we've been taking care of friend's beautiful cats and borrowing their home while they're on holiday. We don't use a house sitting agency, so … [Read more...]
Richmond, England. Photos of London Life
Richmond, England, is one of the places we call home. This pretty Thames-side town with stately architecture, passing rowers, great shops and dining along with easy access to central London is a place I always find hard to leave. Living in Richmond Upon Thames on and off since 2001 has given us fantastic opportunities, good friends and wonderful experiences. Again, we've spent … [Read more...]
London: Coming Home
Hi there, we're home. I think I last posted from somewhere near Prague where we found ourselves stranded with a very hot and bothered car. We made it. We drove through to Bonn and from there straight to Calais for the ferry to Dover. That night we drove on to Twickenham and treated ourselves to a luxurious stay at the Twickenham Marriott. We don't do that often, blow big bucks … [Read more...]
Where to Eat in London on Vacation
Where to eat in London for those of us who love good food and want to keep an eye on our spending? London is one city that could destroy your trip budget in food costs, if you're not smart about where you spend. Eating out 3 times a day here, as we would in Asia, just ain't gonna happen. Accommodation in London will likely cost you an arm and a leg. On the global scale, … [Read more...]
The Grant Museum of Zoology. A Great Free London Museum For Kids
You could spend a lifetime exploring London's free museums, particularly if, like me, you have kids to educate. I've already posted about London's biggest and best free museums that appeal to kids, The Science Museum, The V&A, The National Gallery, The British Museum, The Tate Modern and the V&A's Museum of Childhood, but here's another little gem for you, The Grant … [Read more...]
London’s National Gallery of Art For Kids
You will only see a collection of art this incredible, free, in London.( If you know of anywhere else let me know, we'd love to go.)London's National Gallery of art is simply AMAZING!They have them all, Van Gogh, Monet, Reubens, Stubbs, Titian, Botticelli, Van Dyke, Constable, Cezanne, Da Vinci, too many to list. Not just some lesser known work by the great artist, … [Read more...]
The British Museum with Kids
The British Museum is billed as a place to see the world without leaving London, and it's true. The museum is a treasure house of amazing art and ancient artifacts spanning all of human history and every culture, housed in a visually spectacular and historic building in Bloomsbury, Central London. I've lost count of the number of times we've been, one visit could never do it … [Read more...]
Tate Modern Kids. Art for Kids Tour of the Tate Modern London.
Having an enjoyable and worthwhile visit to a modern art museum with kids is probably one of the harder tricks to pull off. I've only got my kids to go by. I don't know yours, sorry, but mine have zero interest in looking at paintings and art work unless something seriously kid-friendly and incredible is going on. We took the along to London's Tate Modern Museum and tried a … [Read more...]
Best Areas of London to Visit
Are you coming to London? I hope so. I've been lucky enough to live in London for eight years with kids and now for 8 months as a professional traveller. The best areas of London to visit, you may be unable to visit them all, just take your pick of those that appeal to you most, the cool areas, the historic sites, the family neighborhoods, visit the parts of London that … [Read more...]