Saturday 29 October 2011

Goodbye London...







I remember when I first moved out of home. I can still picture my parents waving goodbye on the curb, as I drove away smiling, excited about the future, cranking up Bon Jovi on the stereo, headbanging away with the world at my feet. Then I promptly turned the corner and burst into tears.

Leaving London is a bit like that. Only a few months ago, we found ourselves with irresistible new job offers in Melbourne. Home! Think of the weather! The sunshine! A beach at the end of our street! The coffee! The Thai food! Brunches! Dim sims on tap! 


We were suddenly resigning, packing up the house, finding another, planning a wedding (complete with traumatic wedding dress dramas - who knew it would be the hardest part?), failing to plan a honeymoon (still on the to-do list!), trying to cram in every last bit of travel and London life we needed to squeeze out of our last 3 months.... It's been a whirlwind of excitement and a maze of cardboard boxes. 

But now the time has come to go - just as I've remembered not to say "pants" or "thongs" in the entirely wrong context. And there's a big heavy lump in my throat.

The last 5 years in London have been wonderful. When you travel to the opposite side of the world from all your friends and family, with only each other and a few boxes of clothes (none of them warm enough for December in London - the warmest thing I brought was a cotton jacket! COTTON!! Madness), you never know what's in store. But we've made new, life long friends, we got engaged (woot!), travelled high and low (every month, at least -  we have some serious trees to plant), expanded our culinary horizons (from spotted dick in Britain to oysters & pearls in New York to sea urchin at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo), enjoyed jobs that we have loved, explored every nook and cranny of London life, and treated each week like there's a new adventure to be had. The experience will change the way we live forever. 


Oh, and we've bought a lot of warm coats. Melbourne winters, do your best - I am ready for you.

I'll miss living on our beloved Rupert Street where we moved 5 years ago for its proximity to London's best flat white at the time, as you do (at Flat White - your only other option back in the day was Provs - how far London has come!). Rupert Street - so full of character and life, from its crack pipes in our doorway to the gigantic men in tutus across the road, from the food and coffee carts lined up along the cobblestones, to our stash of hams, cheeses, truffles and fresh pasta at the cute Italian delis up the road, from its flashing neon STRIPTEASE signs, to the rock 'n roll Spuntino diner downstairs. I'll miss the newsagent who thinks TPG's Italian L'uomo Vogue is a gay porn mag and wraps it in brown paper before he leaves the shop. 


I'll miss runs past Big Ben and Buckingham Palace through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, especially in Autumn, my favourite London season. I'll miss spotting celebrities in random places on the streets (even if it is sometimes just Jim from Neighbours). I'll miss riding at the top of the double decker buses and scoffing salt beef bagels on Brick Lane. I'll miss stocking up at the Lebanese grocers to cook the latest from Ottolenghi or shopping in Chinatown after work to knock up a quick bowl of Vietnamese fishy soup. I'll miss H&M and Anthropologie and reasonably priced champagne. I'll miss jetting off with my rolly bag after work on Friday nights for weekends in Paris or Rome. I won't miss the Tube. Or the weather. Most of all, I'll miss my friends.

Writing this blog has been a wonderful adventure in itself. I'm still so grateful that anyone reads it. It was born from an obsession for eating, cooking, rummaging through deli shelves and discovering new places to eat. TPG and I had already built a life around travelling by gut and reading endlessly about food, so why not share the joy of new discoveries - while indulging in a little creative outlet along the way? I'm not sure what form it will take going ahead - it's getting harder to keep it up and I value nothing more than spending my precious spare time with TPG and a bottle of wine, pondering life and love and the next big feast. But the magnificent Australian food scene is one I'm bursting to write about and share. So finger's crossed that I find the time, and that you still care to read. 

So tomorrow, we take off for Melbourne - but not before some travels through Venice, the wine regions of Amarone, Barolo and Bordeaux, the French gastronomic capital of Lyon,  and - of course - New York. Well, you only live once.

Thanks for tuning in. It's been a wonderful 5 years. Goodbye, London!


Gulp.



24 comments:

  1. London'll miss you too, lovely. Best of luck for the wedding, for life back home, and for continuing the blog! x

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  2. Oh this just made me London-home-sick again! London will miss you but I am looking forward to exploring Melbourne again with you...

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  3. You will miss London, no doubt - but there's lots to look forward to in Melbourne! Can't wait to hear from you on the other side! T x

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  4. We miss London so much and your updates have been a great prompt to reminicise about our own adventures. Thanks for helping us to create a massive list of places we 'must go'. We look forward to adding Melbourne spots to this list. Xxx

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  5. Farewell and good luck!
    I look forward to reading about Melbourne :)

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  6. I wish you all the best for your life back in Australia (and hope to read a lot about is on here!)Even though it's sad to leave a place like London, coming home is the best.

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  7. Oh darl there's a lump in my throat too reading this. Yours is one of only a tiny handful of blogs I read regularly and it follows that yours is one of the few voices I listen to as a guide to whether I'm likely to like somewhere or not. So on a selfish level I'll miss having the benefit of your wisdom, but equally couldn't be happier that you & TPG are having this exciting new beginning together. You deserve it.

    SHRIEKED at the L'Uomo Vogue/gay porn anecdote. I'm sure you'll keep on making me laugh from down under.

    Lots of love to you both and best of luck,

    Hugh xx

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  8. Melbourne foodies are welcoming you back with open arms... wonderful reviews here in London and will continue reading your posts for a long time to come!

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  9. Thank you so much everyone for your lovely comments. Please stay in touch and drop me a line on the blog now and then so I don't feel like I've completely dropped off the face of the earth!! I will certainly be tuning in to your blogs for news of what's hot in London town.

    Hugh, thank you Sweetness - I will be keeping up my regular read of your witty reviews too to keep my finger on the London pulse. I'll miss you! Come and visit someday. xx

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  10. Wah! Everyone's leaving! Exciting times ahead of you. Best of luck with the move and the wedding planning! (You really are doing the top 3 most stressful things all at once...!) x

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  11. Tnank you for all your wonderful blogs. I've really enjoyed reading them and picked up a fair few tips during my three years in London! Have a wonderful trip and safe journey home.

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  12. Echoing all the above. I think yours is the first food blog I started following, and so indirectly probably responsible for my foodie nutdom and subsequentl blogging - so thank you. x

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  13. Reading your last post in London reminded me our departure from a City I lived & loved for 15 years. Wishing you all the best in Melbourne!
    Ritchie

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  14. Happy trails Carly and TPG. I'll be seeing you shortly...

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  15. You'll be missed! Hope you have a smooth move over to Down Under and I'm already looking forward to your new posts!

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  16. While you'll be missed in London, I'm sure Melbourne will be a fantastic place to get back to, the coffee, the Asian food, Flinders Lane and Fitzroy... Damn, now I'm getting a severe case of the envies. Enjoy the travels, enjoy setting up a new home and I can't wait to start reading about Melbourne.

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  17. So, after NYC, will you be dropping by Sydney? Because if you do, will you bring me a Shake Shack burger? ;) SEE YOU IN MELBOURNE - and come visit me in Sydney!!

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  18. oh no, I've just found your blog and now you're leaving London!! this post reminded me how much I love this city though... and why I have still not run for the countryside hills of home (Devon!)

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  19. Thanks so much everyone!

    See you soon Tehbus - glad to have a new recruit in Melbourne.

    Catty - you know I can't be trusted with a Shake Shack import. I ate TPG's once while he was sleeping.

    Grubby - There's only one solution - come and visit!

    Cornflower Kitchen - I just saw yours too - it's lovely!

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  20. Awwww no way! You’re off as well? It's been a real pleasure to hang out with you on a few occasions’. The absolute best of British to you back in Melbourne. You'll definitely be missed x

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  21. Great post - hope your travels back to Melbs go smoothly and that you have a fab time back home. I am gutted to be losing my 2 best restaurant recommenders - you and GC - but as I am woefully out of touch with the Melbourne scene I look forward to prepping my trips home with reading your blogs. Sorry we didn't catch up before you left - bon voyage, I'll keep you posted on new coffee openings in London!

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  22. I know how you feel guys. This might ease the pain a little!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8nrDz1xNFE

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  23. Congrats and hoping to see you in Aus someday. Getting beasted in Seoul has meant I haven't had the chance to keep up to date with your blog and life changes (knew about the move but congrats about wedding!!).

    Enjoy Aus and looking forward to reading about it.

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