I've had a fascination with #London that dates back to long before I ever arrived in this city for the first time.
••••••
I grew up reading Dickens, Doyle, Christie, and fascinated with the history of Tudor London, industrial London, Churchill-era London (also, I was a huge nerd when I was young - does that need to be said after that last sentence? Probably not). It felt strange to have explored so much of a city's streets and atmosphere throughout the ages on the pages of books, and to never have set my eyes on the city itself.
••••••
Every time I come back here, I realize that though London may be a modern, trendy, city, its history is irrevocably ingrained in it, and my imagination is evoked on almost every street corner.
••••••
Walking through Belgravia and Kensington, the air and architecture of aristocracy is still very much alive. In hipster-filled East London, when I walk off the main drags late at night, the shadowy, rain-drenched streets between the brick buildings and old warehouses could easily form the setting of any Dickens novel or Jack the Ripper tale.
••••••
There are other places like this in the world I have visited - Japan, Brazil, Italy; and others I have yet to visit: Egypt, Russia, India, Colombia, to name a few - places whose history and authors I've spent my life reading, places that I feel called to explore.
••••••
Now I'm curious to know: what's your place?