Samuel Johnson, Go Eat a Moldy Crumpet

"Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."

— Samuel Johnson

Well, this quote just makes me feel like a stupid, boring person. Because sometimes I AM tired of London- tired of the rain, the expenses, the chaos. Sometimes I am tired of walking in the downpour to the store because I need 2 eggs to complete the dinner I already started. Sometimes I am tired of not having a car. Sometimes I am tired of paying an arm and a leg for most of the entertainment that London has to offer. Sometimes I am tired of London's lack of Tex-Mex, Targets, and sunshine. I find London to be exciting at it's best, but exhausting at it's worst. And sometimes that leads me to never leave my little neighborhood bubble. I get stuck in the mundane routine of life- wake up, breakfast, run, yoga, babysit, dinner. On repeat over and over and over again. And then I get depressed, because I don't want my life in London to be summed up to this. 

So, on Friday, I made myself get out of my little Northwest London bubble and go to my favorite London attraction: Borough Market. I know I speak of it's praises way too often, but there's just something about getting lost in this market that reminds me of how wonderful London is. 

While at the market, I realized, though, that I've never really explored the area around it. So, grilled cheese in hand, I decided to do a little adventuring. 

Side note: My hands were really greasy from the grilled cheese goodness, and I think some of that grease got on the lens of my phone, making these pictures look a little blurry. Oops! 

Where I usually sit and savour my grilled cheese. Not today, though! 

I had no idea that these ruins were so close to the market! It is Winchester Palace, from the early 13th century. It was mostly destroyed by the great fire, but is still very impressive, especially when stumbling across it while wandering around.

Just a random boat. Not even in the water, but between two buildings. 

Ah, The Thames on a dreary day

Next place of adventure! Wine Wharf? I'm so there!

So, that was my little London exploration. I needed it to remind myself that there is still so much to see and do in London, as long as you don't mind getting rained on or a bit lost. 

But with all that being said, I can conclude that Samuel Johnson was a pretentious jerk who had obviously never been to Texas.