London Bucket List - Hampstead Heath & The Monument

Around this time of year, I usually find myself thinking back, reflecting on the past year that has come to a close.  As I sit here thinking back to the good and the bad these past few years in London, I can't help but wonder about the limited time we have here.  Have we made the most of it?  Did we accomplish everything we set out to do?  Have we dedicated enough days to being tourists in our city?  As you can imagine, the list goes on and on, and it's nearly impossible to stop my mind from going around and around in circles.  Grant and I aren't sure what the future holds for us, so all we can do is live in the moment (this is something I'm trying to continuously remind myself of)...there's nothing we can do about the past, and there's no point worrying about what the future holds, so we need to just take one day at a time.

So, this brings me to another resolution of mine for this year...to take advantage of this amazing city that we live in, and explore, explore, explore!  

This past weekend, we did just that!  It's time to start crossing things off our list, so that there are no regrets once this adventure comes to a close.  Plus, how fun is it to play tourist in your own city?!  I encourage all of you to do this, at least once a month.  It's extremely refreshing, and a good reminder of how lucky you are to be living where you are!  I'm convinced that every city in the world has some hidden jewels, and many things to be proud of.

To keep us committed to this resolution, I'm going to start a London Bucket List series...

Hampstead Heath

I've heard about the amazingly huge and beautiful Hampstead Heath ever since we moved here.  It's only about a 30 min tube ride north of us, so why it took us this long to get there, I don't know.  The important thing is, we finally made it!

Hampstead is a beautiful borough of London, with proper English mansions...I could have walked for miles, just admiring the homes.

And the Heath was just as stunning.  Our main goal was to make it up Parliament Hill, in order to get a glimpse of the view of the city.  Even though it was quite chilly, we managed to find a bench and enjoy a little picnic we brought with us (wine included!) while overlooking the city.  It was such a nice, relaxing day exploring another neighborhood in this huge city.

The Monument
There's a tube stop, which we pass through on a regular basis, called Monument.  It never once occurred to me though, to look into what the actual Monument was.  Luckily, one of Grant's coworkers from Australia is in the same boat as us, busy trying to fit it all in, and she told us about The Monument (completed in 1677) - built to commemorate the Great Fire of London (1666) and to celebrate the rebuilding of the City.  311 steps later, you're rewarded with some pretty spectacular views of the city (by now, you know that G and I are suckers for good views of the city!).