Trip Update: Housesitting in London

Isn't it funny how things come together all of a sudden? That's how the last week has been. I've been thinking about this trip since January but actual, important details like when I'm leaving and where I'll be going were up in the air until now. This was in large part due to my trying to get a housesitting gig for part of the trip which, I am now happy to report, was successful! I'll be house/dogsitting in Golders Green in London for three weeks starting August 3rd. Partly what caught my eye about this listing was the area. I never got around to exploring Hampstead Heath last time I was in London and the family I'll be helping out lives right near by. 

I kind of fell into housesitting after college when I did it for a family in nearby West Hartford for about six weeks. At the time it was nice to be out of my mom's house for a while, even if it was only a couple of miles away. I house/dog sat for them a couple more times and also did occasional catsitting for a neighbor before I moved to Boston. When I started reading about long-term traveling housesitting was mentioned as a great way to save money while traveling. I read a couple of blogs and bought this very informative e-book by Dalene and Peter Heck of Hecktic Travels who have been housesitting all over the world for years. After some more research I set up an account with TrustedHousesitters.com and after a few months of diligent emailing I got a gig.

 Aside from free accommodation, housesitting also promotes the kind of travel I'm interested in--slow--and allows you to immerse yourself in the local culture in a way staying in a hotel never can. I would never be able to afford to stay in London this long so I'm looking forward to spending some quality time in my little borough. The Peak district and Yorkshire are still on the agenda, but I'm absolutely thrilled to be able to stay in my favorite city for three weeks. And, of course, the chance to have a dog for a bit is a nice bonus :)

Last year I started reading Imagined London by the wonderful Anna Quindlen but I had to stop because it made me too...I dunno...sad. I wanted to be back in London but at that point it was impossible. But now, with this trip on the horizon, reading this has only made me more excited. It's always been hard for me to explain why I felt so drawn to this city more than any other place, long before I ever went there, but Quindlen nailed it when she wrote "If you have spent your days in an armchair with a book, your nights reading yourself to sleep, then London is the central character in so much of what you have read that it is as though it is your imaginary home, a place whose lineaments are as clear as those of your own living room..." For me, being in London is the closest I can get to living inside my imagination.I can't wait to go home.