Postcard From London: Hampstead, The Heath, and Feeling Guilty

For the past several weeks I've been settling in and exploring the area--along with caring for a very sweet dog named Chilli. After my first whirlwind week in London it has been nice to slow down a bit. And with a backyard like this, who can blame me? 

Luckily, Hampstead Heath is close by so I've been taking Chilli on some good long walks nearly every day, though more recently those walks haven't been quite as long. I strained my hip muscle at some point during the last few weeks because my lazy American body isn't used to all this walking. Though in fairness, before I left I was doing this squatting workout from something I saw on Pinterest, which was probably just setting me up for this injury. Lesson learned: do not engage in an exercise regime that is superimposed over a picture of someone's butt.   

To make things more complicated, Hampstead itself sits on a hilly area above London. However, the amazing views manage to make up for the pain:

What I like most about this area is that if you squint a bit, and ignore the cars and the McDonald's, you can almost trick yourself into thinking you'd gone back in time. Last Saturday I did a wonderful walking tour of Hampstead with London Walks and learned all about its history. Not surprisingly, it has long been a popular neighborhood for writers, artists, and actor types. H.G. Wells, John Keats, Daphne Du Maurier, and John Constable all lived here. More recent residents include Ridley Scott, Ricky Gervais, Judi Dench, Jeremy Irons, and Liz Taylor (among many others). With a history like that it's hard not to feel inspired just by walking around. 

The Romantic poet John Keats spent the last years of his life in Hampstead and here is where he wrote some of his best known poems, often inspired by his walks on the heath nearby.

Here is a replica of Keats' death mask, because I'm creepy. Apparently the original disappeared shortly after he died in Rome.

And this the Admiral's house which served as the inspiration for Admiral Boom in Hampstead resident P.L. Travers' Mary Poppins.

Get a peak at that sky--Constable painted it numerous times and I can see why. Every sunset has caught my eye and I'm not even at the top of the hill. 

And yet, as lovely as this all is I can't wait for James to be by my side so we can experience it together. He will love Hampstead and I'm looking forward to showing him around. Traveling alone definitely has its perks and I'm really glad I'm doing this, but there are some things that are just better with another person. 

I've also been struggling a bit with feeling guilty since I haven't gotten much work done. But, my time here is limited. If I end up spending the day wandering around the heath instead of inside writing, so be it. As Annie Dillard wrote: "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." A chapter of my life spent wandering around London is much more fulfilling than writing inside a house in London. I can get back to my usual routine when I'm home. But for now, this is what I want my days to look like: