So I think I’ve got it: Wapping is the Battery Park City of London.

Yesterday it was rainy and wet and cold, so I decided to do nothing instead of crossing something else off my ever-growing list of things to do/see/taste/hear during my time here. But by “doing nothing” I only meant I would not leave Wapping. Of course, I did leave the apartment and had several things on my “agenda.” First Zumba, followed by a blog post, followed by some additional writing, followed by a proper exploration of my neighborhood.

See, I felt sorta bad that I’d been bad-mouthing Wapping without really exploring its twisty, turn-y cobblestone streets. On my first day here I attempted to do it, but it was snowy and freezing and I was so jetlag… Ever since, I’ve just been going the other direction. So umbrella in tow, I headed east on Wapping High Street. My first discovery was this, which actually faces west:

Proper river walkway like the West Side Highway path in NYC, complete with bridge views.

Not a bad view, right? As I kept walking east, I discovered how truly similar this neighborhood is to Battery Park City: Beautiful condos, plus, amazing vistas of the river and, yes, far from public transport. It’s quiet and quaint, and in the spring, probably really lovely, just like BPC. I could see stopping to sit at one of those benches to read a book or the paper.

Continuing on…

Call me immature, but I liked the paint job on this number.

And then you have something super old school and proper.

Lots of the buildings have terraces. Love the mix of rounded arches with the rectangular windows.

Totally new warehouse-type loft. See the lamp and couch in the window?

Check out the eerie rope hanging from this old pub down an alleyway. Otherwise, it’s super lush looking and there’s a huge garden on the side that overlooks the river.

Taken my first few days here (hence the snow), there’s also a beautiful canal that runs through the area. Some lucky chaps live right on it!

Finally, I believe I failed to mention that I live super close to this:

St. Katharine’s Docks

Another similarity to BPC as theres’ a big marina there too. I’m sure by now my parents are all like, “WHAT????! You live near a marina and didn’t say anything?!” I know. So silly. (For those who don’t know, I’ve grown up on boats my whole life. I can tie and untie a stern line, toss out an anchor and even steer the damn thing. I can’t, however, dock it myself.) Now, whenever I go to the tube I walk through the docks (St. Katharine’s, to be exact) and it becomes a way more pleasant stroll. It seems like some people even live on their boats, ahem yachts, year-round. Lucky them. There is nothing quite like the sound of water lapping against the bow at night.

All in all, it was a GREAT, fulfilling day considering I had set out to do “nothing.” I managed to finish going through all four papers and (some of) their supplements that I’ve narrowed my Sunday reading down to: The Sunday Times, including Style, Culture and the Sunday Times Mag, The Observer and The Observer Magazine, the Mail on Sunday and You Mag and Live Mag, and The Sun on on Sunday and Fabulous (obvi); I got a handle on the ‘hood and where the bus stops and overground stations are without having to use Google Maps; I stopped in and read the Mail at a cute coffee shop on High Street, and the Times at a pub by the docks. Finally, I came home to do some more writing, reading, Skyping, picture-uploading and cooking before settling in to watch the commercial-free (holla BBC!) BAFTA’s.

This week marks one month since I left NYC and I definitely feel more at home now that I’ve gone all Mr. Rogers and gotten to know my neighborhood. It was a semi-typical Sara Sunday of working out, reading, writing and watching telly, so I will therefore leave you with this:

It’s a neighborly day in this beautywood,
A neighborly day for a beauty,
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?

 Thanks for reading, neighbor(s).