This is Nicola’s @shedlikesfood lovely apartment, located on the top floor of The House of Many Stairs in Clapton. There are even stairs inside the apartment (!!) as it is on two levels, with the bedroom and bathroom upstairs. To say I am no longer used to climbing stairs is a bit of an understatement, but the only really difficult times were lugging my massive suitcase up and down them (I do not travel light). But as you can see it’s a charming light-filled space.

I arrived at the house around 2.30 pm and got unpacked and settled in. Then it was time to take a walk and get to know the neighbourhood, and hopefully find somewhere for a late lunch. Unfortunately most of the places Nicola had recommended were closed (Monday!) so, after a quick beer in a dodgy pub, I bought a few supplies for the week at the supermarket, picked up pizza, and headed home.

By this time it was already 7-ish and I was exhausted, having accomplished close to 14,000 steps on only one early morning croissant and the aforementioned beer. So I put my feet up, opened the wine I’d purchased at the supermarket, and enjoyed an early dinner of wood-oven baked pizza. And well, there was no way I was going out again. In fact, I ended up in bed by 9.00 and caught a lovely sunset from the bedroom window before hitting the hay and sleeping a full 8 hours (something almost unheard of for me – clearly I needed it).

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