Notting (King of the) Hill
By Shanan Carney | Posted March 5, 2013I did a year of my undergraduate studies in London, England, and it was there where I fell in love ... with adventure. There was just something about the city's crazy twists of cobblestone streets and meandering mews that kept me in a constant mode of exploration. Its colorful tube map and candy-apple-colored buses probably didn't hurt either. I am a visual gal.
One neighborhood that particularly pulled me was Notting Hill. Not because of Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, mind you--my time in the UK pre-dated that bird-brained Hollywood production. It wasn't even because of the world-famous Portobello Market, where antiques and jewelry bedazzled every weekend. I'm definitely not into crowds. Rather, there was something about the magnificent homes in this area that sparked my imagination. They seemed big (by London standards). They were beautiful. They evoked Mary Poppins-like magic. I wanted to know who lived in them.... What did they do for a living? How did they take their tea? Why didn't they invite me in?
And wouldn't you know it: Thanks to Control4 I recently found myself not just nervously "wondering" at a front door, but instead being welcomed into one of these Notting Hill homes to get a grand tour and be given the professional opportunity to ask every question I'd ever wanted. Luckily, I had a video camera with me, so you can join the adventure, too. Just watch out for Sid Vicious and one mess of a Shakespeare....
One neighborhood that particularly pulled me was Notting Hill. Not because of Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, mind you--my time in the UK pre-dated that bird-brained Hollywood production. It wasn't even because of the world-famous Portobello Market, where antiques and jewelry bedazzled every weekend. I'm definitely not into crowds. Rather, there was something about the magnificent homes in this area that sparked my imagination. They seemed big (by London standards). They were beautiful. They evoked Mary Poppins-like magic. I wanted to know who lived in them.... What did they do for a living? How did they take their tea? Why didn't they invite me in?
And wouldn't you know it: Thanks to Control4 I recently found myself not just nervously "wondering" at a front door, but instead being welcomed into one of these Notting Hill homes to get a grand tour and be given the professional opportunity to ask every question I'd ever wanted. Luckily, I had a video camera with me, so you can join the adventure, too. Just watch out for Sid Vicious and one mess of a Shakespeare....
