London Baby!
London calling. The Clash were definitely on to something when they said that, as London didn’t just call me, it left an indelible mark on my soul. Initially I was hesitant about traveling someplace so old, concerned that a twenty year old like me would not find enough to do that didn’t involve graves. Let me just state in writing that I was wrong.
As this was my innaugral time across the pond, I began my trip actively searching out all the cliches: red phone boxes, med dressed like John Steed from The Avengers (bowler hat and ever-present umbrella) and fog. The first one came before even touching down at Heathrow, with the plane breaking through the late-September clouds to reveal double-decker busses roaming the streets! I was giddy with delight. But it only got better from there. Having alighted at the Charing Cross tube station (God bless the tube, it got me effortlessly around all of London for 4.10 a day and taught me the meaning of the word ‘alighted’) just after 8am on a Sunday, I found myself standing virtually alone in the middle of Trafalgar Square, Nelson’s Column at my feet, the National Gallery over my shoulder, staring at the top of the tower housing Big Ben peeking over the rooftops. It gave me shivers and made me feel, deep down, that I was truly in London. Absolutely charming. I mean, where else in the world do they paint “look left” or “look right” directly on the road to prevent people from being hit while crossing?
In my four days in London I managed to squeeze in the famous British Museum, Natural History Museum, Speaker’s Corner at Hyde Park, the Changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, Harrod’s (heaven!), and St. Paul’s Cathedral, just to name a few. On my last full day I met up with some local friends and we explored the left bank of the Thames, taking a flight on the London Eye, having “elevensies” tea at Royal Festival Hall, seeing Shakespeare’s Globe theatre and the Tate Modern, and eating at the Anchor Pub (built more than 200 years before the British North American Act created Canada!). Then we took the ferry to Greenwich, past the spectacular Tower Bridge and David Blaine in his suspended terrarium, and up to the meridian where time begins.
London is a vibrant city, with it’s old-world charm juxtaposed against a multi-coloured modernity, that I couldn’t help but feel comfortable. I just wanted to buy a flat and stay forever. From there I moved on to Paris, one of the most exciting cities in the world, but some of it’s attraction was lost in the sadness that I was leaving London behind. But not for long. I know I’ll be back.
Originally published in the Vancouver Province newspaper.
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- The super-cool central plaza of the British Museum
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- Walk like a giant stone Egyptian at the British Museum
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- One of London’s canals behind the London Zoo
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- This is what St. Martin’s in the Fields will look like when it’s finished…
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- London Eye-pods – non-downloadable :)
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- St. Paul’s Cathedral, the small side It’s really wayyy bigger than this looks
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- The Gherkin as seen through the Tower Bridge
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- My favorite bridge in the world. Granted, it’s a short list…
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- Buckingham Palace, Darlings