Greetings. I hope all is going well. My week in London is almost to an end and I wanted to share some highlights with you all.
I arrived in London via Heathrow early last Monday. I'm using Marriott rewards points to stay at a Marriott in a middle class Northwest London neighborhood called Maida Vale. If you've seen the movie Notting Hill, it's very close. There's not much to see here, but it's close to a Tube station (London Underground or subway) so it's easy to get wherever I want to go. I've mastered the tube without difficulty but the buses are a bit more challenging. I got on the wrong bus once and ended up getting an in depth tour of the East End.
So far, I've ridden the London Eye which is a 450 foot ferris wheel with clear capsules providing a 360 degree view of London; visited Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, Hyde Park, St. James Park, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Portobello Market, and Tower Bridge; and made the trip to Cambridge. London is a really vibrant city.
There are really two things to do in London, look at old stuff and shop. After a few days of palaces, museums, and statues, they all start to look alike. Some of them aren't as impressive in person as they sound in the guide books and the crowds are miserable. The Tower of London was the exception partially because it's earliest sections are a thousand years old and partially because the Yeoman Warders or Beefeaters that give tours are very entertaining and bring it all to life.
Anyone that likes to shop and has plenty of discretionary income, will love London. Pretty much anything you could want is here. Harrod's, the store that boasts "if we don't stock, you don't want it," was a disappointment. Imagine that Wal-Mart and Sears conceived a love child in a two hundred year old building with poor ventilation and you will have a good idea of what Harrod's is all about. I anticipated safari gear, tweed, and malted whiskey but it's mostly toasters, luggage, and Christmas decorations. The market along Portobello Road in Notting Hill was one of the best along with the high fashion stores along Saville Row and Bond Street. Despite all the variety, Londoners seem to have acquired their fashion sense from Henry Ford. You can wear any color you want as long as it's black. Americans are easily identifiable as we are the ones that have branched out into tan and gray. Everything is very expensive also; one gallon of gas is $5.86, a pack of cigarettes is $8.82 (There is apparently a law that requires all Londoners to chain smoke. You can't escape it except on the Tube.), a Big Mac is $4.77, and a paperback book is $12.58. I saw lots of shoes in store windows for £150 or around $270.
Where London really shines is it's parks. Hyde Park is a great, restful space comparable to Central Park in NYC, but St. James Park is beautiful and should be a model for every public space. There were no weeds, no bare spots, incredible specimen plants, and remarkable ornamental plantings everywhere.
I made a side trip one day to Cambridge which was beautiful also. Despite the unfortunate invasion of American chains like Gap, Borders, and McDonalds, it's still a remarkable flavor of what England must have been like a few hundred years ago. The countryside viewed from the train was just what I had imagined; rolling green hills punctuated by sheep and brick farmhouses.
The people here are generally very friendly and helpful. They seem to appreciate the pounds that all the tourists leave behind. Every time I've been lost and in need of directions, I've been pleasantly surprised by the response. The Tube is the only exception. As a Southerner raised with a healthy respect for personal space, it does seem strange that so many people can be trapped within such intimate confines and never make eye contact. Perhaps it's the differing thoughts on what constitutes personal hygiene. Deodorant obviously is not a big seller here.
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