London’s Calling

 

Warm wishes from London! Although ‘warm’ probably isn’t the best word to use. But still warmer than home at the moment.

 

Old London

I was able to get a good deal on the Euro star including a hotel to stay in just on the outskirts of the city. I was planning on going somewhere warm next, but I got a message from a few friends from University, they now live in London and they invited me to go and stay since I was so close. Its been a really great opportunity to start seeing and learning more about the historic sites around the city as I met up with a fellow blogger who showed me the sight of the Tyburn Gallows where they used to hang people! Its just near Hyde Park and Marble Arch in the middle of a pedestrian crossing. But that’s just one of the old charms of London. I find it really exciting just walking along ‘CheapSide’ as you can imagine really not too long ago the horse and carts moving up and down the street.

 

New London

As much as there is a charming, old side to London, I am sure many of you will all agree with me that modern London is SO overwhelming. There are just so many people. Getting on the tube is an ordeal as I am sure you may have experienced if you have been there. In rush hour, just don’t even think about it. It is much better to walk. People don’t have the time to talk to each other, and hey sometimes I don’t like talking to people either, but it all just seems too fast and aggressive.

 

Meeting up with Londoners

You would think that with all these people around, it would be easy to meet fellow travelers but it’s awful! I imagine living here, if you didn’t know anyone, you would be so lonely. No one likes to start a conversation, such a contrast to home where literally everyone knows everyone else. Although, saying that, there is just so much to do. Free classes on dancing, speaking Russian, you can even go to the cinema for free if you play your cards right. Also all of the Museums are free which is really quite unusual compared to the other European cities I have visited so far. So meeting people you don’t already know can be quite tricky, but I am sure if you persevere it works out OK. Meeting up with people you do already know is GREAT. There are so many places to go, catering for almost every need (who knew you could play play station whilst ordering a pint) and even though the transport system is really daunting to start with it is actually really easy to get anywhere. London seems like a really big place though and getting to some places does take a really long time. One of the thing that is annoying me right now, trying to book flights to the next place, is that the airport is so far out of Town. I came into the heart of London on the train, but its going to take at least 1.5 hours to get to the airport. At least there are a few different airports to choose from to help make the next stage even cheaper!