Big things poppin' near Big BenLondon is a great city. I was there for almost five full days and I really think that I got a good feel for the streets and the people. The first couple of days I did touristy things. I walked around the center of town where the major monuments and the things you think of when thinking of London are located. I saw Parliament and the famous Big Ben Tower (Big Ben is actually the bell, not the tower,) Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guards, Tower Bridge, the London Eye (it was grossly overpriced so I didn’t take a ride) and Westminster Abbey. I also took a free walking tour which informed me about all these places and on the city in general. It was all very cool and impressive but to be honest, there is only so much I can say about landmarks and after seeing so many famous places I am becoming a little bit jaded by it all.
The thing I found most interesting about London was that they didn’t care if I was there or not. Unlike other cities I have been to, London does not rely on tourism. It is and probably always will be a thriving premier center of business, culture, and style. Yes, there are sections of town devoted to a single focus point, but for the most part, the residents work, play, live and shit in the same area much like my beloved Chicago does. It has its own cool unique thing going on which doesn’t have to cater to me, the tourist, so as one, I was able to float around observing and taking part in everyday life as Londoners see it, and it turns out, I kind of like the way they live.
My one delicious treat at Portobello Market. For instance, Saturday morning I woke up after a long night of drinking at some random person’s apartment on the east side of the city and walked 45 minutes west to where my friends were staying. Once we met up we got a “full English breakfast” from the small shop on the corner and I walked with them to the Underground Station so they could head to the airport. I then walked west through Hyde Park and watched joggers jog, kids play, equestrians ride, and wanderers wander all without getting a second look I often do when someone realizes I’m a tourist.
I got to the end of Hyde Park and walked into the neighbourhood of Notting Hill to wander through the weekly street market called Portobello Market. This market was filled with people going up and down the street buying antiques, clothes, fruits, vegetables, meat and anything else you can think of. It was so cool! It is not to be missed. Stands were selling food all over the place and I felt like crying because I wanted to devour it all so bad but had no money to spare. Halfway through I realized I was incredibly jealous of all these people. I was jealous that they had money to spend and I didn’t, I was jealous they were with friends and I wasn’t, and I was jealous they had cool, labeless clothes and I was decked out in North Face (my one tell tale sign of being American.) Most of all, I was jealous that they could come back next Saturday and I couldn’t. It is such a neat outlet for them to explore just for exploring sake itself.
I got to the end of Hyde Park and walked into the neighbourhood of Notting Hill to wander through the weekly street market called Portobello Market. This market was filled with people going up and down the street buying antiques, clothes, fruits, vegetables, meat and anything else you can think of. It was so cool! It is not to be missed. Stands were selling food all over the place and I felt like crying because I wanted to devour it all so bad but had no money to spare. Halfway through I realized I was incredibly jealous of all these people. I was jealous that they had money to spend and I didn’t, I was jealous they were with friends and I wasn’t, and I was jealous they had cool, labeless clothes and I was decked out in North Face (my one tell tale sign of being American.) Most of all, I was jealous that they could come back next Saturday and I couldn’t. It is such a neat outlet for them to explore just for exploring sake itself.
Ya, I took a picture with a red phone booth.
Tower Bridge is actually way out of the way for most tourists.I explored another cool area Sunday night called Leicester Square. I was looking for a place to see a movie before leaving for the airport and while walking through Chinatown I stumbled upon this square where all the major movies premier in London. The theatre is huge but it is also surrounded by other theatres, clubs, restaurants and bars. Even though it was a Sunday night the place was buzzing and locals were everywhere enjoying themselves. The coolest part about it was that nowhere in this huge attraction area was a single souvenir shop, tourist information center, or guided tour going on. They didn’t even have a Planet Hollywood Restaurant around! This area was completely devoted to catering to the people of London.
I suspect that even though I walked everywhere for five days in all directions of the city I still missed out on a lot of cool things. Don’t get me wrong, I’m totally aware that like any city there are inevitable shady areas I did not see. The many miles I did cover however were awesome and there were so many restaurants, theatres, hotels and events I missed out on. London is a great place to visit but I suspect it would be ten times cooler if my wallet was ten times thicker. I had so much fun as it was, (I took advantage of a ton of free museums) but I can imagine doing some real damage if I had some real money to blow. The city stands on its own and has a ton of fun in the process and doesn’t ask anything from me except to have a great time. That’s what I did and hopefully I will have a chance to do it again.
Trafalgar Square.
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