From New York to London
As if I couldn’t get enough travel packed into my late spring/early summer, in a mere two days I’m heading off to the lovely city of London. Sadly, I’ve never been there before so this’ll be a new experience, however not one without a certain sense of parallelism. You see, I’ve always felt in a similar fashion about London as I’ve felt about New York. I’ll explain…When I was about 12 years old I came to New York to visit my uncle who was living here at the time. I arrived bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, anxious to see what the “big city” would be like. I had seen it in my favorite movies, and dreamed about it when “uptown girl” played on the radio. In a nutshell, I fell in love with the energy and all that is New York in an instant (and despite the fact that it was New York before Giuliani had his way with it). I loved the sparkling, revolving doors on 5th Avenue and the view of lower Manhattan from the crown of the Statue of Liberty. I even found the watch vendors, selling from decrepit briefcases, engaging. There was just ‘something’ about New York, and I wanted to be part of it. The second time I came back was to interview for jobs during my senior year in college. Fast forward to now and I’m here living my childhood dream and have never looked back. It has been exactly what I wanted it to be.
Since that first trip, I had always been on a beeline to move to New York, yet I had never traveled back or desired to come here on vacation. My reason was that New York was livable and never a place to vacation…that is what the Caribbean is for.
Somewhere in my late teens, I had entertained the thought of living outside of the states, and for some reason, London always had a pull for me. Since I've been in New York, that pull has gotten stronger and not just because it's London, but more importantly because it's closer to the potential to have some amazing adventures in very new places. I’m excited for this weekend's trip because it will be eerily similar to the trip I took as a small child - full of wonder and excitement and the tip of a potential iceberg. The thing is, is that I’m only going to London now because it’s always had that “livable” aura for me, like New York did. I’d never desired to go to London on vacation because that is what Italy and Spain are for.
So…I’m heading across the pond for a first look. I don’t know what I’ll find or what I’ll think, however I do know I’m going to have a fabulous time.
posted by Lisa @ 12:21 PM
9 Comments:
all i remember about london was the rain.
but i was a kid, and apparently that's all people HAVE to comment on is the rain.
have fun!
YOU MUST:
Get Fish, Chips & local beer
Go to Soho
Walk the Thames
Shop, shop, shop (they are six months ahead of us in fashion...seriously, it's wonderful!)
i've never been so i can not offer any sound advice
whats new there?
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*jealous*! have a fabulous trip!
There's no doubt you'll have a fabulous time. Other than Soho, I think you'll also like Notting Hill and Kensington. Have a safe trip and come back with lots of stories!
Strictly, London, at least in the sense in which you probably mean it, is not a city. There is the City of London, but that's a square mile in the central East that contains no more than the financial district.
Greater London is a town, or, more accurately still, a collection of two cities (London and Westminster) and numerous boroughs (Camden, Islington, Hackney, Southwark, etc.).
Whilst Greater London is the largest urban area in the British isles, the City of London is its smallest city.
Pedantry aside, notable non-obvious tourist attractions include Charles Dickens' house (just off the Western end of Clerkenwell Road, near the junction with Gray's Inn Road), Samuel Johnson's House (near Red Lion Square and Gough Square, just off the North of the Western end of Fleet Street), the South Kensington museums (the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum), the Tate Modern (on the South Bank, between Blackfriars' Bridge and London Bridge, within walking distance of the London Eye), the Britsh Museum (near Russell Square), and, if you like to see the delightfully old-fashioned British legal costumes still being worn in day-to-day use, the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand (although they won't let you in if you have a camera: photography is not allowed in English courts).
Have a delightful trip, and do tell us what you saw. London is a marvellous place.
So how was the Bank Holiday week in for you?
i'll be going to london in july. the last time i was there was bout 13 years ago. i'm anxious to see how much has changed. i haven't been to new york though. i really want to...
London is beautiful.
You've picket the perfect time of year too.
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