The Last Taste of London

I'm continually amazed that I have a job which allows me to travel around the world. I don't always travel to exotic places but I have the opportunity to travel nonetheless. And obviously this trip was no different. I'm so happy I was able to visit London, as it has always been one of the places I wanted to go. Now if I can only talk someone into making a mandatory business trip to Paris. ;-) Maybe one day...

As it seems to be with any business trip, there's never enough time to do all of the sightseeing that you want to do. This trip was no different. But the trip was for business and I was able to go so I won't complain. The next time I go to London, there are definitely some places that I want to check out further... Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guards, shopping at Harrods, take in a show or two, visit Tate Modern and generally just explore around Trafalgar Square and Picadilly Circus. Plus, I still want to get smashed with some Englishmen at a pub. :-) Really for no other reason than to listen to their English accents and talk shit with them while ingesting beer.

The weather during my stay in London was not great. I think it rained all days except for one, which was the day I took my bus tour so I was quite lucky! But I guess that's to be expected. England seems to be known for its misty, dreary weather. Nonetheless, I was still able to get out and explore so who am I to complain? Although I don't know if I could live in a place that has weather like that all of the time. That's one really great thing about Montreal...seems like there is plenty of sunshine and that makes me happy. :-)

One thing that I really appreciate about London is the sense of fashion. It's edgier than what I've seen in most other places. I think that I would really embrace the fashion if I lived there. Although with greater courage for fashion also comes some over-the-top fashion statements. I did see a couple of people who really made me question what they were thinking when they got out of bed that morning. In general, though, the fashion is fantastic. As a side note, I wore my new hot pink coat today for the first time and felt absolutely amazing. I love my new coat!! It totally made my day brighter...no pun intended. :-)

Overall my experience in London was extremely positive. I enjoyed the area where I stayed and all of the areas that I visited. The one thing that I noticed is that London is very international. The way I describe it is that it's like the U.S. but international. :-) As a native English speaker, it's very easy to visit London since the official language is English. Now having traveled to multiple different countries, it can sometimes be stressful not knowing the native language. However, it was easy and simple in London. But when walking on the sidewalk or riding the tube, you hear Spanish, Italian, French, German, Russian...the list goes on and on. And I absolutely love that!! It's one of the aspects I really appreciate about Montreal. So of course it's one of the things that also attracts me to London. In most cities I visit, I always wonder if I could live there. If not for the high cost of living, I definitely think I could feel right at home in London.

So in closing, I say "cheerio" to London but not forever. I will be back... and always remember "Please Mind the Gap." :-)