Walking the streets of London

“So how can you tell me you’re lonely,
and say, for you that the sun don’t shine ?

Let me take you by the hand and lead you though the streets of London –
I’ll show you something to make you change your mind.”

Beatles, “The Streets of London”

I am appreciating more and more the benefits of being back in Europe.

I have been making my peace with Zurich, and I loved Barcelona, but London is really the one that sealed the deal.

London is nothing like New York, but they do have something in common: both can make you feel a little overwhelmed, and yet once you start exploring them you just can’t get enough. Maybe all great cities are like that? I know I used to feel that way about Milan, and still do when I go back. That mix of old and new, the surreal feeling you get hearing the deafening noise of traffic while looking mesmerized at some beautiful historical building – it’s like traveling back and forth through time over and over in a few hours, an afternoon, a day.

As we walked down the Tower Bridge, one of the symbols of London, one of the most famous bridges in the world, I wondered if I could do what all the people in those cars did, if I could ever get used to driving down this antique, historical bridge in my car, if I would feel guilty for the anachronism or if I could just do it without batting an eye.

And what to say of the nearby Tower of London, that the bridge was named after? A giant castle of death? The place where England’s most notorious king had his wives imprisoned and executed when he got bored with them? How do you drive by without getting the creeps every time?

And yet, as excited as I was to be there in Tower Hill, to cross the Tower Bridge, to go up to the towers (“It’s surreal that I am actually looking out from one of the Tower Bridge windows!!”), that wasn’t the first place on my list. Nor was it Buckingham Palace, though I did see it on the first day.

When it comes to London,there’s only one thing that’s even more famous than the Tower Bridge – one thing that 80% of the people will tell you pops into their head when you say “London”:

I had been waiting to see the Big Ben my entire life. Don’t ask me why. Maybe because it was on of the very first monuments I was aware of, as a little girl. Maybe because Peter Pan stood on the hands of its clock on his way out of London and back to Neverland. I have no idea. But I was so excited about seeing it that my daughter started looking at me as if I had lost my marbles.

There is simply no way to convey how impressive both the Tower Bridge and the Big Ben are, without seeing them. No way. Pictures simply don’t do them justice.

Though to be fair, that could be said of any number of places in London. London architecture is spectacular.

Once you have finally managed to take in Buckingham Palace and the mall, with the Queen Victoria Memorial and the amazing dominion gates, and then strolled through one of the lovely central London Royal Parks to try to take a breather, and think there’s no way to top that… you see something else that just takes your breath away.
It could be a peek of the treasury building, or  that amazing, world-famous, even-more-impressive-than-you-expected church that is Westminster Abbey, or the “I don’t know what to focus on first” Trafalgar Square, beautifully crowded with landmarks as much as with people: the fountains, the Nelson Column, the giant lions (that at least one of your travel companions will no doubt want to pose with), the National Gallery in the back and the trees framing the sides, with the bell tower of St.Martin-in-the-Fields peeking right behind them.

Or it may be one of the sights that like me, perhaps you hadn’t heard of until you started reading about London: The Royal Courts of Justice, an imposing and slightly scary Gothic castle-like structure; the Burlington Arcade, with its lovely shops and its no singing/no whistling/no running policy; the Natural History Museum, a majestic Gothic building with beautiful stained glass windows, that could easily be mistaken for a cathedral. And then there’s the Dean’s Yard, Temple Church, the Covent Garden Market… ah, so much to see.

But sometimes the best way to discover a place is to let go of the map and itinerary and just walk around. Then you get a feel for the place, when you stop playing tourist and you start simply enjoying being there, wherever “there” is.

And really, London lends itself to both: short stays and quick tours or long, leisurely exploration. The traditional double-decker red buses help you sneak in some sightseeing when you cannot walk everywhere, the tube gets you from one corner to the other of the city in a few minutes.
There are fabulous, classy, expensive restaurants fit for an elegant meal but also lots of inexpensive and delicious options.
There’s lots to do and see, and tons of fabulous shops, but also lots of places to just chill. London parks are just stunning, and incredibly peaceful compared to the buzzing of the city.

This is a city that just doesn’t disappoint. In fact, I’ll go on record saying that it’s my new city crush (though I still love you, NYC!) So much so that despite the whole driving on the left side of the road bit, I could definitely be persuaded to move here. Until then, I’ll simply have to schedule another trip to this fantastic city.

Cheers, London! See you soon.

Tagged as: London, UK