LONDON! London.
DISCLAIMER: London looks NOTHING like the movies, books, magazines, articles, photographs, or any other visual media you have ever been shown before as representative of London.
It is farrrrr dirtier. However, it could just be the area we have decided to stay in for the week. We landed in Heathrow Airport at 6:30 am, had to take a taxi on a crowded, smokey highway for over an hour (that cost us 70 L by the way), got to our "hotel" only to find out that it was an incredibly dirty matchbox of a place, about the size of a large HOUSE, placed oh so quaintly in between a discount carpet chop shop, and a pawn shop... yes, I think I need to take a picture of it for anyone to really believe me. You would pass right by it if you didn't already know there was a HOTEL there... needless to say Bob Wiedmaier was very displeased, let London know, and we subsequently had to move all of our belongings to a new hotel. Stress much?
But as I walked up and down the same block a couple of times, passing by the rusty fences, stained sidewalks, and worn wooden street signs, I realized that maybe this city looks so strange to me because it has exposed its image--it's not hiding anything. Sure, London is a big city, big cities always have a history, a story to tell, memories of riots and peace, but as soon as I stepped outside of the airport, I felt that it was something a bit more. The city felt raw: it felt hard, and angry and impatient, and downright grungy. Yet within this mix, a complete stranger still took the time to stop and say "A great time for a holiday eh?" (in an adorable old man british accent) I just smiled, and thought that maybe that's how this city is. It's like a really well baked cookie, a little rough and tough on the edges, but such a yummy soft center. I hope the rest of London proves well, and that this first impression will only develop more as time goes on. :)
I love the cookie analogy and it makes me miss you terribly!
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