Well, I've finally gotten around to this, sortof. After some re-reading I don't really have a huge amount to add to my previous posts in terms of opinions and the like. Well, I have a few, so I'll share what I do have. And, as always, the disclaimer that these are, in fact, my opinions on my own personal experiences. You may feel totally different about the exact same place, so take what I have to say with a grain of salt. Everybody's different.
I hate London. Okay, hate might be too strong a word. I greatly dislike London. Here's why. I grew up in Canada, where things are green. I like green, probably for that reason. There is a serious lack of green in London. Yes, there is the occasional tree, and the occasional patch of grass, but those are rare, and for the most part it's a concrete jungle. They paved paradise and put up a parking lot, basically is how it went. You could walk for several city blocks and not see a single tree or patch of grass. Seriously. And when you're from Canada, where even apartment buildings have lawns, it's hard to get past the grey of the concrete. It's very monochromatic, and almost irritating.
But it's not just that. It seems that most of the UK didn't get the "smoking causes lung cancer" memo, so nearly everyone smokes. Or it seems that way when you walk down the street. I will give them credit for banning smoking in restaraunts, pubs, and other public spaces, though. But they don't have the 6 metre around the door rule, so the get out of the restaraunt or pub you have to walk through a plume of cigarette smoke. Yuck. And everyone walks along the street smoking, so it's a constant barrage of lung-clogging stench. I swear just walking around in London for an hour is like having a pack-a-day habit. And because they all walk around polluting the air, there are cigarette butts everywhere. Which makes the place seem dirty. Now if you threw a few trees in there for some greenery it might not seem so bad, but there aren't any trees, thus you feel as though the cigarette butts are as endless as the concrete. So London came off as dirty and smelly to me.
The Underground is fantastic, but needs some ventilation. The Underground, or the tube, if you like, is fantastic. We took it from the airport and then back at the end of our trip, and it was cheap and really quick. There are tons of stations everywhere, so wherever you might want to go, you don't need to go far to get to a tube stop. They've also made it very easy to use by coming up with the Oyster card. It's a card with a chip in it, and you tap it on the turnstyles when you enter the station, and then tap it on the out turnstyles when you leave. You can load it up with as much as you like, and it makes it really easy to get from place to place without having to figure out how much change you need for a ticket or how many zones you need to pay for. They need to ventilate the stations and the trains, though. There was absolutely none when we were there. The second you step into the tube station, you break out in a sweat because the air is hot and stagnant. So they also smell a little funny. And on top of that, if it's busy at the time, you're shoulder to shoulder with other sweaty passengers. It ends up as a big, sticky, uncomfortable mess. And you feel that way when you get off. But really, a little A/C or some fans and the problem would be solved.
London is expensive. Don't let anyone tell you different. Sure, you can save with "budget" accomodation, but even the hostels charge upwards of 30 pounds a night. Do the conversion. That's $60 Canadian. For a shared bunk bed and shared bathroom. The food isn't any cheaper, either. You could eat for maybe 3 pounds if you needed to, but you're not exactly getting a fantastic, filling meal for that much. And do the conversion, and that 3 pounds becomes $6. You can get a footlong sandwich at Subway for that much in Canada. And good luck finding a cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate for less than 2 pounds. Yeah. It ain't cheap. But if you know that, and you go mentally prepared for it, then it's really not so hard to suck up the exorbitant prices. That said, you can sometimes get a pint of beer for 2.50 pounds, which is still $5, but if you consider that some places in Canada are now charging $6 for a 355 mL bottle of beer, a 500 mL pint for $5 really isn't that bad. And it's actually borderline cheaper than water in some places. And given the choice, who would drink water?
I really sound like I'm running London down, but after the second time I decided I didn't really like the city. Mostly it was the lack of green. I figured that out when I spent a couple hours wandering around Hyde Park and my mood improved greatly. I'm Canadian, and I like the wide open, green, natural spaces. Give me trees or give me death, apparently. It's who I am, and I'm okay with that.
You know what else I noticed? When they want to memorialize someone over there, they build a statue. Or a fountain. Or a big fancy building that has little purpose other than just looking pretty (the Scott Monument comes to mind). Or some other structure that requires concrete, stone or metal. You know what Canadians do when they want to memorialize someone? We plant a tree. Or name a mountain after them. Or a river. But it generally involves the natural landscape in some way. I think I like that. Instead of changing the environment to remember someone, we just make them a part of what's already there. I'm not saying building a statue isn't a good way of keeping someone's memory alive, it's just that if someone were going to remember me, I think I'd prefer a mountain or a tree. I think I might be a tree-hugger.
Oh, that brings me to another point. Okay, I get that you built a statue, but why did you put it on top of a huge pillar so no one but a giant could see it? They've done that everywhere. There's a life-sized statue of so-and-so, but it's on top of a 30 foot column, so you can't really tell how beautiful or detailed it is. I don't get it. If I were an artist, I think I'd be a bit offended, 'cause no one would be able to see my work. You stand on the ground, stare up at it, and wonder if you should bother trying the zoom on your camera or just not bother taking a picture because it's so high and the angle is so weird that it's not really worth it. It just doesn't make sense. If anyone knows why they do this, please tell me, because it's very perplexing to me.
Overall, I had a fantastic time in the 24 days I spent in the UK. I did a lot of stuff that I never thought I would, and saw so many places I've nearly forgotten about some of them already. I saw famous places that I've always wanted to see, and a few hidden gems. It was definitely a good trip, and I'm glad I went. Now, on to the next adventure.
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