Remembering London Life :-)

This is one of those posts which comes directly from my heart. Past 2.5 years have been a splendid episode in my life. It taught me things which I perhaps could never have learnt living in India. It gave me strength to believe in myself, trust relationships, retain my friends, make and learn from the mistakes and lastly courage to let go a few things and move on. And yes, I am talking about my life in London and what this magical city has done to transform myself to a sensible and level-headed individual.

As with everyone, I was both anxious and excited to visit London - it was that one city I had always wanted to discover (more than New York or Paris). I remember my mother telling me a story from one of the magazines which was linked with Thames. This was when I was 10 years old and I imagined it to be magnificent. And till date I get amazed when I look at it, especially when I used to go for long Thames walks. I could honestly never get bored of it - must mention that a few friends of mine just found it a dirty, brown river! 

Thames River - London

Like any other European city, London is a great amalgamation of history and modernization. Buildings with the Victorian touch still stand out in Central London. Piccadilly Circus to Green Park is one amazing stretch with an etched history while maintaining a contemporary aura. On a bright sunny day, walking along these roads with an ice cream in hand is an absolute bliss. Also, if you are a museum lover, London is one of the most amazing places to be – Natural History museum, British museum, Science museum, Tate Modern etc. are just a few to name.

One of the first places I had been to in London was Greenwich – your time starts here! University of Greenwich was also a movie set up for many movies such as King’s speech, Les Miserables, Gulliver’s travels, Thor etc. Greenwich park is one of the most serene places I discovered in London! 

Greenwich Park

One must have learnt about GMT right in your early school days when you were taught how to read a clock or a watch. Although Greenwich is a man-made longitude, it defines time, the 4^th dimension, which makes it one of the most exciting places to discover! Very few know about the fight between England and France to get to the throne of ‘Prime Meridian’. Refer to this link for a whole lot of history on this.

At a Pub in Central London

Central London buzz is something indescribable. Waterloo, South Bank, Leicester square, Charring Cross and Piccadilly Circus have a character that would make you feel like never leaving the place and partying all night! Restaurants, pubs, clubs, shopping places etc. are all in abundance swarming with people. These places also have a number of theaters which bring London to life. I have managed to cover couple of plays during my stay (too less!). You ought to go there to comprehend what I am trying to explain here!

Guess What?

One of the most important things for a place to be remembered is its FOOD! English food portions are large, yummy and super filling unlike the French portions which are usually petite yet rich with flavors. Typical English breakfast is my all-time favorite! But Shepard’s pie, Sunday roast, fish n chips etc. are something to die for (watch out for your calories though!). Also, as everyone knows, London has considerable Indian population. So there was never a dearth of Indian food. Many a time you will find Indian food prepared by the fellow neighboring countries of the sub-continent – Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka etc. Nevertheless, for me, it is still closer than any continental preparation and would still love to hog on! (again many would disagree with me on this ;-))

Living in London has given me access to a number of places in the UK and there are a cocktail of things to do here. List of places I visited are – New Forest, Oxford, Cambridge, Bournemouth, Brighton, Cornwall, Inverness, Isle of Skye, Edinburgh, Stirling, Glasgow, Fort William, Lake District, Bristol, Snowdonia, Llandundo, Colwyn, Castle Combe, Chippenham, Warwick, Countryside of Cotswold, Dorset, Southampton, Bath, Windsor, Kent, Canterbury, Dover etc. My longest trip in the UK has been to Scotland and refer to my detailed blog here on Scotland.

London life had been easy only because of my friends. I have always had at least one person in the city who I could hang out with and uncover a new place. I will miss all those favorite times of my life. I will also for sure miss my weekend trips to Asda for a week-long groceries, savoring weekend English breakfast, real convenience with Tesco convenience store (it used to be from 7am to mid night!), super yummy ginger biscuits and really the list will go on and on…

Moments from London

Although I know that those moments would stay as memories now and would never come back alive, I am happy for the new venture I have embarked on. While I dearly miss London, I am all set to explore new adventures with my companion in mainland Europe. Watch out this place for more escapades from my European saga. Below is a glimpse of Bastille Day celebrations on the 14th of July near Eiffel Tower – an absolute spectacle!

Bonjour from Paris!