When I haven’t been to London, I either forget how things are, or London has changed over the past years. I suspect it is a combination of both.
– there seem to be many more taxi drivers and bus drivers that are women
– I think I have just forgotten how dirty and skanky some parts of London are
– people still ignore anyone around them
– you hear so many different languages, and in some parts you hardly hear English
– I had forgotten how much more beautiful the beautiful buildings look in good weather and bright skies
– I forget how many South Africans are in the South East. Heard so much Afrikaans spoken on the street
– forgotten how cramped London feels
– on the contrary some parts are almost eerily quiet
– I remembered how much better London is on foot!
I virtually walked for about 4 hours solid: Leicester Square to Whitehall to Oxford Street to Covent Garden to Holborn to Kings Cross. The very early start is probably adding to my knackeredness (is that a word?).
December 9, 2010 at 5:50 pm
London is great to visit, but I couldn't live there (I prefer Alty too!) I've not been for a while and the main difference is the enormous skyscrapers that are going up, far bigger than the Gherkin (or the Beetham Tower for that matter).
Its actually cleaner that I remember and not as cramped, though having a long weekend helped. Rush hour is no doubt different.
And yes, I was having problems finding my tube station but couldn't get much help out of anyone. Back in Manchester the first person next to me on the tram just wanted to chat.