Views From London

I landed in the UK capital of London, not knowing what to expect.

London is a world class city with hundreds of years of history, in the same pantheon of New York, Paris, and Hong Kong. I imagined a lot of old buildings, and Cockney rhyming slang. During my week there, I was surprised by the beautiful river scenes, colorful street art, and dank vegan food.

Popped into Waitrose like a real Londoner

I didn’t just visit London. I was blown away.

Colorful street art in Camden Town

I’m an avid traveler. In my years of flight hopping and road trips, I’ve racked up trips to 10 countries and crisscrossed the US, visiting 30 US states. London was never on my list of dream destinations. I traveled there to visit someone special I met this summer.

I hadn’t expected to love the city as much as I did. London is teeming with people of many different cultures and ethnicities. It’s common to hear people chatting in half a dozen languages, or more, as you wind through the parks.

Brilliant urban garden in Shoreditch

Each of the neighborhoods has its own vibe, from the shops of Camden, to the hippy energy of street vendors in Shoreditch, to the fragrant curry houses of Banglatown. I became an expert at navigating busy streets on the iconic, red double decker buses, crammed into the packed, noisy Tube at rush hour, and drank more tea in seven days than I had in the last year here in the US.

I returned home with a few new habits, a camera roll full of breath taking images, and a love for another distant city, all the trademarks of a memorable trip.