This is my last real night in London.
I’m checking out of my hotel tomorrow and spending the night at the airport. My flight leaves at 8:30AM, which means I have to check into the airport by 5:30AM. The Tube doesn’t start running until 7AM, so I don’t really have a choice. I almost missed my flight when I came here (gads, that was a scare) and missing my flight home would be devastating...mostly because I only have 12 pounds left in my pocket. The extra money I had to pay for the room really killed my budget. But, it was all part of the journey. I wouldn’t have felt like myself over here if I wasn’t constantly worrying about money.
Even with the budget constraints, this was the trip of a lifetime. I’m going to miss the people and the places. There were things I expected and things I didn’t expect...which all makes for a very educational journey. Seeing how others live and relate to one another helped put my own little circle into perspective. I’ve been feeling very small lately, and venturing out of the bubble in Austin has shown me that I am, indeed, very small - but that everyone else in my bubble is just as small. It’s a very comforting realization.
London is what a city should be. I love the flow. There are main streets, and by luck or intention the residential areas fan out from them. So, you have the High Street where you shop for your food and clothes, then you simply turn off the High Street and BANG. You’re in a residential neighborhood. No one has to have a car unless they want one, because the buses and tubes are only a few blocks away. Every area is a mix of residential and commercial...not the faraway “burb living” Americans seem to think is so great. In London, everything is within walking distance...which is a good thing since the roads are always chewed up with construction.
But for all its faults the locals love to point out, London has it right. There are always tons of people walking around, which gives this city a community feel. There’s always something to see and do...even if it’s drinking water in a local pub and talking to the people next to you.
I will really miss London. There is power in its History...a knowledge in the eyes of its people who know they are deeply connected to thousands of years. They walk the same patch of dirt that their ancestors walked. They eat in the same buildings that hold their past. The memories locked in their DNA from generations past are as close as the brick they lean against while waiting for a bus.
That’s what I’ll miss most about London. The fierce pride of deep roots. The fierce pride of deep roots and their birthright to bitch about it.
See you guys in a few days. If the plane crashes, know that I love you all.
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I probably won’t have Internet access, so if you have something important to tell me do it before 5AM CST Friday. Cheers!!!!
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5 comments:
I can't wait to hear your voice!
London...is it like NYC? I LOVE cities like that.
p.s. just went through your old posts and realize you have indeed been gone for 4 weeks, and a sense of melancholy is beginning to show in your writing.
When you get back expect me to ask stupid questions like do the homeless drink tea instead of beer or the number of rock bands that formed, got famous, became too famous, lead singer died, another singer hired, it wasn't quite the same band, they spiraled downward, and broke up.
Add this sentence to my last comment (there's no editing tool :(
While you were there.
Do I sound melancholic? I think it's just exhaustion. It's hard to write witty when your feet hurt.
Yes, London is like New York. The only difference is the price...it's so much cheaper here.
X, I don't know about any bands that...erm...did what you said, but I do know that the homeless drink bottles of wine. It's cheaper than beer.
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