Why I Love London

We basically wound up with 24 hours in London before taking the train to Paris. My days of jet-setting in Business Class lay-flat seats are behind me, so we spent most of it in a jetlag-induced stupor…

I’ve always loved London, and here are a few reasons why:

• People put some effort into what they wear, especially for work. Men are typically in jackets and often in suits, women are in nice outfits with structed handbags, usually with a full face of makeup. (This became painfully obvious as we took the tube from the airport during morning rush hour, where everyone looked clean and well-groomed while I hadn’t brushed my hair or teeth in almost 24 hours.)
• London is such an international city and there are different languages or accents everywhere. And “where are you from?” is rarely a topic of conversation since people from all over the world live in London. Its just normal to have so much variety.
• Indian food is amazing.  I have no idea why its so much better in London, but it is.  I’m guessing its similar to why is near impossible to get a good bagel on the West Coast.
• The energy of the city is great.  It seems like there’s a buzz here that I didn’t get from SF. I don’t know if its because its such a large city, or if Londoners just have more energy, or maybe its because summer is just starting in London so everyone is frisky. Every pub seems like its overflowing with people by 5pm on Fridays – everyone is out with their friends, laughing and having fun.

That said, all of these thoughts came to me on a lovely Friday evening, when the temperature was around 70 and it was light until almost 10pm. I had to remind myself that the weather is miserable most of the year. Also, walking down a sidewalk is like an advanced game of Frogger (or Crossy Road, for the kids out there), which means I could never live near the West End or I’d go completely insane. So its not perfect… but I always enjoy being here.