Firstly a disclaimer - I am British (English) but I don’t particularly like London. I worked in London in the early years of my career and I still visit (mainly for business meetings - I’m “semi-retired”) every couple of months. I prefer the countryside - standing on top of Helvellyn gives me personally far more joy (just Google “Helvellyn” and click on ‘Images’). Nevertheless…..
Due to working for a number of global companies over a 40+ year career I have had the opportunity to visit many countries. I have visited every continental European capital from Lisbon to Warsaw and Copenhagen to Athens - plus Dublin too many times to count! Some cities are really interesting (personally I love Barcelona and Venice) but some are pretty awful. Rome is fascinating but exhausting, but Naples…. no thanks!
London has plenty to recommend, depending upon your personal interests. It’s a very cosmopolitan city - virtually every nation is represented, you will hear nearly every language spoken and there are restaurants from every continent. If you are interested in Museums and Art Galleries then London has some of the best on the planet. It is a very historic city. There are parts that remain from when the city was founded by the Roman Empire, nearly 2,000 years ago (parts of the old Roman walls, for example). More “recent” buildings like the Tower of London (The White Tower was built in 1080 and is still in use) and St Paul’s Cathedral (completed in 1710 - so older than the USA). You can visit pubs, for a drink and some food, that we know have existed since before the Mayflower sailed for the “New World” in 1620. Some people like the shopping, others the numerous parks (you can walk nearly 3 miles across the centre of London - from Big Ben to Kensington Palace - via three connected parks with just three or four roads to cross on the route).
To be tired of London is to be tired of life, as the saying goes, “..for there is in London all that life can afford."
… but here’s a photo, below, of the English Lake District that I took last month (that’s one of my sons also taking a shot)… much nicer than London my opinion (for anyone interested it’s Crummock Water - one of the lesser known lakes - with the summit of Hay Stacks in the very far distance). This is the England that I love!
No comments:
Post a Comment