Thursday, March 29, 2012

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Impressions from London


Portobello market - colours, originally uploaded by veggy.

Having picked up and moved to London this week for an amazing job, i couldn't be happier, minus the groggy jet lag of course.
London is an amazing place with energy and personalities that make you feel challenged yet inquisitive. Culture here runs deep and thick, so many layers, and from all over the world. Lacking a smart phone, getting lost is part of the adventure, which means having good shoes because i have been walking a ton.
I am getting the lay of the land, having explored different transportation routes, and discovered my favorite is the overground lines which are new, and quieter, and upgraded for the Olympics i suspect.
London has an abundance of everything, but it has been hard to find a good coffee surprisingly, but thanks to my wonderful Vancouver friend Jen, she has a book on where to find the best coffee. We explored the Coffee Plant on Portobello Road during the market on the weekend. One of the massive, historic places in Nottinghill that offers a selection of foods, antiques, knick/knacks among many other things. Crowded and a smidge touristy, the sun peaking out of the grey sky made for a lovely afternoon stroll.
An unusually warm spring has brought the cherry blossoms out, which gets me excited for the warmer season, and longer days.

My transformation into a Londoner wouldn't be complete without some whinging:

1.Women wear way to much perfume in public spaces, i would like to start a campaign of awareness against how toxic it is in the first place and how many people are allergic to it.
Click on the link to find out more information.


Cities are never perfect but this is a city that seems progressive (or maybe i am just new?), or maybe i just arrived at an interesting time. The class divide between the rich and the poor is very evident as people live closer together and you can walk from one snooty area and then be in a totally run out migrant neighborhood. I can see how this would cause problems like the more recent London riots. I am excited to be apart of this energy, and have such good friends here already. It really makes so much of a difference.



Today i move to East London so i can walk to work for now and avoid the tube altogether for now which i think will make me healthier mentally.