Beloved London

I'm not ready to make this post. This is supposed to be a conclusion to my time spent here in London. I'm not good with conclusions. I would much rather leave my life open ended. So this isn't a conclusion. It's a dash, or a semicolon, or an ellipsis, but not a conclusion.

I'm the sort of person who appreciates the little things the most. I got really excited to see flowers blooming and leaves starting to bud on the trees. I hate that I'm leaving London just a spring has arrived.

For a good while before coming to London, "Grey Street" by the Dave Matthews Band was my anthem. (I don't know if you've heard the song. If not, look it up, it's a great song.)

"She thinks, Hey,

How did I come to this?

I dream myself a thousand times around the world,

But I can't seem to get out of this place

There's an emptiness inside her

And she'd do anything to fill it in

But all the colors mix together - to grey

And it breaks her heart"

Well, now I don't feel that way anymore. Being away in London has done so much for me, I can't put it into words. But it's too soon for me to look back on my time and get nostalgic, I'm not ready yet. I haven't even left yet!

My favourite walk around London has been from our flats to the South Bank. I know it's a wide area, but I can't just choose one favourite spot. 

Stepping out of our flats, there's a lot of construction and even more traffic. I don't know why anyone would choose to drive in this city. I like being able to walk past all of the noise, cross the craziness that is Holborn Circus, and make my way down the street past that little park outside the church who's name I can never remember.

I love how St. Paul's Cathedral rises out from the buildings and the traffic around it to greet me with open arms. There's something very welcoming about it. It gives me a sense of connection to history and other people and the city itself. I never thought of a church as a place to hang out before, but on a nice day, people from all over come to congregate on its steps.

Once I get around St. Paul's, there are no more cars, only foot traffic, and the city takes on a whole new dynamic for me. Everything slows down a little, people interact, there's a chance to take in the scenery. From there it's to the Millennium Bridge. I think it's my favourite bridge. When I first had to walk across it, I was really nervous. Bridges aren't exactly my cup of tea. I have a fear of drowning, being held down by the bridge that inexplicably collapsed under my feet. But I know the bridge is safe, and I've grown accustomed to walking across it. The only thing that bothers me about it now is all the tourists who block the way and delay my getting to class. Only, I don't have class at the Globe anymore and I'm the tourist stopping to take pictures from the bridge to ensure I don't forget it all. 

The South Bank is my favourite area. It's where you can really see London embracing its culture and its heritage. Poets, playwrights, composers inhabit the area, some remembered in stone, others drinking coffee and waiting for inspiration to strike. It's a live with music a colour and conversation. I just want to absorb it all. When the weather's nice, the walkway is lined with vendors, skateboarders, and street performers playing steel drums, magicians, living statues scaring jumpy tourists, a jazz band with two trumpeters who are way too loud and so you have no chance of hearing the saxophone or the bass.

That walk is why I love London. It captures the best parts of London, the old and the new: St Paul's, the Millennium Bridge, the Globe Theatre, the Tate Modern, the people, the energy, the culture. It doesn't get much better than that.