My London experience

London was my first trip alone and it was a challenge for me since I’m an extrovert and I like to be surrounded by people. I’m not saying I was on a deserted city but you know what I mean. To be honest I wasn't completely alone since I was staying at an old and very dear friend which now lives in London.

I will change a little the usual Top 10 article into a more personal one about my London experience.


The weather

My first impression was shockingly cold. The temperature difference between Bucharest and London was of 10 Celsius degrees, lower in London. "Welcome, this is the dreadful weather in London. And here if your jacket has no hood it’s useless.” What I realized, was that, the weather can influence very much my mood, but with anticipation and low expectations I can accommodate pretty much anywhere (except north pole). I was lucky and after 2 days of bad weather the sun came out and it was perfect for walking, sunbathing, photos and relaxation.

  

Introspection

My 6 days in London were days of observation, introspection and acknowledgment. It was a trip like no other in which the exterior world, all the sights and the people were observed from a different point of view. Before the trip I watched Alain de Botton movie - The Art of Travel and it influenced very much my way of seeing this trip. Have a look at the movie and you will understand.

The people

I was expecting to see stiffed brits all aver the city but instead I found a mixture of all nations and colors. Where are the stiffed brits? My friend told me they are in the suburbs running away from the immigrant’s invasion. Funny because for ages they invaded the world and other nations with their colonies and now they don’t like being invaded by the same nations that they conquered. Karma.

Not only in London I realized that we are ashamed to admit that we are Romanians because of the bad reputation that gypsy have. We are afraid to talk in our language not to be heard by other Romanians. Why? If they are gypsy beggars I understand, but if not, why? Why to be ashamed of our own kind? Why to be shy in interacting with people that came from the same place as we do?

The language

In buses you hear all the languages and sadly not even in institutions and stores you don’t hear a properly spoken English.

I have started dreaming about visiting London once I have started learning English.

Imagine what… neat the British Museum I saw a group of Romanian tourists and I've heard a familiar voice… it was my English school teacher. I have reached to him through the group and when he saw me he gave me a big hug and we have putted a big smile on each other’s faces.

Planning, re planning and going with the flow

In all my vacations I have planned and tried very hard to keep up with it even if that meant getting back at the hotel exhausted and just crashing on the bed afterwards. Later, in my last two years vacations I have started learning how to enjoy my time in different places of the world. I have realized it’s not all about seeing the most of the attractions is more about seeing what pleases you and experiencing how other people live and learning about their history, heritage and way of life. And you can’t experience that just by checking all the attractions on your map. You experience that by talking with the locals or even other tourists, by meeting new people, by listening the city the fuss and quietness or looking at the people and at the colors that surround you (even if that color is the grayness of London in a rainy day).

So, I have planned my trip from home as I always do, but I knew it was just a plan and more of a guideline. Once I have arrived in London I have re planned because of the weather. Then as days passed by or only the hours from the day passed by I found myself asking what do I feel like doing next and eventually I have changed most of my plan and even cut out some tourists attractions from my list. I felt better, I felt that I have had the time to enjoy a walk in the park, a coffee break looking at the people, the London fuss in rush hour or the quietness after people went to work in the morning.

Friends

Even if I said that this was my first alone trip, every evening I have meet with friends and did not missed the joy and fulfillment of talking with them.

The time spent with my old best friend, even if was little was priceless. I realized that even if we grew apart we grew in the same direction and now after 10 years we share the same dreams, habits and hobbies. Some friendships never die.

I wish I had more time to spent with all the people that I know and moved to London.

I want to thank all the friends I have met with in London, for sharing their moving abroad experience with me. It quite helped me in having a wider perspective about moving and living in another country. Maybe we will meet again to tell you how everything turned out in my adventure.

The architecture

London has a well thought mixture of old and new architecture. You see the Big Ban, the Parliament, the skyscrapers, the London Eye and how they all make a beautiful picture together. The Tower Bridge, the City Hall, the Shard and I only saw a part of the London architecture.

The old keeps us with the feet on the ground but the new gives us wings to aim high and dream big.