London, England
CONFIDENT, WHIMSICAL, INAUTHENTIC
There is a horrifying experience that most tourists inevitably experience when they visit London for the first time. It is an experience so unexpected, frightening, and common, that you can immediately tell when someone you pass on the street is going through it themselves.
It is the phenomenon of looking the wrong way before you cross the street.
Driving on the left side of the road means that traffic comes from the right. I cannot tell you how many times I almost made it to the safety of the opposite sidewalk before I realized that I had not properly looked for oncoming traffic. All over the city, you will find people going wide-eyed in the middle of an intersection, likely whispering a prayer that when they glance right that there won’t be a bumper there about to strike them.
I pretty much knew what to expect when I visited London for the first time. It is such a famous and culturally important city…plus, everyone there speaks my language. Not to mention, I had seen it depicted in so many movies, TV shows, and books that I basically had the vibe of it down before even stepping off of the plane. For those reasons, it was delightful and surprising every time I discovered something I did not expect - even if it involved the pants-wetting fear of being struck by a car.
Anyway, here is how I would describe London.
CONFIDENT:
London is the OG English-speaking seat of power. The histories of cities like New York, Detroit, and Los Angeles do not even come close to the lengthy and well-established institution that is London. Londoners know it, too. There is a regality to everything English that Americans have long since admired and been intimidated by, and I am no exception. When I actually visited the empire myself, it seemed to me that the majesty of the Brits mostly comes from the steel-headed sureness that London isn’t going anywhere. That type of balls-out confidence is quite striking when compared to the cloying nature of the “American Dream”. London has always been and will always be important. It is on the world’s stage, and it is not yielding its time to anyone. I felt it all over the city.
WHIMSICAL:
Seriously, who named these underground stops? During my three days in London I could not help but chuckle on the tube every time I heard the robotic voice sing out names like “Paddington”, “Elephant and Castle” or anything ending in “Circus”. One afternoon just for shits and giggles (surprised that isn’t a stop) my friend and I rode to Crouch’s End just because it sounded silly. Maybe I’ve been ruined by hideous American names like Yonkers, or maybe I just read Harry Potter one too many times as a child, but much of London struck me as quite precious.
INAUTHENTIC:
Upon returning to the states, I told my dad that while I had enjoyed my time in London, it did not feel foreign to me and that I was in no rush to go back. My father responded with “Well yeah, it isn’t really English anymore. It used to feel English.” I had never been to London previously, but I immediately knew what he meant. All of the trappings of English culture are still in place, but London today is a wholly international city. Nothing about it felt overly unique or new to me. I enjoyed it, for sure, but at the end of the day it felt sort of like New York, but with accents. If I were to go back to London I would spend more time hitting up tube stops like Crouch’s End. Those small, out of the way places feel more like what I expected England to be.
London is a magnificent, ever-evolving city. Do not skip this one. And no, a layover at Heathrow does not count.
THE 3 THINGS YOU WILL NEED WHILE YOU’RE THERE:
London is a stylish city. You won’t want to be walking around in sneakers. Instead, opt for these comfortable but nice looking ankle boots. They pair with anything and they will keep your feet from aching by the end of the day.
If you are traveling from the United States, make sure you’ve got an outlet converter with you. At this point, a plug converter should be a packing staple for any international trip, but it is something I find myself forgetting a lot.
While I was in London the weather varied greatly. And again, I was only there for 36 hours. The key to unpredictable weather is layering, and a solid scarf is something that you can never go wrong with.
