I'm just going to put pictures in, in no particular order, and put titles on them.
This was my AirBNB location. It was very nice, but very loud. That would be the only downfall I could find.
(View from the Pret a Manger, of the road you go down about 20 steps to get to the place)
London has this awesome way of telling you where you are, and helping you find where you want to go. These stands are up around the city, and they have two sections:
1. What's near in a 5 minute walk from where you are
2. What's near in a 15 minute walk from where you are
It helped me a lot, multiple times!
There were a lot of really touching and beautiful memorials around the city. This is just one that I got pictures of. You can read the messages that people have left there for their family members, it was really touching. I for sure cried in public. I feel like that's okay there.
This is a random park with a solid cement and metal ping pong table, and then a random shot of a very, very rough looking building, that I found quite beautiful.
I feel like we need to discuss London's love of the sandwich. I love a good sandwich, bread, cheese, protein, all that good stuff. London LOVES their sandwiches, though. They're everywhere. Literally. This is just a shot of one small store (Sainsburys) shelf. Like, there were sandwiches all over town, all ready-made, and many delicious. I found it very interesting.
I didn't eat this specifically, but on multiple occasions, including a mac and cheese food truck, I saw these massive, massive pans. That guy isn't that far back in the background, the pans are just that big. This was in Borough Market.
Can't remember if I showed these, but came across them again and had to share. Love it.
And now, just two comments that have run through my mind, and that I have run through the minds of others that I got to see when I was in London:
1. The British Pound people have gone out of their way to make the bills all one size smaller, literally, as the amount of the bill goes down. ie. £50 bigger than £20, which is bigger than £10 and so on. Brilliant, I love it. But then I look at the coins... guys, you lost me at the coins. Sure, £2 coins are larger. Got it. They're at the top of the food chain. Baller. But then the rest is all mucked up. I literally couldn't tell what was what so I just didn't pay with change. Confused. Why no follow-through on the logic? Probably because the coins have been around forever, and they were able to affect the bills more easily. Hmmm...
2. I'm learning how to day-to-day with the 24-hour clock, out of necessity, and actually don't mind it as much as I thought I would. However, hear me out. The other day someone asked me the time, I told them it was 3:10pm. I walked away thinking, "Wait, if this is a 24-hour clock part of the world, shouldn't I be saying its 15:10?" Then I wondered how I'd even say it, and then realized that no one in London says it that way. My point is three-fold:
a. Morning is 3, afternoon is 3... why not just add the am/pm?
b. You reference the 24-hour clock on schedules, plans, everything, then convert it back to 12-hour when you speak. You see where I'm going here? I'm catching the 4pm bus when I speak, but looking at the 16:00 when I point to the schedule for the bus.
c. All of your watches are 12-hour (at least the ones I saw)... I'm so confused! It's like converting the time three times for one thought.
Maybe it's just me?
It doesn't actually matter, London is amazing, busy, busy, busy, but amazing. I'm glad to have gone, glad to have met the friends that I got to, and glad that I can say I've experienced even a small slice of time in such a wonderful place.
Alright folks, that will do it for me on London. I'm sure I'll have more thoughts, but those can likely wait until I see people in person. Off to finish up my first Edinburgh post, and then to sleep. Early day tomorrow, castle hunting!
(Had to add it. Love this design/shot.)
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