Jolly Good Show, London!

It was always strange when I told people that I had never been to London - somehow it was as surprising to me as it was to them. And though I had never been, I often pictured London as a city I could live in one day, and it was in my consideration set when looking at future job opportunities. Upon my arrival in the city, exiting the tube station at Westminster station, it was almost instantaneous that I knew the perceptions I had of London in fact undersold exactly how much I would feel that I could call this city home. Over the next 4 days, I continued to discover aspects of the city that cumulatively produced a schema in my mind of a city that exceeds NY in some of the things I love most about it - namely, the awe-inspiring history and massive size of its buildings and landmarks which stand adjacent to countless 21st century high-rises. The NY skyline is one that feels so core to how I define the most amazing city in the world, but I must say that London instilled some very similar feelings when I had the pleasure of a wide view of the building and monument outlines, during the day and when lit up at night.

Picture this being your very first glimpse of London

A better photo, but unfortunately missing the clockface. Contrary to popular opinion, Big Ben is not the name of the tower, but rather the bell housed inside the tower, which was officially renamed the Elizabeth Tower after the Diamond Jubilee.

'Abraham Lincoln: The Man' statue in Parliament Square. Later in the weekend my bus tour would mistakenly claim this was meant to honour him for abolishing slavery, when in fact it was installed to commemorate 100 years of peace b/w the US and Britain after the end of the War of 1812. There is a separate statue, and in fact an entire square, honouring him for abolishing slavery. 

My first experience of London was getting on the train at Southend Airport, although to be fair, Southend Airport is not at all in London, as the Ryanair website led me to believe. I boarded the dingy train car, mostly empty, with a dodgy middle-aged man sitting across the aisle from me. He was rolling a cigarette on the seat opposite his, which did not seem out of the ordinary. My first shock came when a minute later he lit the cigarette as the train was speeding towards London, with the windows closed, and nobody saying a word. My second shock came when the smoke wafted towards me, and a distinct smell of hash entered my nose.  It was about 9am on a Friday, just to add some context. I assumed this was not a commonplace occurrence, which was confirmed when I entertained my London-based friends throughout the weekend with that little anecdote.

While Google Maps provided me with a route to arrive directly at Victoria Station, adjacent to the Google office, I decided to hop out two stops early, to take a walk through the city and start to get a feel for it. In hindsight, I should've recognized the name Westminster and known I was about to see something grand, but I'm glad I didn't as that only added to my unexpected awe-struck reaction. I think about all of the tourists that arrive in Times Square clogging up the sideways staring upwards with their mouths agape. Well this time, I was that tourist.

Arriving at the Google London office in Victoria, I was greeted very warmly at reception, and then by the much-needed Coffee Lab and indoor park.

The rest of the office is unlike any of the others I've been to, perhaps not that surprising knowing that it's made up of a few hundred engineers that are working on some of our coolest products and services. With sharp lines of bright colors accenting the neutral-colored and track-lit walls, glass enclosures decalled with patterns reminiscent of Matrix-code, and curved seating you couldn't help but comfortably sink into, to me the design them was Tron meets Space Odyssey meets The Jetsons.

After some happy hour drinks and a stroll through the bustling Waterloo neighborhood, my friend Ann who I was staying with and I arrived at her apartment in Putney, about 30 minutes outside of the city. Upon arrival, we discovered that Ann had forgotten her keys at the office. We spent the next hour playing music and games on my phone before her roommate arrived and let us in. This was a savior not only in the sense that she let us in, but b/c I got to meet her that night, it was slightly less awkward when I accidentally walked into her room (mistaking her door for Ann's) the next morning, giving us both a scare as she produced the type of scream Hollywood pays the big bucks for, while covering herself up in a panic. After I offered my apologies, and the redness from our faces receded, we had a good laugh over the incident.

Bright lights, huge city

Throughout the weekend, London continued to impress me beyond all of my expectations. On Saturday Ann and I explored London, wandering along the South bank of the Thames, ducking into the Tate Modern for a visit when an unexpected hail storm, in the middle of a sunny afternoon, came raining down. London weather, eh? Impressive, yes, but appealing, not so much. After the Tate (where I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit on John Heartfield and his Anti-Nazi Photomontages) we met up with my friend Lise from South Africa, who I had not seen since India, at Borough Market under the London Bridge. We reminisced over India, traveling, and happiness over a few drinks at The George Inn, one of the most historic pubs in London, once frequented by Dickens & Shakespeare (not at the same time, of course). Saturday evening I met my friend Ana and her friends out for dinner in Chelsea, then Ann came to meet me and my friend Kevin at a supper club in Chelsea where the 30-person birthday celebration we joined ensured that Veuve, Belvedere, and Patron were being poured liberally all night. 

The Tate Modern, once a power station, littered with thousands of paper boats in the Turbine Hall. This is where Ai Weiwei famously filled the space with 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds, though after health concerns related to ceramic dust were raised, visitors were no longer allowed to walk through the field.

Other than welcoming me to her apartment without the keys to get us in, hands-down the best host one could ask for.

Running into friends in foreign countries always feels more special

On Sunday I was on my own, so I caught the tube to Piccadilly Circus and began wandering, knowing that at some point I'd likely get on a hop-on hop-off bus tour. After walking through St. James' Park, Green Park, and Buckingham Palace, I jumped on a bus and followed it for its entire winding route, seeing all of the major sites and listening to the tour guide explain the history and the culture of the city.

That evening, I met my friend Alyssa (another friend I met in India) who showed me around East London and Brick Lane, which I likened to Manhattan's Lower East Side/Ludlow St. of London, especially as I understood that this area also had a similar resurgence in the last 10-20 years as the result of regeneration programs that have brought much attraction and investment to the neighbourhood.

The Bird Keeper's Cottage @St. James Park - not a bad gig

 I wonder what statues (or monuments, landmarks, buildings, etc.) in the world have served as the most photographed backdrops? This wasn't one in particular I was excited for, but after taking a photo for a nice Indian couple, I felt like it would've been rude if I turned down their offer to take one of me.

 Changing of the Guard (singular), which includes a very comical shuffle

 The Special Escort Group waiting on some VIPs to come out of Buckingham Palace. Interestingly, they have specially fitted whistles that fit under their helmets which provide for more discretion than sirens.

 Horse At Water sculpture, which the artist has personally climbed to clean it of bird poop

 Houses of Parliament - Not unlike the US Capitol Building, the outside is far more impressive than what isn't happening inside

 Monday @11:30AM Changing of the Guards, where my camera which was extended far above my head saw much more than I did

The next time I come to see this I will likely have one of my kids on my shoulders, once again not seeing what is actually happening

On Monday, to travel between the two Google offices, I redeemed my river tour voucher that came with my bus tour. With the Thames river so central to London, in both figurative and literal terms, this was another fascinating tour focusing on the river and the buildings and landmarks surrounding it on both banks, from both a historical and present-day perspective. This is one I'd highly recommend to London regulars as well as newbies. 

The London Eye - to maintain its record they have now dubbed it "the world's tallest cantilevered observation wheel". George Ferris (that's really his name!) is rolling over in his grave.

The HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge, seen from the river cruise tour

After work on Monday, I met my Burning Man friend Shireen for a curry (I couldn't leave London without having a proper curry). My evening flight was out of Gatwick, an airport that one could reasonably assert is in London. My train ride and short flight allowed me to reflect on the weekend and digest everything I discovered in London, and compare it to my current experience in Dublin. Both cities have many qualities that I enjoy. Dublin is young and fun and diverse, and the Irish as well as the ex-pats are very friendly and welcoming. London, however, seemed massive and limitless in terms of its physical footprint with many different neighborhoods each defined by their own energy and the landmarks they contain. After NY, Dublin could be difficult to envision living in long-term, as the newness may wear off after some time. London, like NY, I could imagine a regular feeling of discovery even after years, as the city continues to change and adapt to its inhabitants' demands. I look forward to continuing this comparison of some of the major metropolitan cities I often put in the same category as London and NY, though for those I will need to factor in the language barrier for how I perceive those cities. Berlin will be next, hopefully followed by Paris & Barcelona in June. Before then, I've got some more discovery of Ireland to do, with an upcoming trip to the Ring of Kerry. Stay tuned...

- From Erez with Love