Too excited to focus
Ok, so maybe I have had a few bouts of homesickness. Well disguised though (and well deserved I suppose...I am more than 4,000 miles from home) Mostly it's little frustrations about not understanding things that everyone around me takes for granted, or the fact that I don't have a well established circle of friends here.
This all comes to mind because my friend Jonathan (my first official visitor) will be arriving in less than 12 hours, and for some reason that still seems like ages. Yes, he is my best friend, and yes, I haven't seen him since Christmas, but I think it's a little more than that - I've got a little slice of home coming and I can't wait.
That said, judging London against Chicago on all things that don't include people and opening hours of everything from grocery stores to night clubs to public transit - London beats the HECK out of Chicago in my book. There are the obvious reasons, including theatre and history, but I think it's also got a lot to do with the fact that London is such an international city - not that Chicago isn't, but it's on a whole different level. English is definitely the common denominator language in public places, but whether you are sitting at a cafe, walking through the park or riding the bus there is almost always someone rattling along in another language within earshot. Oh, and get this, even downtown, in the heart of the City, you can actually see the stars! And I'm not talking one or two bright ones (that may or may not actually be planets or deceptively slow moving aircraft) I mean you can actually see the stars! Constellations and all! Now it's nothing like the ink black sky littered with little diamonds that you get so often in places like Iowa for instance, but it is still a real comfort to me.
I took my first walk through Kensington Gardens on Sunday, and it was excellent. The little fountains and monuments that are scattered among the trees and ponds and gentle hills, but some how the vibe was just better than Lincoln Park. I don't know if it was the increased diversity (not just 20 & 30 something couples and dog walkers) or the fact that so many people seemed to be actually looking at everything, and absorbing it. I'm trying to describe something that probably doesn't make a lot of sense - and I'm not trying to put Chicago down or anything. It just seemed to me that most of the people around me were actually appreciating the park. Of course, they were probably all tourists, which would explain it.
I took loads of pictures. Here's one of the famed Peter Pan statue (some of you may recall that Peter Pan told Wendy that he lived in Kensington Gardens after he ran away from home, before finding Neverland)
And these are of the Italian fountain at the North end of the Park.
I'll be sure to check out Princess Diana's Memorial Fountain next time. There was an article in the paper about how the city has spent more than 200,000 GBP to maintain it in the last year (of course the city says that that averages out to less than 28p per visitor...and says it's worth it)
Ok, I think I'll keep myself busy with some last minute house work in honor of Jonathan's visit...
This all comes to mind because my friend Jonathan (my first official visitor) will be arriving in less than 12 hours, and for some reason that still seems like ages. Yes, he is my best friend, and yes, I haven't seen him since Christmas, but I think it's a little more than that - I've got a little slice of home coming and I can't wait.
That said, judging London against Chicago on all things that don't include people and opening hours of everything from grocery stores to night clubs to public transit - London beats the HECK out of Chicago in my book. There are the obvious reasons, including theatre and history, but I think it's also got a lot to do with the fact that London is such an international city - not that Chicago isn't, but it's on a whole different level. English is definitely the common denominator language in public places, but whether you are sitting at a cafe, walking through the park or riding the bus there is almost always someone rattling along in another language within earshot. Oh, and get this, even downtown, in the heart of the City, you can actually see the stars! And I'm not talking one or two bright ones (that may or may not actually be planets or deceptively slow moving aircraft) I mean you can actually see the stars! Constellations and all! Now it's nothing like the ink black sky littered with little diamonds that you get so often in places like Iowa for instance, but it is still a real comfort to me.
I took my first walk through Kensington Gardens on Sunday, and it was excellent. The little fountains and monuments that are scattered among the trees and ponds and gentle hills, but some how the vibe was just better than Lincoln Park. I don't know if it was the increased diversity (not just 20 & 30 something couples and dog walkers) or the fact that so many people seemed to be actually looking at everything, and absorbing it. I'm trying to describe something that probably doesn't make a lot of sense - and I'm not trying to put Chicago down or anything. It just seemed to me that most of the people around me were actually appreciating the park. Of course, they were probably all tourists, which would explain it.
I took loads of pictures. Here's one of the famed Peter Pan statue (some of you may recall that Peter Pan told Wendy that he lived in Kensington Gardens after he ran away from home, before finding Neverland)
And these are of the Italian fountain at the North end of the Park.
I'll be sure to check out Princess Diana's Memorial Fountain next time. There was an article in the paper about how the city has spent more than 200,000 GBP to maintain it in the last year (of course the city says that that averages out to less than 28p per visitor...and says it's worth it)
Ok, I think I'll keep myself busy with some last minute house work in honor of Jonathan's visit...
posted by Abbie | 7:27 PM
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