Monday, March 5, 2012

Londinium

Wow.

That is the first thing I say when asked about London living so far. The sights, the crowds, the weather, the architecture, the art, the culture.....one word, Europe. In the week and a half that both V and I have been here, we've taken the opportunity (the non-working variety) to explore as much as we could, and to see as many things as possible before work kicks in to high gear this week. We have also gotten many things accomplished from the time we've arrived, highlighted in V's previous post regarding London. I will not re-hash what has already been made public in terms of what our first days were like, but will instead highlight some interesting observations I have made during our time here so far.

1. Bathroom is called the loo. Why...not sure, it just is.

2. London is not an expensive city....flats can be expensive, but everyday spending in some cases can be even cheaper than back home. (ie. cell phone plan, cheese, wine, etc)

3. Pubs close early...11 pm usually.

4. Sunday nights are dead after 8:30-9 pm, especially when looking for food.

5. Every part of the city is a "bad neighbourhood" (except for maybe central London), depending on who you ask. Exploring and living in areas, are the only ways to know for real.

6. Red tape and paperwork always cause delays....not matter how well you prepared.

7. Coffee is very different from back home...the notion of a filtered coffee (aka regular coffee found anywhere and everywhere) does not exist here. The closest equivalent would be an Americano, a fusion of drip coffee and an espresso.

8. The notion of public wi-fi at cafes and restaurants, is not a common one here.

9. The tube is incredibly efficient, especially when compared to the "rocket" in TO and the Metro in Mtl.

10. Passion for football and £3 pints makes for an interesting atmosphere come game day. 

That's it for now, many more observations will undoubtedly continue to be made throughout our time here. Enjoy!

T.

1 comment:

  1. a few things i can relate to. Finding food on weekends after like 5 is impossible ! What's up with that ?
    also, interenet in cafes is also a foreign notion. I asked every cafe on the main street downtown and they all looked at me as if i asked for a spaceship. Bizzare.

    the coffee thing made me laugh. i go to romania and the latte is inexistent haha

    i.

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