London

I have to confess, I love London. I have had the rare opportunity to work here (i am visiting this week) for a number of years, and now have a ‘flat’ in central London where my daughter lives and we can visit. Here’s what Henry James had to say-

“It is difficult to speak adequately or justly of London. It is not a pleasant place; it is not agreeable, or cheerful, or easy, or exempt from reproach. It is only magnificent.”

Not bad, I say. Yes it is often grey, especially in the winter months, but it is such a marvelously ‘walkable’ city that I never tire of it. The architecture is like nowhere; it oozes a sense of history and charm. Don’t even attempt to try and figure out how they designed the streets; they are a byzantine network of alluring alleys and now many new buildings. A friend once explained to me that they don’t have slum areas in London; the “council flats” i.e. public housing are interspersed in all neighborhoods. You can live in a lovely new building in a nice neighborhood and there may be public housing across the street. I think there’s something to be said for that arrangement. There are parks almost everywhere as well, so it’s easy to go find some place to sit and watch other people walk their dogs.

Another thing – you can get on a train and in 30 minutes be in pristine countryside, with horses and sheep and green (given all the rain, there is much green) spaces.

Here’s to London; it might be my favorite city….unless of course I happen to be in Sydney on the day :-).