I heart London
Tomorrow morning we leave early for the train station, we have to be back in time for me to sit for my exams. I would really like to spend more time here, London makes me so very happy.
Last month when I was here, I loved it, I felt liberated. From unending maze of impenetrable Haussmanian fortress-blocks to the mixed landscape of London's terraced houses- be it the red, white or marroon legacies of Georgian, Victorian and Anne periods- with glimpses of gardens, mostly in states of careful neglect and allows for peeps into kitchens and basement flats, the sense of release is definitely palpable. My kind of parks, blessedly sandfree, with generous swathes of green grasses and paved walkways, that welcomes dogs and people ON the grass, really we don't ask for much. Pubkeepers and market vendors who banters and flirts, patient and efficient front line workers. 24 hour supermarkets. Little newsagents that sell so many desirable things like Oyster cards and crisps of all persuasions. Restaurants and cafes effortlessly cool, laid back, diverse. People too, they appear happy and comfortable, here it seems OK that not everything has to be sartorially in. Effortless style, I see that a lot.
This time round, I can still feel the buzz. Well, alright, the hotel concierge was a smug bastard, and the cost of every little thing gives me pause, but otherwise, it feels so good here.
London makes Paris seem like a concrete jungle. There are surely beautiful courtyards beyond the imposing gates of the cities' batiments, but I have yet to find for myself. Here, just walking down any residential street is relaxing, there are so much greenery and flowers everywhere. There is quiet, privacy and openness, and I feel unsuffocated.
It isn't that I hate Paris. I don't, my life there is undeniably good, enviable even. But I don't get it the way so many others do, not yet anyway, and yes I will make more of an effort to be patient, to take it easy (I love the song, btw).
In the meantime, there is London, my little refuge and second home. Thank the heavens and angels for that!
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