Hello from London!

Specifically Leyton, East London, which is Danny's adorable place of residence. The neighborhood, from what I gather, is comparable to Allston/Brighton in the sense that it's all residential, the streets being rows upon rows of adjacent, pretty much identical houses. Many of the people who live here are from the Middle East, so you can see why Danny fits right in.

So far, my second experience in London has been totally different from my first. I was afraid I wouldn't have time to do anything different and new, but as it turns out, the only overlap so far has been two trips to Camden Town yesterday. Camden Town, for those who have never been, is basically Hot Topic and Faces, were they to have a baby and metastasize to the square area of a village. Colorful, hip, lots of cheap outdoor markets and tattoo parlors, etc etc. That was also, incidentally, where I got My Red Coat two years ago.



Last time, I had defined London through the typical touristy things, like Tower of London, the incredible museums, walking by Buckingham Palace, Parliament and Big Ben, etc. This time, I had hours to kill while Danny was at work (the GAP, if you can believe it), so I got to walk around different neighborhoods that I hadn't seen before, without the pressure of having to "see stuff." I think the strangest but most accurate way I can describe it is this: when we got on the Tube from Heathrow two years ago, what struck me immediately was a smell that seemed to be everywhere. It was like, soap or shampoo or something, but it was just everywhere I turned. I don't think anyone who has spent more than a week in London would agree that this city smells like it gets scrubbed down with Herbal Essences every night, but I stand by it. This city smelled great the entire time I was here (okay so it's probably just the government-issue all purpose cleaning solution they use, but bear with me). When I came over this time though, I only caught brief whiffs of it every once in a while. Sure, it probably just means they cut the budget for public maintenance or something, but I'd like to think that it's a representation of my own disillusionment or rather the ability to see a broader reality of a place I was obsessed with for so long. London is no less amazing for the lack of a pedestal, however, and if you haven't been yet, consider going sooner rather than later, while we still have Katie here.

Today we're going to the other side of the river to check out the Globe (nearly jizzed me trousers when I walked by it), the Clink: Ye Olde Dickensian Gaol (it's really just the Clink), and just walk around the South Bank snapping photos and digging through our fanny packs while wearing Hawaiian shirts. So perhaps this will be a plog after all.