Well now that I've been in London almost a week I think its time to jot down my first impressions of the city. This could be a very short blog.
Well flying in to England I was surprised at how overpopulated the country is yet at the same time just how green it is. The farm land that is left you could see was well tended and laid out. But then England was a farming country originally so they have had a few years to get it right. And there are dense towns everywhere. Though to be fair what I saw was probably just outlying villages of London so not surprising really. At the airport I realised just how many visitors or immigrants there are arriving into London each day. The number of english or EU visa holders was rather small compared to the shear numbers in the other lines. Luckily I had no problems at customs which I had been told that I would since I came in on a oneway ticket. Load of crap really.
London also has a very good public transport system which makes a lovely change from home where only a coupla cities have managed to get it right and even then its not perfect. But but surprised me was also the number of people with luggage using it rather then getting taxis or shuttles which at home is really your only option if you want to arrive on time to catch your flight.
London is very green. You can't seem to go anywhere without tripping over a park or private garden of some discription. Though this makes for some very confusing road names as all the road names change when they come close to a park so that they match the green area. This is confusing as one long stretch of road can have several name changes during its course. and as the roads are quite often not well signed posted this can cause a lot of walking around in circles. As I found out the hard way. Also as alot of the houses are of the "Coronation" style which leaves picking out landmarks impossible it can make the lost feeling that much worse. And I can honestly say that once you've seen one coronation house you've kinda seen them all.
Also London is very busy. Especially for a small town girl like myself. Though I must say that I'm not as overwhelmed as I thought I would be. Possibly because even though there is a lot of people there is also alot of space so you never really feel caged in. Though I have yet to go shopping or to the markets on a weekend so this feeling could change.
So far I like London though I can't say much for King's Cross where I am currently staying. It seems to be a bit of a hole. This isn't helped by the fact I was originally staying in Sth Kingsington which is a very posh upmarket area where all the children I saw were very well behaved and out with there nannies.
I also love the number of free stuff to do around the place. Fair enough most of them are in museums and art galleries but it is really nice not having to pay to get in. I mean the tourist attractions(which I have yet to see) take enough of your money without the galleries and museums doing the same.
So summing up I think I like London though give me a couple of months feelings could change.
