We’ve arrived in a beautiful, chilly London, bedecked in holiday splendor. As my niece noted, everything is just cooler here. Indeed. I have a little time right now because we are on a bus ride to the Harry Potter Studio Tour so I’m going to share some of my first observations. Well, that actually didn’t happen because it made me car sick, but I digress.
- London is so cosmopolitan. Like other major cities, you hear different languages everywhere and see so many unique and delicious types of food from every corner of the globe. And there doesn’t seem to be any discord resulting from such diversity. It just seems to work. I live in a pretty diverse place but it pales in comparison to this. Makes me feel like a citizen of the world and I love it.
- Question: Who invented the selfie and When? I had this discussion with my niece this morning at 5:30am, since we were both awake super early as always on your first morning after a translatlantic flight. For more than 100 years, we all took pictures of the outside world and tried to contrive ways to get ourselves in those pictures with timers and tripods. Then, Bam! The selfie! And it has to have penetrated globe culture faster than almost other invention–I’m guessing here. But wander past any major tourist attraction anywhere in the world and you’ll find the selfie is here to stay. Big Ben. Machu Picchu. The Golden Gate. I’m not too proud for a selfie either but we forgot our selfie-stick the first day which is a rookie mistake. Now rectified.
- I love the British. Always have. Always will. I’m an Anglophile to the core, deeply fascinated with all things royal. Luckily, my niece has been watching the Crown too so we have lots to talked about! Poor Princess Margaret, Churchill, and of course, the youngest royals, William and Kate. Love it. We went to see the changing of the Guard at Buckingham palace but couldn’t see much because thousands of others had the same idea. Oh well.
- We are particularly curious about all the warnings like “Mind the gap” (that space between the platform and the Underground train) and “Look left/right” on the crosswalks. Are these warnings for clumsy tourists or have lots of people gotten stuck in the “gap?” Food for thought.
We are having fun exploring and chatting but I’ll keep an eye for more curiosities to share. I’m signing off now to give my battery a rest. Cheers!
Boonedoggler 