I know that my comparison of London to a favorite old pair of shoes may have worn on some of you, who may still rightfully love this crowded old town. So, this entry may help to bring the emotional pendulum a little closer to swinging the opposite direction.
Today I was in search of an over thirty year old tradition. When we lived in Germany and Dad caught wind of the first European McDonald’s being opened just off of Trafalgar Square, well there was no stopping us. A trip to London was planned and we all happily imbibed. So a tradition was born and repeated at least once in every decade since. To prepare for the caloric saturation, I decided to walk from King’s Cross to Trafalgar Square (a solid 45 minute stroll).
Along the way, feeling nostalgic, I collected scenes. London does have its self-conscious design attributes that deserve appreciation. One such design was the development of the town house. This has grown into rows of apartments keeping in outward appearances to the old scheme.
Not to be outdone by Silicon Valley iconoclasts, this Londoner found the perfect blend of nature while nurturing his tech edge.
Some cities in the world are best appreciated looking upward, e.g. Chicago. London is filled with carved artwork, if you are willing to crane just a bit.
Now I can’t be entirely positive, having just stumbled across an old acquaintance “The Crown” pub. Back in 1997, hungry after a full day of wandering the city, we ventured into this pub for a quick late lunch of fish & chips. Even back then the ubiquitous London lunch ran us a not so cool $15 USD a piece. I was not going to make that mistake twice, besides today I would much rather pay $12.50 USD for a Big Mac Meal and an apple pie at the traditional location.
So I walked through the shaded alley ways of Covent Garden, the Broadway-esque theatre district…
… to walk out into the grand opening of Trafalgar Square. The square was crawling with tourists and of course pigeons.
These are the famous pigeons referred to in Charles Dickens classic “A Christmas Carol” when he writes about the Christmas goose and one of the ghosts says, “I’ve seen bigger pigeons in Trafalgar Square.”
I wonder what Dickens would think of the new modern art addition to the classic Empire honorary sculptures?
Taking in the square, I caught the first glimpse of the London Eye. This ferris wheel of sorts is truly a monster. The Eye towers over ten story buildings with little effort. The rotation is so gradual that, simply spotting the structure, progress is not even apparent.
For you Sir Nevil Mariner fans, a view across Trafalgar Square highlights St. Martin in the Fields, the orchestral home of one of the finest “classical” (with some baroque too) organizations in the world. In keeping with every major monument in the world being under reconstruction on this trip, St. Martin was scaffolded as well. What I’m curious about is just when did St. Martin actually stop being “in the fields”? It must have been hundreds of years ago.
One block off of Trafalgar Square is the Hay Market area, home to the famous Burberry Brand.
Right across the street from their landmark store is our family favorite McDonalds. Well not any longer. How disappointing to find that the old building that housed Mc-y D’s had been razed and this modern “office in a box” was the replacement. So the tradition has died.
Now worries for my grease and fries fix, because the replacement was up the street…
… and down a side street.
On the way home I saw another literary reminder of London, and this time it was from an illustration. Remember in “Peter Pan”, when the children fly away out the window and over the rooftops? They fly by and between the many rising coal smoke stacks for home heating. Every time I see these clusters, it reminds me of that moment.
Fiona patiently waited through my botched communication attempts and eventually met me at the hostel, right across from the national library.
She took me to a great Asian restaurant that focused their attentions on attempts at Thai food. However, Fiona won the day by choosing an amazing duck and Chinese broccoli main course.
As we said our third and final “good byes” of the weekend, it struck me that I hadn’t taken a single picture of our time together. Oh well, maybe next time.
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