My London liaison

Once, only a city my friend had moved to four years ago and then only a new place I wanted to explore this birthday, somewhere within a week of my visit, I am telling Sarah, "...if I find someone here, I will get married and settle down." More than half of the world probably shares my sentiment for very good reasons and of the fortnight I spent in London, I wanted more of it, not as a vacation, but as a place I could call home 'indefinitely'... as Anna said to Will, I will say to London.

It all started with an impression of Mumbai on the Piccadilly service line with sightings of old buildings built in red-brown bricks, followed by an NJ impression of row houses with cars parked in front and then dense gardens that screamed so loudly green in my face that my mind pondered over green spaces that one could possibly spot through the western rail service of Mumbai (apparently almost nonexistent).

After the tube and over ground train ride was done, I found myself soaking in the chilly weather that a downpour had left behind, by elephant-grey rock-platforms that welcomed everyone to be seated at Kings cross station. I smiled into the sky to have finally arrived, patiently breathing in and out, allowing myself to be immersed in the eerie London cold. After Vishal arrived, we walked down to a canal, noticed some mute swans enjoying a swim and bath, followed by our first coffee. It appeared as if I had taken a two hour flight, like I usually do for Bangalore (though technically Bangalore is only 1.2 hour away),  and come to a place I already knew in my heart. May be it was Indian (or Indian looking) population at the customs, I cannot be sure, or the welcoming waitresses at the coffee shop, that made the place familiar. I felt like a freshly baked bun in the otherwise cloudy Saturday. I must confess, the service staff in London, in my experience, is very hospitable.

The fortnight that ensued will be one of the loveliest vacations I have had.

That Saturday succeeded into a visit to Borough market, tasting bread and olive oils, and drinking a glass of champagne to celebrate my arrival. The next morning was dedicated to the Columbia flower market where I discovered Sunflowers are my most favorite of the flora species. Their bright-yellow, perky exterior balances with a soul that is high on energy, proteins and vitamins. My dad owns a piece of land and I have very often wondered if I should grow sunflowers there someday.

Mute swans & PDAs at the Hyde Park

As the week began, Vishal couldn't babysit me logistically. It was time to experiment with the tube and transport by myself. Word has it that I lived in one of the most happening areas of London, 5 minutes walk from the Hoxton station. I decided to start with buses, a relatively comprehensible mode of transport,  and took number 243 to Waterloo. London is a walk walk walk city, and walk is all I did with street side location maps and some google as references, randomly exploring places, initially by chance and then by decision. On my first day of solitude exploration, I browsed through familiar sights of London wheel, Big Ben and houses of Parliament, until running into some Horse Guards. That later took me to St. James park and a closer interaction with ducks, geese and swans of London. After spending enough time with them, on the bright, sunny London afternoon, I walked into the Green park where I had my first revelation: "London has to be one of the most romantic cities of the world." The green density of the park, the fallen brown maple leaves, and a chill in the weather complemented by shining sun, I knew better, that this park should be walked with a lover. Speaking of lovers, Londoners aren't bothered with public displays of affection. You see them very often on escalators, streets, open bars until I found a couple seated behind me on an almost empty bus. I could hear the noises of *mwah* so loud that I hoped, although in vain, to have carried my ear phones. Being raised in a country like India, I believe such PDAs is a true measure of being free. Anybody should be allowed to kiss anybody, both consenting, without heed to time, place or surroundings.

As far as weather goes, I found myself comparing the September weather of London to the February weather of Kodai canal, chill in the air perfectly complemented by the shining sun.

It is at Green park that I decided to pay Hyde Park a visit another day, my first conscious decision to see a place and what a delightful place the Serpentine lake was. Mute swans, alike the London visitors and locals, do not shy from PDAs.

For an Indian tourist, taking a leak in London is expensive, a whole 50 pence, which is a decent loaf of wheat bread in India. Answering the call of nature therefore has to be strategically considered ;-).  One strategy is to hydrate oneself only at home, or carry a plastic bag to pee in the event of emergency, which I actually saw a teenager do on a train. Bizarre, right!

I celebrated the birthday evening with friends at Sushi Samba, a restaurant on the 38th floor of Heron tower,  by ordering some champagne. Although the view was sensational, the pocket did hurt. See, that's why I think money is important in life. One should be able to spend without having to think of what one can afford - that's how rich one should be materialistically. Only if wishes were horses, sigh! But then again, birthdays come only come once a year, I find myself justifying.

Tomato Mozzarella cheese croissant

After the few initial bus rides, Liverpool street station became my go to place for the London tube travels. Pret A Manger became my breakfast place with the simplistic, tomato and Mozzarella cheese croissant as my favorite delicacy on a vegetarian day. Covent Garden was my first destination on the tube and turns out it is not a garden, just a hoity-toity shopping street with its Godivas and Diors. I bought my first Sketchers here, and boy o boy, I was completely smitten by the feather light shoes they make. People all over London wear really fancy colored shoes;  the clothes may be navy blue or black, but the shoes definitely stand out. It is a stunning sight to watch Londoners jog on a sunny afternoon at 1:10 pm in the middle of the week; the British sun is simply stimulating to spring you into action or exercise. Apart from its green gardens, I am in awe of how brilliantly laws have preserved old architecture and buildings that marry its modern constructions in complementary union. Then as another weekend arrived, we went to the famous Portobello market of Notting Hill fame. I didn't research much on the blue door but it was wonderful to explore an area where my second most favorite film was shot. Turns out, the number 23 bus, 23 being my birth date, travels via Notting Hill to the Liverpool street station. How fancy is that? Also, 20 is the local area or city code used to dial to London, which is same as Pune's. Double fancy!! ;-).

Of course there was the great food in restaurants (Tibits at Regent street for vegetarian food deserves an honorable mention), pubs, bars, discotheques et all that came packaged with the vacation as a definitive London-thing-to-do. I did some of these bits as well.

The following week, I had a date with Brighton.

I loved London, every single bit of it and London, in turn, treated me nice with bright, sunny days for more than 80% of my stay. September isn't all bright and sunny, I was lucky, I was told.

I was so enamored that I found myself wondering why I never decided to make London home, given its practical benefits of English speaking population and close vicinity to India. By the end of the fortnight, I navigated the central line as if I was meant to do it every single day. I had become accustomed to hopping on and off stations and boarding diverse lines in tune with destinations. I very often hoped, that India would have a transport system as efficient as London. With £31 oyster pass a week, I could use any buses or trains and explore my lungs out in zone 1 and 2.

What did I really love about London? I can't really pin point one thing. It will have to be a combination of old and modern architecture, efficient transport systems and the gardens in no chronological order. I also loved that people really dress up to work in suits and women do their own sexy things. Canary Wharf on a Friday evening with the setting sun and beer for company is definitely SOMETHING!

I didn't do the Shard, go inside the St. Paul's Cathedral, do the champagne experience on the London eye, go and see the Kohinoor, buy a fancy London-looking pair of shoes, and more importantly visit Madame Tussauds. I didn't want my first Jolie meeting to be in wax, how much ever skilled the artists are; I want it to be in flesh and blood. So I will probably do some of my didnts and some of my dos already done in the future with a lover. May be I will bug the hell out of somebody on the last seat of a bus with loud * mwah * sounds.

A piece I will treasure forever with me as part of my London experience is the friends I met and the friends that made this trip happen.

(L to R) with Sarah, Mrinal, Deep, Alex, Kiran and Vishal @ Kings Cross

If getting older is aimed to make you wiser, I believe, London also gave me an important lesson: Friends who host you, invite you over, spend time with you, make a point to meet, do ordinary things, sometimes extraordinary gestures, deserve a special place in your life. Their actions will always speak louder than hollow words of coulda-shoulda-woulda.