I ramble, part one

Some thrown together excerpts from something I wrote midday sitting in a dark-wood and mirrors (very ornate) pub in Covent Garden...

"...London can be a bit -- well, grand -- but the friendliness, the grandeur, the parties, the history, the scope...the damn nice accent....

I've been here a matter of days. I've barely explored, distance wise, but every single place I see, there's something about it.

Small quaint villages reeking with history?
Check.
Total urban centers with shopping, clubs...all reeking with something else entirely?
Yeah.
Pubs on every corner and a liberal public open-container policy?
Yup.

And then there's that accent....

It's funny. Inevitable, but funny, but I keep drawing comparisons & finding similarities to my favorite places in the US and elsewhere. The truth is, there are a lot of similarities, especially in the proliferation of American businesses, but the utter concentration of EVERYTHING in one city is what impresses me. Maybe it's related to the public transportation being so widespread...but that's only part of the answer. Even walking today, I've been through small parks in tiny neighborhoods, Roman-style alley ways, a breakfast spot that reminded me of home, Chinatown, a Quincy/Fanueil Hall type market(but bigger)...and that's by 2pm, when I'm now downing a Strongbow...

I guess Boston is the closest comparison, but it's like Boston with New York's scope.

Anyway, even with its quirks, it's an utterly charming city. "Utterly charming..." how fucking British of me....

I can see why writers, actors, artists, creative types have made it home or at least done some great work here. There's this energy that feeds into the creative soul without the same cynicism as some other "hubs."....