Observations About London

After having been in London for roughly 48 hours, a few things have stuck out to me in particular, as an American traveling abroad. 

1. Dogs. People have their dogs EVERYWHERE. I've seen dogs of all shapes and sizes in parks, on the streets, outside restaurants. Quite a few of the smaller ones have been in bags and I saw one woman with one big dog on a leash and a smaller one in a bag. Unfortunately, when I asked our student tour guide, he looked at me like I was crazy when I asked if it was rude to ask to pet dogs. So apparently they don't do that here. I may try anyway because dogs are awesome. 

2. Scooters. Like push with your foot razor scooters. For some reason I'm seeing more of those here than I have anywhere outside a playground. Granted, that's only about 6, but I've seen both children and young women riding them so apparently its a legit means of transportation. 

3. Street signs. When I was horribly jet lagged and trying to find my residence, I was initially baffled. I couldn't find street signs anywhere! Eventually I realized that they were on the sides of the buildings rather than on the corner. Realizing that made finding my way around so much easier. 

4. London, or at least the Kensington part of it is very clean. Particularly compared to Philadelphia, there is hardly any litter. Admittedly, there are some areas where people don't clean up after their dogs, but overall, it feels very clean and I don't constantly feel the need to take a shower after being outside. 

5. Alcohol. It is everywhere. Unlike in the US (or at least PA) where it all seems to be behind glass cases and locked doors and ID checks, even Sainsburrys (a slightly more posh Wal Mart feeling place) had isles and isles of alcohol. And I can't walk down a street without seeing at least 5 bars or wine shops or something of the like. 

6. The architecture. One of the reasons I came to London was the feel of the city. When I was here before I remember being entranced by the buildings. There's so much history in London and a lot of the buildings are older than the entire US (As an official country. The land existed of course). Everywhere I look there is a beautiful shape or fascinating bit of stonework. Everything has character and my inner filmmaker loves every bit of it. I'm headed out in a bit to go on an adventure with my camera so there should be photos soon!