London sojourn

I landed in London expecting to see a glassy city; instead here was an old fashioned modern city. Not unexpectedly, I ended up comparing London to NY. Each has its own charms, though for me, NY wins hand down – its got more variety, hustle, colour and energy. It also has the sun!

Architecture
London does NOT have tall buildings. Actually the majority of buildings are old low-rises. Even Buckingham Palace is much smaller than what it looks like in pictures. My theory is that London pays the price for becoming a large modern city much before any other place. Three centuries ago, these very buildings would have been considered huge but now they look puny compared to the ones in NY.
On to the business district - Canary Wharf resembles Singapore…or Newport – wider streets, a smattering of tall buildings, very neat
Tower Bridge was a surprise. Not because it is magnificent but because I always thought this structure was the London Bridge! It looks significant enough to be mentioned in a song – there’s one that goes “London Bridge is Falling Down…” the actual London Bridge on the other hand is plain ole bridge and not worth describing here.
Trafalgar Square does not have a parallel in NY. I especially liked the magnificent lions and the huge gates across the street. They are a little far to serve as an entrance but possibly were used long ago.

Your moolah won’t go a long way here
London is expensive. Period. Everything costs the same here as it would do in New York. Actually the number of pounds that you would pay for anything is the same as the number of dollars you would spend in New York, no consideration for the conversion rate, which, incidentally is 1₤ ~ $1.9. You pay ₤16 for a chakkar in the London Eye – you can get to the top of Empire State Building for $20. A day pass for the London subway costs ₤6.5 – a day pass for the NY subway costs $7. Street-side artists charge ₤5 to draw your portrait/caricature in London – they charge $5 in NY. Innumerable other examples abound.

Hustle-bustle…
…epitomises NY. The energy of the city is infectious. Its like being in a wave which pulls you along – you want to keep up, you have to keep up. I have not seen London on a normal work day, it is possible that it is different then, but on a holiday weekend it was definitely lacking in energy.

London is also a very quiet city. Or if you like, NY is very noisy. I fail to understand why the NY traffic has to be so noisy or maybe is it the wind-tunnel effect – wind blowing past tall buildings causing a perpetual din. Whatever it is, the quietness of London was refreshing for me.

Harrods Vs Macy’s
I select them for the simple reason that each is the largest shop of its city. The Macy’s on Herald Square in NY proudly proclaims itself to be the largest store in the world. Harrods, in one word is, grand. The Egyptian staircase/escalator is a work of art. And when opera singers are dropping their notes from one of the many balconies that overlook the escalator, you pretty much think you are at the opera, not in a department store. Harrods is definitely NOT designed to maximise convenience and efficiency for shoppers. Those virtues may be present but the central theme of Harrods is splendour, ambience, rich ambience. You just need to step inside the department that sells the antique (looking?) furniture to realize this. I for one am still not able to fathom a 2.5 foot wooden bench selling for ₤26,900. True, it had ferocious looking red tongued bears masquerading as the legs. But 27k for a bench is beyond my comprehension. Maybe it has some historical significance, but who cares, its not a Dali.

Speaking of Dali, the exhibition at the County Hall is magnificent. The highlight here is the Goya tribute. This is a series of Goya paintings with Dali’s interpretation alongside. Totally worth spending the ₤12 for a ticket. No doubt, the MOMA has The Persistence of Memory and The Little Theatre but this exhibition in all has about 500 pieces of Dali including a few sculptures. The MOMA, though, has more diversity/variety. And it has all of 275 sq ft of Reflections of Clouds on the Water-Lily Pond.

Underground
The London subway or the Underground as it is called, is orderly and the signs are very well organised. Pay attention and you will not get lost easily. And it is extremely clean like the rest of the city. The new stations along the Jubilee Line are very well constructed. I particularly liked the Canary Wharf station. Evidently it is designed for a sea of humanity to pass through every morning and evening, Monday to Friday. On a Sunday evening though it was pretty desolate and the multiple escalators seemed redundant.

The NY subway is equally efficient and used by twice as many people (5mn per day). On average the stations are larger. It, however, does not compare to Underground’s cleanliness, in fact many stations in NY definitely stink. And, while the directions and signs are pretty orderly to a seasoned commuter, a newbie can easily feel lost in the labyrinth.

However my experience of the subway was spoilt by the Christmas closure. Yep, there is NO public transport in London on 25^th December. And since I had to catch a flight back, it cost be ₤55 for a ride from Kings Cross to Heathrow!

Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, SOHO, Oxford St. and Restaurants
Leicester square and Piccadilly Circus are where you would see the neon lights in London. But if its neon you want, nothing beats Times Square. Of course, they also stick real jeeps on hoardings here. But that’s a separate story.

Oxford Street is for high street shopping and has all brands that a well heeled shopper may crave for. So does 5^th Avenue. Which is grander? I think 5^th Avenue just for its sheer size and opulence.

SOHO is to London is what Village is to NY. Only cleaner and quieter. But this is one place that I wouldn’t want to be quiet. Imagine Village; now imagine quiet Village – doesn’t quite cut it.

Italian cuisine definitely seems to be the favourite in London. In the Leicester Square area, Italian restaurants outnumber all other cuisines put together by 9 to 1. I ate at the Chiquoto and it remains my most expensive Mexican dinner, ever. A minimal meal for two cost us ₤32. A similar dinner in NY would cost $30…with a fatter tip than in London.

Sun and Shimmer
Two cloudy days later it was time to head back. Finally I saw the sun...after the airplane rose above the cloud cover! I have passed through London about 8 times in the past one year and have never seen sunlight. That’s really the killer when it comes to choosing between the two cities. New York has these days – its between 55-65F, or 13-18° Celsius if you like, clear skies & hence bright sunshine and a light breeze – perfect days to just walk the streets or goof off in Central Park. No such luck for London residents.

What about shimmer? The women in NY are hotter. Period.