Friday, December 21, 2012

London, England - Final Thoughts



We loved London.  We had such a fun time.  Jenny and I both agree that London would probably not be our first choice for an international trip from the States, unless you were making it part of a longer itinerary.  London pretty much looks and feels like your typical large city in the U.S., like New York or Chicago for example, or maybe Toronto in Canada.  It's only because of the iconic double-decker buses, the old buildings, and the plethora of images of the Queen everywhere that you're reminded you're still overseas.  But as a destination from Switzerland it was exactly what we needed.  We've been overseas now for just about a year now, and lately we've been a little homesick for the U.S.  So London turned out to be that breath of fresh air we really needed.  The people were unbelievably polite and courteous (unlike Switzerland.)  We had a large selection of American restaurants and stores to re-visit (unlike Switzerland.)  And most of all everyone of course spoke English (unlike Switzerland.)  It's everything we're used to.  I guess it's because of all these similarities why I say London would not be my first choice for a trip to Europe from the States.  It's so familiar.  But coming from Switzerland London provides us that little bit of normalcy we don't get here in Zurich.  Can't believe I'm saying that but it's true.  That's why we had such a great time - the trip was so incredibly easy.  We were able to relax and just enjoy ourselves and not worry about translations or cultural differences.  For such a large city packed with people London was incredibly comfortable and inviting.

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