I wasn't feeling too keen on public transportation, and since London today was unusually gorgeous and deliciously hot, I decided I'd just walk the whole day, maybe find a bench in some park somewhere and read for a bit, not get too crazy. Not getting crazy failed magnificently. I ended up wandering around some twelve and a half miles of London today in jeans, lousy shoes, and a pretty heavy backpack. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, but let's just make it clear that I've been back in the flat for about five hours, and my feet and calves are still throbbing. That being said, just wandering took me to some pretty cool places and helped me get a really good feel of how this enormous city is compiled in a way that taking the Tube just can't do—there's something about the Tube that makes you feel like each individual station isn't connected to the others above the ground; am I the only one that feels this way? Anyways, it was really cool! I know I walked through Chelsea to Wandsworth, through Vauxhall, then Lambeth, on to Westminster, into the City of London/the Square Mile, then through Belgravia, and back into South Kensington. While I only touched bits and pieces of each of these places, each of them is a part of London, and it was fascinating to see the change of pace and tone as I passed through each of them. (I also seem to have developed a talent of finding high-society crowds to awkwardly amble through. Last week, it was the red carpet event attended by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Today, it was a pack of Buckingham Palace invitees, complete with top hats, ascots, and fascinators galore! You know, I always feel like a total bottom-feeder walking between them in my comparatively grubby clothes. Whatever.)
I think these distinct boroughs of the city are very fascinating in the way that they've developed their own personalities. I was watching My Fair Lady a couple of nights ago, and not only was it fun to see and hear things referenced that I am now familiar with, but it was interesting to see the character of Henry Higgins noting the variations in people's speech patterns, based on the area of the city they lived in. I suppose this is a lot like New York City, the way it has its own five boroughs with their own personalities and accents. I'd guess that most Americans are familiar with a Brooklyn accent, even though it's only a borough in NYC. So strange. Anyhow, London's definitely got NYC beat with 12 boroughs in the city, and a full 32 in the Greater London area. That's a lot more accents! And it's just in London alone! Never mind the fact that there's a whole island of dialectical variation! So far, I can only barely distinguish a northern England accent from a not-northern England accent, and with dodgy accuracy. I don't expect my inner Henry Higgins to emerge any time soon, so I don't expect that to improve at all.
Regardless, I am proud of one major accomplishment today: I got a farmer's tan. Yes, that's right. I tanned. In London. If you don't realize what a major feat that is, I dare you to come over here and try to get one in a months' time. You probably won't succeed as it's almost perpetually overcast and/or rainy. To be fair, it's very faint and seems to be a little more on the side of mild sunburn than tan, and only that after a good six sunscreen-less hours, but even still, I am proud of it! It was wonderful to see the sun again; I hope it makes more frequent visits over the coming months, as being cold is getting old. (I honestly didn't intend for that to rhyme. It just happened.) Anyways, two weeks down... eleven more to go!
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