After 4 years of Living in London; I'm back in the USA! It's great to be "home" but it's certainly taken some adjusting. It's true, everything here (in the states) is so BIG: the stores, the parking lots, the cars, the food portions, the streets...you get my point. I can also tell you this, "visiting" a city and "living" there are two completely different things. I wouldn't trade the experience of living abroad for anything, but I certainly found it "challenging" at times. It's a fantastic city to visit with lots to do and see, and if you've never been, then by all means, GO!

London is a city with a certain "buzz" all it's own. And by "buzz" I don't mean actual noise levels and the way people interact (OK, the only time it's quiet is when it snows or when families/kids are gone on "holiday"). One thing you'll notice, when you take the Tube, NO ONE speaks to each other. Oh sure, there is the occasional "sorry" or the person talking on their phone like they're the only one on the train but in general, no one talks to each other. Instead, they sit in there own world, emailing, texting or playing games on there phone and generally keep to themselves. It's just the "English way". At times it can be quite odd, especially in a city of  approx. 9 million people!

 The Duke pub - 2 min walk from our house

One thing you never run out of in London is history. There is history every place you look. At times, this can be quite interesting, other times, just plain frustrating. Remember, "history" usually means "the date something was built or when something happened" and when you're talking about an infrastructure as old as London's, you're going to run into problems. On the plus side, it's great to be walking down a street and seeing buildings that are 400 years old and just "feel" the history of the area. Or walking into an old Pub for a pint that is 200 years old; what fun!!

to be continued...