My impressions of jolly 'ol England

While it is fair to say my overall experience in England was limited to London and that my not be completely representative, I did come away from my trip with a positive inpression. I was overseas to visit my good friends Jon and Andy. Whether it had been England, France, Japan, or Turkey I'm sure that my time would have been delightful simply due their company. The unenviable chore of being my host primarily fell on the shoulders of Andy, and she did a delightful job of it. I think it must be hard to entertain someone like me, that sometimes lacks on the vibrant emotion side and doesn't keep a rigid schedule or plan. But she managed through.

When I had planned to visit, I sort of had an idea in my mind that London would be a rather fast paced city. I had the pleasure of visiting Jon a few times in New York, and always felt it a bit too rushed for my liking. You had to have a plan and stick to it around town, or otherwise you might be run over. Los Angeles felt like this to me as well during my last visit there. However, I found London much more balanced than that. I chalk it up to the fact that the city isn't built as high as our modern cities and the English are so used to queueing for things. This creates a society that isn't as jam packed and has patience to do things in time. It made the city much more enjoyable than I imagined.

I would say my favorite piece of the adventure was the sitting down to dinner with my friends at the Eagle and Child pub. The obvious draw to this location is the relative proximity to Oxford University, and the historical draw of Tolkein and C. S. Lewis. While I do find this fascinating, it did little to spark the imagination of the two great writers actually sitting there. However, despite that it was still a very lovely locale and served a pretty reasonable meal. I was just able to relax with good food and good company.

Ultimately, I could see myself returning one day despite if my friends were in town or not. But next time, a few more trips out of the city might be enjoyable. Someone I know needs to move to Japan though, so I have an excuse to go there next :)