It’s 6PM on a Monday night and I’m in London. Outside I can see the peak of the spherical, blue building named The Gherkin Building. Next door, or really across the street is The Women’s Library, though I do not see anyone sitting at the tables from my 7th floor window. I only know what it is because that is what Google Maps told me. Google Maps is my constant companion in this city. With one headphone in my ear and walking directions whispered softly it gives me more confidence than a paper map. Though don’t worry, I do have one of those as well. I’ve always hated looking like a tourist, even if that is what I am. I told one of my hosts this morning, “who would’ve thought that in the course of 6 months I would’ve traveled to London as often as I have.
I love London. I love the Underground. I love how easy it is to get wherever you want to go. Yet in this city, I find myself doing the same things that I did while I lived in California. The hotel has an excellent restaurant which I sat in and read all the day’s news. While exploring I found an excellent Thai Restaurant. Coffee. Tea. The conveniences and small luxuries that I loved while living downtown allowed me to have. The difference is that while I may be one in 8 million people, that is 7.5 million more people that I get to watch. Observation is a wonderful thing for a writer and an artist.
