Lovely London

I love London. It was great to be back. We had perfect weather while we were there - cool in the shade and warm in the sun. It's nice to visit there and not feel like we need to rush about seeing everything. Certainly there are new things there to be seen, but it's just as pleasant to wander about and experience the city like we did when we lived there.


The dangerous thing about having lovely weather while we were there is it lures you into remembering only the wonderful things about living in London. Most Londoners will tell you that they've been having bad weather lately - like for the last three years. Cold and dreary winters followed by cold and rainy summers. There's nothing more dreary than a damp wet overcast winter day in London. I used to say, "The tornados and blizzards in the US can kill you in an instant, but with London weather it's a long slow death."

When we moved back home to the US it was November. We were nearly giddy with the thought of bright cold crisp winter days. So many people wondered why we'd be moving back just before the winter (not that we had any real control over the timing), but we were happy to be leaving London before the dark grey days of winter set in.

The first few years we were back in Wisconsin, I was so homesick for London. I still am at times. Watching the BBC (the real BBC, not BBC America or BBC World) or listening on-line to London radio can really make me pine for it. Being back this week was a great opportunity to re-acquaint with the city for a few days.

The introduction of congestion charging seems to have reduced the amount of traffic and pollution. You know Dubai air has to be dirty when you find London to be fresh and clean. But the true test is to check the color of your buggers when you blow your nose after a day wandering the city. Still dark, but not as black as I remember. Now that's progress.