Spirit of London

In my previous post I shared with you some of the places I visited in London,mostly museums and must see landmarks.This one would be more about London life.

An artist near Covent Garden

Let me start with the famous Piccadilly Circus. My imagine of it was WOW until I stepped there.It is a regular square with the famous Sanyo advertisement!(Here I have to say that everybody sees things in different way and probably for you Picadilly Circus would be charming as for example Trafalgar square was for me,but for this place later).You're surrounded by shops,bigger and smaller,selling everything - from souvenirs to expensive clothes.We went on north, along Regent street,beautiful street again with shops,pubs and cafes. It was in the early afternoon and we stopped in a cafe to have something sweet.We sat next to the window just watching people outside.I like doing it - some are happy,others are sad,some are in a hurry while othres are just looking around.Going on along Oxford street we entered some shops.London is a reasonable city for shopping but not in every moment. Unfortunately it wasn't siutable time when we were there so we bought just few things.I'm going back to souvenirs for a while - there are so many little gifts you can buy - a small red telephone cabin,little police helmet,the popular underground sign,etc.Their price starts from 3 pounds but we found a pound store where all the souvenirs were 1 pound each.There was not a huge choice but for me it was enough - beer glasses,openers,flags and some similar ones.

Piccadilly Circus

Regent street

Oxford street

Talking about London we should never miss the Underground. Through the emblematic tube pass probably millions people daily.And they are so used with it - some carry books,others read newspapers,most of them listen to music.This is the place where you have the biggest opportunity to explore the people,they are from different nations,colour,race,religion.I haven't seen so many nacionalities ever,later I read that London is the city with the most number of people from different nationalities.Nobody cares how the other is dressed,nobody pays attantion of how others look like,nobody would look strange at you if you look different just because all of them look different.
What surprised me most was that women were carring sandals or shallow shoes with no socks in early May while it was raining and for me it was cold.But I suppose that they're so used with the weather that they feel comfortable.

One of the nights we spent in London we decided to go out and be part of the nightlife.We went to Leicester square anf first took a walk around.There were pubs, bars and restaurants on every cornes.No,they were just next to each other.This was definitely the heart of London nightlife,people were all around.In front of a dance club we saw a long tale of people waiting to go in,I have seen such thing only in New York and movies till that moment.Then we found our place,a typical British bar with people who were there to have fun,the bartenders were also taking care for people's good mood.Beer,cocktails,shots,dynamic and funny music,friends and cool people all around - I couldn't have asked for more.And if somebody tells you that British people can't have fun,just never believe it!When we already decided to go we took a walk again to the nearst bus station and the atmosphere out there was more enjoyable than before -  more people,little drunk,laughing.We had to take a nightbus,cause it was too late for the subway.In the beginnig I was enjoying the night view through the windiw but then I have fallen asleep.When we finally had to drop off the bus after an hour,a guy shouted after me(I was already at the door) : "Hey,excuse me,is that your phone?" I quickly noticed that my phone was not in my pocket and yes that was it. I thanked the guy several times and got off the bus.One example does not mean that everybody would have given me my phone back but this was my impression.This made me ask myself if somebody here in my country would do the same and how many people would do it?

Leicester square

In the bar

People waiting to be allowed in a club

I was told I should not miss Covent Garden market.This is actually a big square with again a big building in the middle where is the market.Now they sell some ancient stuff and also people offer their collections - from cards,badges,marks to beer pads,jewlaries and so on.There are also many cafes,restaurants and some shops. I liked the place pretty much especially when we saw a comedian who was giving a performance.We stopped for half an hour.Everytime we tried to go it was getting more and more intersting.Who said that British humour is not funny?

People having fun at the street

Covent Garden

And we came on the place that I really loved - Trafalgar square.As I said in the beginning everybody feels different about every place.Maybe some of you would say it is nothing special but I found the square really amazing. Was it because of the sunny weather or maybe beacuse of the fountain in the midddle,I don't know.
Tourists and locals were all around having fun.There were kids playing with the water,teenagers taking photos and other young people reading books. And I,I sat at the edge of the fountain and just looked around accepting all the beauty with my eyes thinking of nothing.
As we were there we entered the National Gallery and took a half an hour walk inside. It's not enough at all but for us - people who are not much intereted in that kind of art was fine.

The Art Gallery

Trafalgar square

I'm happy I could almost fulfill my to do list in London. I regret about not visiting the Royal Greenwich Observatory and also that the weather was not good enough to spend more time in the parks.But what I really wanted and didn't go to was a musical or a theatre performance.Here you can see the whole program of the theatres and buy thickets on very reasonable prices.Well,I definitely have reasons to go back.

A theatre near Piccadilly Circus