London

London was fabulous, my darlings! I found it too funny how often I heard people say darling, cheers, fabulous and mate.

Places
Kings Cross – Juliano, my friend that I stayed with lives two blocks from the Kings Cross underground station and train depot. Kings Cross may sound familiar to you. It was the origin station for the London bombings that occurred in July of 2005. It’s a cool area and has become a key clubbing area within London.

Hyde Park – It’s an amazing park right in the heart of London. Apparently, it’s also the park that George Michael got caught coming out of some bushes with another guy. It reminds me a bit of Central Park in NYC.

SOHO – This is the place to be seen. Lots of cafes, bars, clubs, restaurants.

I won’t bore you with the details, but I also saw Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Square, Tower Bridge, British Museum, London Eye, Big Ben, St Paul’s Cathedral and the new County Hall (which looks like an alien head with a space helmet on).

Prices
Interested in buying a simple leather belt for 1,000 dollars? How about the $30,200 mobile phone? If so, contact me immediately and we'll talk business. Seriously though, I was looking at a belt that I thought was pretty cool. I was going to buy it, until I saw that it cost 500 pounds. Ouch! London is an extremely expensive city for American’s to visit. The exchange rate is 2 dollars for every one pound. To illustrate the outrageous prices, an extra value meal in London is around 5 pounds, or 10 dollars.

Food
Curry has become the de facto national food. Being a fan of curry, I knew that I would enjoy the food. Still, I was absolutely blown away. Amazing!

Culture & People
The diversity within London is amazing. It’s very similar to NYC in that regard. I found London to be a lot cleaner, more charming and thought it had a more polished feel to it.

Shopping & Fashion
Retro is back. In both Barcelona and London I’ve noticed a lot of bold patterns and striped, tight outfits. They look straight out of the 60’s.

It was London Fashion Week while I was there and saw a lot of women and men that were obviously models walking down the street working the money makers. Sadly, I didn’t attend any of the general open events.

On Sloane Street in Knightsbridge there is Prada, Gucci, Giorgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Luis Vuitton, Dior , etc….the wealth displayed is absolutely amazing!

Harrods – The food hall is legendary, and I understand why. It’s impossible to explain and is like no other.

Selfridges – “The quintessential London luxury department store”. Like Harrods, it’s breathtaking.

Nightlife
London is world famous for its party vibe and non-stop nightlife. It is seething with after hours drinking and discos of all shapes and sizes. From the pulsating dance floors of the super clubs to the chilled intimacy of smaller bar-clubs, London has it all.

Legendary A-list DJs kept me moving for much longer than I can to admit. The following songs will be forever associated with the London discos for me. I listen to them now and just smile. :)

Supermode - Tell Me Why (Vocal Club Mix)
The Egg - Walking Away
Fedde Le Grand - Put Your Hands Up For Detroit
Vinylshakerz - One Night In Bangkok
Beatfreakz - Somebody's Watching Me
Tv Rock Feat- Seany B - Flaunt It

Conclusion
London is an absolutely amazing city that I will visit again. In fact, I may go back in mid November. I’m able to go for 30 euros, roundtrip (including all fees & taxes) because of the Ryanair special.

More photos will be posted shortly. Look for the link on the left side of the site.