Hi all,
I apologize (apologise) I haven’t blogged for a while, I’ve been bogged down with lots and lots of papers. But now, they are over and done with (whew!), and before I head off on a weekend excursion with my friend Bracha, I wanted to share a few posts with you. Stay tuned!
Campus is approximately 2 and 3/4 miles from my door, and I like to walk there at least one way every day. It’s a great way to see London, and really feel like you are a part of the rush, either morning or evening. So, once a day, I don my trainers (sneakers) and head over to campus. Its actually pretty amazing–it seems fairly normal to walk to work, even if it takes a long time. I assume this is because the tube is both expensive and crowded, and the bus sits in standstill traffic during morning rush hour. Plus, London is stunning to look at as you walk through.
As the weeks progressed, I noticed that they were almost exactly the same distance, but it was possible to walk to campus in two completely different ways. In this post and the following post, I document, from a critical urban perspective (oh, goodness. I’ve been writing too many papers), the stark contrast between the two routes.
This route goes through the City of London, which may be equivalent to New York’s financial district.
My favorite place in London: Close to my residence hall, on Grays Inn Road, the Calthorpe Project is a community green space and productive garden.
Grays Inn Road. wide and curvy, diverse architecture.
On this route, seeing monuments and sculptures is not unusual.
on this route, there are many plazas and green spaces where tourists, students, and professionals congregate (but don't necessarily mingle...)
Look at the width of that pavement (sidewalk)!
These stands encourage cleanliness on the street. Furthermore, dozens of public workers line the streets doing everything from picking up garbage, to hammering gum off the pavement.
Commuters walk right past these historic statues.
A potpurri of architecture, stacked right up against each other.
Ethical consumption and food awareness is much more prevalent in the United Kingdom than in the United States.
thanks to the 2012 olympics, the changing face of London
a biking city
St. Paul's Cathedral peeking through two office buildings
congregating outside of St. Paul's subway station
look familar, American folks? on this route, high end shops are not uncommon.
right around Bank station in the City of London. Fantastic.
benches are in every public space.
This man looks out of place because of his casual attire--suits are the main dress code here.
who's surprised? And if you want to be even more surprised...http://www.blackgoldmovie.com/story.php.
"The Gherkin" office building
I made it to University! Check out the next series for a drastically different feel of London...
