London in My Heart

Yet another return to London after so many holidays in the English capital. At the departure airport a friend advises me to buy a house, since I go back so often, and I tell him maybe, because London never tires me and it is my city of the heart. I arrive at Heathrow on an afternoon with an almost autumnal feel, but that is normal, because it often rains in London even in August. I am lucky not to go to a hotel because I am staying with some friends who live in the Bloomsbury area, a neighbourhood that is definitely worth visiting because besides the house where Charles Dickens was born, there is also the British Museum and the British Library. The day after my arrival I take a ride on the London Eye, the tallest Ferris wheel in the world, which I had not yet seen. Back to Big Ben and Westminster Abbey, always beautiful to see..

The sound of the clock is something that feels mystical, profound, truly beautiful. I carry on towards Trafalgar Square and then Piccadilly Circus, swarming with tourists at any hour of the day or night. After that comes Soho, Chinatown and Charing Cross. At Leicester I sit on a bench in the square beneath the statue of Charlie Chaplin to eat a fish and chips. The next day I take a boat trip along the Thames from Westminster to Tower Bridge, and once I reach my destination I look for shelter in the souvenir shops opposite the Tower of London because it starts to rain, but it only lasts a few minutes because the sun finally comes out,.. English weather is a bit crazy, as everyone knows! The following day I go to Camden Town market, which I prefer to Portobello.

Then in the afternoon I catch a train and go to Brighton, the Londoners' seaside resort just an hour from London by train from Victoria Station. The Brighton Pier with its amusement park is very evocative, and so is the Royal Pavilion, with people sprawled on the adjoining lawns taking in the sun. Another day in London again, this time devoted to music with the Beatles tour, a walk through the places visited by the fabulous four. The agency that organises these tours is called Evans Evans, which obviously, besides the Beatles one, also runs day trips in and around London by bus. I have also decided to go back to Cambridge the following day and head to Victoria Station, but they tell me the trains to Cambridge leave from King's Cross.