Nearly Ready

Tomorrow I fly to London late in the evening. I fly out of O'Hare in Chicago which is unfortunately infamously well-known among fliers as a terrible airport despite its vast and amazing city. A city with a giant sculpture dubbed "the Bean" is awesome by default, right? It's here, pictured to the right. It even looks awesome on a freezing February evening.

I chatted with a friend from undergrad today and got some great ideas for places to visit and things to do while in London (Thanks Brooks!) This chat made everything seem a bit more realistic and realism feels essential at the moment. Not only did we get to catch up, which I've been failing at miserably ALL summer along, but it was nice to get some advice from an American who lived in London. He studied in London for year during the same year I was in Spain, though we weren't friends at the point. Brooks's advice includes:

• Take buses. You see so much more of London on a double-decker than the Tube. (I agree. For my brief visit I took a bus and it was really fun.) 
• Check out Camden's market on the weekends. It's huge marketing on north side. Lots of food, merchandise and lots of fun. 
• Walk as much as you can. London is a great walking city (like lots of Europe I think.)

We talked about a few other things but those were a few bits that I thought were particularly helpful. Living abroad in a city is different than just being a tourist. You actually get a chance to make your own routine/home. Therefore his advice definitely pushes me in the right direction at feeling comfortable and at-home in London. I know that's not really the point of the trip and we are going to be there for such a short time, but why not? The best part about going anywhere is settling in, finding your groove and discovery another country/culture.