Originally posted on February 1, 2011
Hello from London!
After being inspired not only in life but also in means of online communication by my cousin and fellow traveler Scott who created a blog, I have set up my own to send out updates for family and friends. Before I get into my first true post I feel it is necessary to give a quick explanation. First, the title, ‘The Travelling Gentleman’. This comes from not only what I hope to be remembered by someday, but also a delectable cabernet sauvignon from the Niagara region known as Nicolas LaLoux, The Travelling Gentleman. Not a bad wine, has a bike in the logo, says ‘The Travelling Gentleman’ on it, and is only $9, so naturally I was drawn to it. Being that the criteria of wine, bikes, slogans, and being cheap are all relevant to my current trip, I felt the title was only fitting. Now moving onto the catch phrase: The laughter, the love, the life that is the travels of Pete de Vooght. There is no story behind this. I literally just made that up seconds before righting this post. Moving on. And finally the header, which consists of a photo I took at Westminster of the classic London double decker and Big Ben. This should be obvious why it is here, so I will not explain. Now to the update…
When I last sent an update it was after my first week, so I had only done a couple of touristy things still in the vacation stage of my trip. Since then I have finally come to the realization that I actually do live in London, England, and have gotten around to doing a lot of cool stuff.
A friend of mine, Arthur, found an event called The Red Bull Mini Drome, which we went to that night. We had no idea what to expect, but it turned out to be a small indoor cycling track where participants would race around in the drome as fast as they could in 10 laps. This was my first real underground cultural event in London, so it was really cool being surrounded by locals in a trendy cycling scene. The event was really fun to watch, the people were interesting, and being in a room surrounded by a hundred bikes was reminiscent of a dream I had as a young boy.
I did a quick little day trip on my own to Westminster where I just walked around the Parliament buildings, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, etc. and took some pictures. I hate looking and acting like a tourist, so being the guy with a Toronto Blue Jays hat on and a camera around my neck made me feel like my dad (no offense dad, but you do always wear CANADA on your chest whenever we travel). Regardless it had to be done, and I’m glad I did. It is arguably the most recognizable part of London, but it was amazing to see it in person. All of the views were incredible and I went on a clear day, which made the photography conditions outstanding. I figured going on a Tuesday afternoon would help avoid the crowds, but I could not have been more wrong. I don’t think there is a landmark in this city that ever gets a day off. People everywhere. I managed to fight the crowds though and got to check that off my list.
Last week I had my first concert experience. Arthur and I went to see The Walkmen, which is an American indy-rock band for those of you who definitely won’t know them. It was fantastic. The venue they were playing at was called the O2 Shephard’s Bush, one of the many venues in London, and it was gorgeous. It was an opera style set up with a main stage that had a large floor area, then 4 levels of balcony’s all lined with red velvet and extravagant sculpturing. We ended up on the first balcony and stood looking from side stage, which ended up being a really nice location. The opening band was great even though I had never heard of them and The Walkmen put on an amazing show. As we were sitting there watching the first band, Arthur said to me, “can you believe we are actually living in London, England?” It was so true, and in that moment I couldn’t help but smile. Seeing a band live in London was an unforgettable experience. And after a few, five, pints it was even better.
I have met up with my friend from home a couple times, Evan, who is living here in London. We spent a night in his neighborhood across town from where I live, where we went to a billiards pub and just drank and played pool. We also went out the other day and bought me a guitar for my time here, which he is going to buy off me when I leave (don’t worry parents). That was followed by dinner in Chinatown on a Friday night. And I thought Westminster was busy. Food was good though and I was extremely excited about the guitar.
Arthur and I headed over to Portobello Market last weekend. It really did live up to the hype. Incredible markets with shops and carts one after the other that went on for blocks. It took us almost 2 hours to walk from end to end. So many cool shops and plenty to see. We ended up being there on a chilly day so we couldn’t really appreciate everything when we were trying to stay warm. Great summer day trip though I’m sure. Will definitely be going back. Side note, sorry Dad for going to Notting Hill without you, but I promise I didn’t go see the ‘Blue door’ or try and find Hugh Grants book shop.
The most recent excitement in my trip came yesterday when I booked 2 trips. First is Amsterdam! My friend from back home, Ted, is coming to visit for a week and we have planned a trip to Amsterdam for a few days. After that I will be going to Dublin for St. Patrick’s Day! This has been something I have been hoping to do ever since I started drinking beer, so naturally I am ecstatic. I now find myself in a weird state of mind where I so badly want it to be 3 weeks from now so I can go to Amsterdam, or a month and a half to be in Dublin, but at the same time I am living in London, England so I don’t want the time to go by fast at all. Classic conundrum. Always wanted to use that in a sentence.
Other then those highlights, we’ve sort of formed a group of 5 guys, which I have been spending most of my time with. We meet up with the other international students when we go to the clubs or other events. There have been a couple party’s organized by the school for students and we have been going out to some of the famous night clubs in London. DJ’s and techno music is definitely not my scene, but I manage to get through the night as long as their is a pint in my hand. We all make the best of our situation, right?
I could keep rambling, but I fear losing your interest so I will wait until the next update. The above is the main stuff I’ve been doing and some highlight events, but I can’t truly describe my experiences because so much of it is just being immersed in the culture. It is an incredible town filled with character and I feel so lucky to have been allowed this opportunity.
I will try and upload pictures to the blog, but for anyone able I have a bunch of albums already posted onto my facebook. Feel free to take a look if you are interested.
I will have another update for you soon, but until then I miss you all and hope that you are doing well!
No Regrets.
Pete