An old but still dynamic city

After a few rainy months, it seems the weather finally decided to take a positive turn here in London. Since I came back from Beijing, I have been embraced by sunshine and blue sky, which certainly has made the old city more attractive. Yesterday evening, when I was walking around with a friend in leicester square area, I asked him how long those old buildings will be around, "do people get worried that those buildings will be knocked down one day and replaced by some new modern but less stylish high rise buildings?" he said "I guess people just assume they will last forever, or at least in your life time. " Well, I certainly hope they will, since they are part of the appeal of the city.

The view of London from a plane is quite different from New York, for the most part, London feels like an old city, but once you are inside the city, you feel the vibre, the ever moving spirits in the air. The European immigrants in recently years certainly contributed to this dynamic scene, and makes it more well positioned to claim the title as the capital of Europe - although I am sure the French would argue that Paris is the real cultural capital of Europe.

Going, going, going, gone...this is an ad I saw at London underground, quite an eye catching ad, a quick snapshot of the pace of life here. The musicians in the tube (especially the ones in Picadilly circus and leicester square) are one of my favourites in the city, I got a mental boost when I heard the music when walking in the crowd coming out the tube. And then I often think of the movie "Notting Hill", and what Julia Roberts said at the end of the movie (during a press conference when someone asked her how long she would stay in London), "Indefinitely", she said.

Having been moving around between three continents in the past 8 years, I started to think maybe it is time to settle down in one place, it is fun to be able to experience different cultures in your twenties and early thirties but maybe it is not such a bad idea to set your foot in one place when desire for thrill and adventure has slowly been replaced by the desire for a relatively easy and stress free life style. Maybe I am getting old? An reality still find it hard to accept!