I got back in London on Sunday and for some various reasons I have
to wander around the whole day before I can move in a place, where I am about
to stay for a few weeks.
I was afraid I would
be exhausted, because I woke up at 6am to get my Eurostar train, but it was
forgetting that it is always possible to transform a challenge into a source of
great experience.
First, there is an
element of luck, the wonderful light and sun that is currently embracing the
suffering rainy city I left a week ago. Then, thrilled by the luminosity, I
decided to take it slow and sat at the station for a coffee and some fruit
salad. Then, what usually never happens in London occurred, I started chatting
with people around me.
To my left sat a lovely
family come to pick up their daughter coming back from France. She was a
passionate traveller, just back from a few weeks spent in an internship at
Montreux Jazz Festival. She studied French literature in the UK and is
passionate about Simone de Beauvoir. She told me she expected to become a
'nomad' like me, and was currently a 'SDF', sans domicile fixe in French
(=homeless), moving back and forth in between London and Paris... It rinds a
bell!
On my right, in front
of me, a lovely French lady who spent 28 years in the UK, mainly in Oxford, and
is now settling back in Touraine, France. She told me about her years working
for Oxfam, in and out of Africa, before she became a columnist for the New
Internationalist.
After an hour, it was
time to get my luggage stored and explore the city. I headed to Covent Garden,
one of my favourite London square and walk through the neighbouring streets up
to Trafalgar Square to see how the heart of London was getting ready for the
Games starting in less than a week! While the National Gallery is still full of
visitors, the Square is already transformed into a giant music scene, and open
only from a few gated entrances. Olympic staff distributes maps of London and
flyers about the games from every side.
After enjoying a bit
of music and the funny busy atmosphere I decided to stop at Saint James's Park
for an hour with a packed lunch, where I could enjoy the sun and wait for a
friend on her way from North London to meet me. The whole of The Mall and
Whitehall are now blocked because of the roadwork still going on until last
minute before the Olympics, so I had to ask the way around to the City staff. I
there met with a British Nigerian who explained to me I had to turn around
until the Buckingham Palace entrance. He asked me where I was from I replied:
Paris... But I work here in London and travel most of the time… Like I
lived in Nairobi, Kenya, and goes regularly. He apparently liked it, told me
about his trip to Kampala, Uganda, which I love too and he talked about the
sunshine and women, stating how they could both be moody in England… It was
time to go. I replied that I, despite the fact that I am a woman, was like an
ever-bright sunlight, never moody, always smiley. I hope it will teach him
about gender issues.
After a nice walk along Whitehall, passing by Downing Street – the British
government’s headquarter for those who would not know – and the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office on King Charles Street, I was getting aware of the fact
that living in London, I always neglect this famous area and rarely took a walk
down between Westminster and Trafalgar Square… Well, mistake undone.
Unfortunately, I could not take pictures on my way,
overburden with a few bags and without my camera. I arrived at Saint James’s
Park where a melting pot of Londoners was seriously getting tanned: families
with wannabe-skater teenagers, hip-hop fans, a lonesome pretty girl in short
with her appreciated chihuahua, gay couples, etc. The sun
was so intense I got tanned myself! My friend found me sitting on the grass, we
gossiped for an hour, before heading to Piccadilly for a coffee.
Later on, by myself again, I decided that with the two other
hours I had to ‘kill’, I wanted to see a bit of Camden Town. I took the bus
from Leicester Square and ended up on Parkway, one of my favourite North London
streets. I walked around and elected a café to sit and read and tweet. The
place is called Yumchaa, is dedicated to loose leaf tea, but still served me a
cappuccino, and has a lovely site on Parkway, with unmatched chairs – which I
loved – and an amazing light coming from its glass rooftop.
Here is the only picture of that day:
And a link:
It was time to head back to Saint Pancras, but I had the
pleasure to meet up with another friend on the way, a talented writer/filmmaker
who was in town promoting a new project to English producers… What were the
chances?
Despite a troubled route, a disrupted overground train and a
slow bus, I ultimately reached my final destination, Stoke Newington, thankful
after a unique beautiful London day!
