London is the center of the world. Thats right. I said it. After a half of century of America and specifically New York being considered the epicenter that is everything, New York has faded and London has taken its place. I dont even know if New York can be considered number two with all the development taking place in other foreign markets.
When i backpacked Europe and spent six weeks in London in 99 the exchange rate was roughly 1.5 dollars to the British Pound. London was expensive for me but nothing to think twice about. This time around, 8 years later the rate has exploded to 2.1 to pound and everywhere an American goes he/she is reminded how big the world is and how small America is. All the worlds money is in London. Everything is in London. With only 8 million people in London entire it is one of the most diverse cities in the world with a large population of Europeans, Indians, Pakistanis, Africans and more importantly Arabs.
I emphasize Arabs for one simple reason; money. I stayed at Loundes Square in one of the nicest areas of London (right near Harvey Nichols and Harrods) which is otherwise known as Dubai Square. During the summer months when the intense heat of Dubai reaches up to 120 Farenheiht most of the well to do crowd summers in London. Not only do they summer, but they vacation in a manner that rivals the best of the jet set. Ferraris and Lamborghinis abound all across London with Dubai license plates to register their owners. So not only do they travel to London, they ship their foreign sports cars as well for the three months of the season. I have never seen so many Luxury sports cars in my life. Funny how most of the women still wear their Hijabs. London in the summer is a perfect example of the Arab world reconciling with the West. Of course when it comes to money there is no balancing act, that is left for the middle and lower classes. Money is universal. It does go to show that Allah is sensitive to capitalism at the least.
As an American you cant even think of the US dollar when you are in England. A beer in NYC costs roughly 5 - 6 dollars. In london a pint will run you about 3 pounds in a pub but 5 pounds in a club (ten dollars). Many things in London will cost the same amount as they do in the states. What i mean is that if something is ten dollars in the states then it might be ten pounds in England (20 dollars). You are better off not ever converting otherwise you might find yourself hiding in your flat all night hoarding all the money you have left. You will be forced to spend money. England is just as consumer crazy as America. They spend their money and consume material goods just the same as Americans and they are just as celebrity crazy as we are except they have a larger pool of celebrities. Not only do they embrace our celebrities but they have their own base as well including some of continental Europe.
I have also decided that all of England must suffer from some form of liver failure at some point in their lives. They drink, alot. It will be noon and you will see the pub overflowing with suits consuming three pints for lunch before heading back to work buying time till happy hour. Unfortunately many of the pubs close at 11pm leaving most of the libatious crowd to seek a pint elsewhere, ie clubs. As of January 07 London has allowed late lichor licenses for pubs but many havent embraced that as of yet. Being so my friends and i were forced to a Planet Hollywood in Leicster Square so we could continue chatting and enjoying more drinks. I dont think i have ever been to a Planet Hollywood in the states (i dont know if we even have them anymore) but i thank Bruce Willis for his entrepenurial mindset in this case. Also i dont think Brits know what an Irish car bomb is considering when we ordered teh drink/shot they had no clue what we were talking about.
Also in England all generations co mingle. The drinking age is 18. I mean generally you wont find that many 18 year olds in some posh clubs with the older more affluent crowd (unless they are rich kids) but still every one mixes mostly. My 19 year old sister enjoys the lifestyle that my father affords her and she enjoys it well. While i was there we enjoyed the best restaurants and clubs in cluding the VIP table over at China White (apparently one of the more posh clubs). My 17 year old brother never was carded and partied like a rock star with all of my sisters friends. It was rather amusing to watch him dancing in the club by himself with women twice his age.
Lighter Notes...
Prince - Is the greatest performer living today. Basically thats all i have to say. At one point during the show he said "Im so funky i cant even sleep with myself" and he walked off the stage. Ive never said that, i can always sleep with myself.
Football - I trick all you Americans! No i didnt see an American Football match but isntead i went to a Premiership Soccer match because i really wanted to check out the vibe. I was lucky to see Fulham v Middleborough match and let me say, America has nothing on British Football fans. Nothing. They really put us to shame. Although it goes to show how diverse and still unevolved some of the people are when in the game programs they have advertisements that state "Stop Racism". There are many stories about fans calling many of the Black players "monkey" while they are playing which has caused great ire between the leagues players and fans. Unfortunately we have many of the same issues here.
Heathrow Airport - Might be one of the coolest airports and busiest airports in the world yet they are notorious for late baggage and losing baggage all together. I was the last to get my baggage upon my arrival. I had to wait over an hour before i got close to leaving the airport. Grizzled.
Architecture and Planning - The Tate Modern museum had a wonderful cities exhibit while i was there. It was a fascinating expose on some of the worlds top cities focusing on globalization, development, diversity, class, race, city planning and engineering amongst other things. London is amazingly well planned with a sprawling lay out mixed with urban areas and parks. I think the exhibit only goes for a few more days so all those in England attempt to check it out. London is beautiful, the buildings are older and have lots of history. You dont see the huge skyscapers in London that you see in NYC everywhere. Instead everything has much more of a neighborhood feel and much more character. Its a beautiful city.
Butts, Chins and Teeth - New York has beautiful people. And there are beautiful people in London but for some reason the Brits are generally predisposed towards flat butts, no chins and god awful teeth. How did that happen? Its really amazing.
In other news.. I might have a real job. Crazy
When i backpacked Europe and spent six weeks in London in 99 the exchange rate was roughly 1.5 dollars to the British Pound. London was expensive for me but nothing to think twice about. This time around, 8 years later the rate has exploded to 2.1 to pound and everywhere an American goes he/she is reminded how big the world is and how small America is. All the worlds money is in London. Everything is in London. With only 8 million people in London entire it is one of the most diverse cities in the world with a large population of Europeans, Indians, Pakistanis, Africans and more importantly Arabs.
I emphasize Arabs for one simple reason; money. I stayed at Loundes Square in one of the nicest areas of London (right near Harvey Nichols and Harrods) which is otherwise known as Dubai Square. During the summer months when the intense heat of Dubai reaches up to 120 Farenheiht most of the well to do crowd summers in London. Not only do they summer, but they vacation in a manner that rivals the best of the jet set. Ferraris and Lamborghinis abound all across London with Dubai license plates to register their owners. So not only do they travel to London, they ship their foreign sports cars as well for the three months of the season. I have never seen so many Luxury sports cars in my life. Funny how most of the women still wear their Hijabs. London in the summer is a perfect example of the Arab world reconciling with the West. Of course when it comes to money there is no balancing act, that is left for the middle and lower classes. Money is universal. It does go to show that Allah is sensitive to capitalism at the least.
As an American you cant even think of the US dollar when you are in England. A beer in NYC costs roughly 5 - 6 dollars. In london a pint will run you about 3 pounds in a pub but 5 pounds in a club (ten dollars). Many things in London will cost the same amount as they do in the states. What i mean is that if something is ten dollars in the states then it might be ten pounds in England (20 dollars). You are better off not ever converting otherwise you might find yourself hiding in your flat all night hoarding all the money you have left. You will be forced to spend money. England is just as consumer crazy as America. They spend their money and consume material goods just the same as Americans and they are just as celebrity crazy as we are except they have a larger pool of celebrities. Not only do they embrace our celebrities but they have their own base as well including some of continental Europe.
I have also decided that all of England must suffer from some form of liver failure at some point in their lives. They drink, alot. It will be noon and you will see the pub overflowing with suits consuming three pints for lunch before heading back to work buying time till happy hour. Unfortunately many of the pubs close at 11pm leaving most of the libatious crowd to seek a pint elsewhere, ie clubs. As of January 07 London has allowed late lichor licenses for pubs but many havent embraced that as of yet. Being so my friends and i were forced to a Planet Hollywood in Leicster Square so we could continue chatting and enjoying more drinks. I dont think i have ever been to a Planet Hollywood in the states (i dont know if we even have them anymore) but i thank Bruce Willis for his entrepenurial mindset in this case. Also i dont think Brits know what an Irish car bomb is considering when we ordered teh drink/shot they had no clue what we were talking about.
Also in England all generations co mingle. The drinking age is 18. I mean generally you wont find that many 18 year olds in some posh clubs with the older more affluent crowd (unless they are rich kids) but still every one mixes mostly. My 19 year old sister enjoys the lifestyle that my father affords her and she enjoys it well. While i was there we enjoyed the best restaurants and clubs in cluding the VIP table over at China White (apparently one of the more posh clubs). My 17 year old brother never was carded and partied like a rock star with all of my sisters friends. It was rather amusing to watch him dancing in the club by himself with women twice his age.
Lighter Notes...
Prince - Is the greatest performer living today. Basically thats all i have to say. At one point during the show he said "Im so funky i cant even sleep with myself" and he walked off the stage. Ive never said that, i can always sleep with myself.
Football - I trick all you Americans! No i didnt see an American Football match but isntead i went to a Premiership Soccer match because i really wanted to check out the vibe. I was lucky to see Fulham v Middleborough match and let me say, America has nothing on British Football fans. Nothing. They really put us to shame. Although it goes to show how diverse and still unevolved some of the people are when in the game programs they have advertisements that state "Stop Racism". There are many stories about fans calling many of the Black players "monkey" while they are playing which has caused great ire between the leagues players and fans. Unfortunately we have many of the same issues here.
Heathrow Airport - Might be one of the coolest airports and busiest airports in the world yet they are notorious for late baggage and losing baggage all together. I was the last to get my baggage upon my arrival. I had to wait over an hour before i got close to leaving the airport. Grizzled.
Architecture and Planning - The Tate Modern museum had a wonderful cities exhibit while i was there. It was a fascinating expose on some of the worlds top cities focusing on globalization, development, diversity, class, race, city planning and engineering amongst other things. London is amazingly well planned with a sprawling lay out mixed with urban areas and parks. I think the exhibit only goes for a few more days so all those in England attempt to check it out. London is beautiful, the buildings are older and have lots of history. You dont see the huge skyscapers in London that you see in NYC everywhere. Instead everything has much more of a neighborhood feel and much more character. Its a beautiful city.
Butts, Chins and Teeth - New York has beautiful people. And there are beautiful people in London but for some reason the Brits are generally predisposed towards flat butts, no chins and god awful teeth. How did that happen? Its really amazing.
In other news.. I might have a real job. Crazy