"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life"
"Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."
Samuel Johnson
Pues basicamente eso me sucede a mí. A pesar de haber estado ya en la city anteriormente, Londres es un sitio que nunca deja de fascinarme en muchisimos aspectos. Cierto es que visitar la ciudad con tu grupo de amigos hace que la vivas de una manera diferente, y más si es en invierno, con un ligero manto de nieve y la típica niebla londinense de por medio. Os traigo una pequeña recopilación inicial de fotos de nuestro viaje (haré una entrada mono tema sobre Camden y el Tate Modern , que viene siendo como mi paraíso terrenal, pero eso más adelante). Se nota que somos estudiantes de arquitectura, porque he tenido que filtrar como 100 fotos del barrio financiero. Espero que os gusten.
That's basically what happens to me. In spite of this not being my first visit to the city, London is a place that never ceases to amaze me, just like New York. It's true, that visiting a city, with your group of friends makes you get a different perception of it, and even more if it's winter, there's a white layer of snow covering the streets, and the typical London fog. I bring you a compilation of pictures of our trip (I'll be posting more about the Tate Modern and Camden Town, which are like my fav spots in Ldn). You can tell that we're architecture students, as I've had to browse between hundreds of skyscraper and buildings pictures. I hope you like my vision of London.
Como he dicho, no podíamos dejar de visitar los regalitos que ha ido dejando Norman Foster por la City, ni el estudiadísimo Lloyd's Bank, ni la Catedral de St. Paul. La atmósfera de la City, que recuerda al Financial Distict de Nueva York personalmente me encanta; sucesión de oficinistas trajeados que bajan de las torres a los múltiples Costa, Caffe Nero y Pret a Manger a tomarse el descanso y a fumarse el cigarro.
As I've said before, we couldn't help but visiting all the gifts that Norman Foster has left in East London, or the well known for us, Lloyds Bank, or St Paul Cathedral. The atmosphere in the City, which reminds me of Financial district in NYC, is something I personally love; business men who get down from their offices to the numerous Costa, Caffe Nero and Pret a Manger to take a break and smoke their cigarettes.
Nuevamente, no me voy a extender mucho en la maravilla que es el Tate Modern. Desde el conjunto del edificio, que para los no familiarizados con la arquitectura, es una obra clave, de restauración de una antigua central térmica, a la colección permanente, perfectamente equiparable a la del MOMA. En mala fecha fuimos, porque se había acabado la exposición temporal de Hirst, y la de Roy Lichtenstein aun no había empezado.
Again, I'm not going to write an essay about how marvelous the Tate Modern is. From the building itself, (for those who don't know, it's such a great restauration effort, which transformed and old thermal power station into this space), to the art collection. We went in bad timing, as the Hirst exposition just ended, and the Roy Lichtenstein had not begun yet.
Again, I'm not going to write an essay about how marvelous the Tate Modern is. From the building itself, (for those who don't know, it's such a great restauration effort, which transformed and old thermal power station into this space), to the art collection. We went in bad timing, as the Hirst exposition just ended, and the Roy Lichtenstein had not begun yet.
Oh, Picadilly. Oh, Oxford Circus. Digamos que el tema compras en Londres + maleta de mano de Ryanair no hacen una buena combinación. Aun así, cada uno nos llevamos embutidos en las trolleys todo lo que el espacio y el presupuesto nos permitía. Entre el Topshop / Topman, Urban Outfitters, los dos Primarks, los River Islands, y las decenas de creepers que se veían por todas partes, yo estaba al borde del colapso.
Oh Picadilly. Oh, Oxford Circus. Let's just say that the combo of London shopping + Ryanair's luggage restrictions it's not a good thing. This said, Each of us brought home as much as our bags and credit cards allowed. Between Topshop / Topman, Urban Outfitters, the huge Primarks, River Islands and the hundreds of creepers that were anywhere, I was about to collapse.
Imposible no visitar Camden Town, donde por fin conseguí encontrar una sudadera de Boy London de esas que no encuentras en Barcelona.
Impossible not to visit Camden Town, where I finally got a "Boy London" sweater. We couldn't make it to the Brick Lane as we only had 5 days.
La high class londinense. Buckingham Palace, la zona de Mayfair y la regencia, Trafalgar... Hicimos incursión en Harrods, aunque el hecho de tocar trajes de Tom Ford que se que no podré comprar hasta mínimo dentro de unos 15 años, pues como que no te levanta mucho la moral.
The high class of London. Buckingham Palace, Mayfair, the regency, Trafalgar Sq... We went to Harrods, but the fact of being next to Tom Ford suits I know I won't be able to afford until at least 15 years is not that fun.
Atravesando las hordas de turistas desenfrenados, conseguimos llegar al final de Portobello, donde está la zona más auténtica de Notting Hill, y de la que tan buen recuerdo guardo de mi anterior visita a Londres. Donde está el mercadillo de segunda mano, el graffitti de Banksy, y la tienda donde han estado Kings of Leon, Lana, Vicky Beckham entre otros.
We made our way along thousands of loud tourists, and we got to the real Notting Hill, at the end of Portobello, a place from which I keep really nice memories from my last visit. The second hand market, the Banksy graffitti, and the vintage store that has Kings of Leon, Lana and Victoria Beckham among their customers.
Han sido unos 5 días intensos, perfectos para aprovechar estas pequeñas y merecidísimas vacaciones tras exámenes que nos brinda la universidad. Y que mejor que convertirte en Londiñol por unos días. Hasta la próxima, London.
5 very intense days, perfect way to make the most of this short and well deserved holidays that university gives us. What a better thing that becoming a londonian for a few days. Till next time, Ldn.
All pictures by Pedro Sanz, Lucía Esparza & Beatriz Cereza
