This post is long overdue as I have now been in London for nearly two months, but I I want to reflect on my first impressions of London. Below is the Tower of London, which is two blocks from our apartment. I still find it somewhat surreal to walk past it every day. The right third of the photo is a piece of the London Wall still standing and of course crossing in front of the castle is a very common site in London- the red, double-decker bus. This is one of the first photos I snapped here and it sums up one of my first impressions, being that this city has many juxtapositions of new and old. The city is so much older than cities in the US and you can see that history everywhere you look.

I have been in old cities before, but what really makes London interesting to me is that it is not a static city. Many old monuments are preserved, but new construction is going on constantly. We live in The City, which is the financial center of London. We are surrounded by bizarre looking new buildings that have taken on amusing nicknames, in true British fashion, like the Walkie Talkie, the Gherkin and the Cheese Grater. These three buildings can be seen in the cityscape behind The Tower of London.

This one is actually called The Shard- it is not a nickname, but it does look like a shard of glass. It is currently the tallest building in London.

When we first arrived and were recovering from jet-lag, setting up our new apartment and adjusting to our new life, I watched the Harry Potter movies. They’re British, after all, and the British love Harry Potter. Many scenes from movies and television shows can be recognized in London. An early scene in the first movie was filmed right by our flat in Leadenhall Market.

And a scene in The Half Blood Prince was filmed on the Millennium Bridge. This used to be called the Wobbly Bridge, because it actually was unsteady, so it was rebuilt to embody that wobbly feeling.

We’ve enjoyed British humor, from our new friends to shop keepers to local television to street advertising.

When I first moved here, one of my favorite things to do was just wander around and get lost to see what I would discover. I have always wanted to live in a big city and be surrounded by the vibe offered in big cities, from the art to the graffiti and skate parks to the musicians and specialty food shops.

Of course, as cliché as these images are, it is really something to stand in front of the iconic buildings and structures in London, and they invariably form a strong first impression  to every newcomer. Here are a few shots of the Elizabeth Tower (which everyone calls Big Ben, but that is the name for the bell inside it), Parliament, The Eye, Tower Bridge (crossing the Thames River, where I often ran when I first arrived), the inside of Shakespeare’s Globe Theater (where we saw a lovely play in the open air called Last Days of Troy) and for good measure another photo of the Tower of London.

On our first weekend, we went to Borough Market. It is a wonderful food market near us that I have fallen in love with. I want to do a more in-depth post on just this market later, but here is a teaser of how beautiful and delicious it is. Another wonderful early impression was how wonderful the food is in this city, and I am not just talking about the Indian food. To everyone who warned us of how bad the food is here, y’all are crazy and out of date! London has become one of the food capitals of the world, enriched by all the different nationalities found here. We rarely have a bad meal. We’ve enjoyed Indian, Italian, French, English, Afghan, Lebanese, Chinese, Thai, Japanese and even some American, to name a few.

Another first impression is how colorful the city is in summer. I always thought of London as rather concrete, but in fact there are beautiful flowers, including a lot of lavender, and gardens and parks wherever you look.

We went to Kensington Gardens, one of the Royal Parks, our first weekend. It was a beautiful day, and everyone was out enjoying the sunshine. Kids were playing, lovers were cuddling and families and friends of all nationalities were playing games or having picnics. We brought a baguette, some wine, cheese and olives from Borough Market with us. We also brought Evan’s guitar. It is still one of the more memorable afternoons I have had here.

I also noticed several photographers working in the park. It further inspired me to seek out doing some portraits in this beautiful city.

My first impressions of this city would not be complete without mentioning football, by which I of course mean soccer. The world cup was happening in our first weeks here and everyone was excited, even after England lost. I was impressed by how attentive everyone was watching the games. One of our fond memories was watching the Holland-Croatian game in a Lebanese restaurant with the owner. It was almost more fun watching with people of different nationalities who were all rooting for teams they had no relation to. We really got into watching the games.

The city really is very diverse. There are people here from all corners of the globe. I must say, it feels like much more of a melting pot than America. Here a family gathers to smoke hookah at the park.

We did venture outside of The City and central London in our first weeks, thanks to our friends Heather, Michael and Nick. They showed us around their neighborhood, Islington, which is much more residential and has a completely different vibe. They had Evan, my friend Sarah who was visiting and myself over for a delicious dinner of lamb burgers and some of Heather’s famous side dishes. I love their garden and the stray cat, who has been lovingly called Toothless, after the dragon in How to Train Your Dragon. It is wonderful to be in the same city as one of my best girlfriends and we are lucky to have a built in network here. It was also nice to explore the city with Sarah, pictured below, in our first weeks.

There is so much more to say about this magnificent city. It continues to grow on me as I discover new neighborhoods, meet new people and learn more about the culture here. This is merely a glimpse into my first impressions of London. For now I will say goodnight and close with some shots of the city at night.