Mémoire - London Calling

                   

Well...

The name "London" comes from the Celtic word "Lyndon," which means "shadowy waters," referring to the Thames River. * ( although there are other theories too )

London is the world's foremost global city alongside New York City and the largest financial centre alongside New York City and Tokyo and one of the most important cultural centers. London's influence in politics, education, entertainment, media, fashion and the arts contributes to its preeminent position.

I got an opportunity to get acquainted with the city for 72 hours , the one which has it roots deep from the Roman times, rose from ashes several times after the great London fire of 1666 & aftermath of Third Reich bombings which nearly destroyed the city during WWII.

Recently London was named by New York Magazine as the capital of the world for the 21st century .

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Enough of trivia so now it's through my eyes..

I had made my plans , I think if u know before hand what exactly you are looking for while you visit a place it saves time , effort & u don't end up in a big shopping mall buying clothes etc...which you could be doing in any part of this world. A place deserves some respect so some research is worth especially for a place like London.

I was after History, Art & Science. The mission was :

The Royal Art Gallery The National Archeological & Pre Historic Museum The National Science Museum The Imperial War Museum

& the usual Westminster, Tower of London , Buckingham , Trafalgar Square etc...

Well at first glance what strikes you about London is that it aptly fits its name '' capital of the world for the 21st century '' , as you step into the Underground Tube Train which is the lifeline of the city the diversity you encounter is overwhelming. Indians , Tamils , Pakis , Afro Americans, Chinese , Irish , Punks , Junkies, Youngs Victoria Beckham's , James Blunts , Rappers,   Hookers ( list is big ) & off course the regular British Guy.

It bears an uncanny resemblance to Mumbai with its Victorian style buildings , the diverse crowd , the ghettoized locality & the corporate world co-existing amidst the same domains & a train system that's the lifeline of the city to name a few...

We ( with my colleague Prashant ) started off on a Good Friday , we reached London on stormy rainy morning, started with the The National Archeological & Pre Historic Museum. 

A huge queue awaited us , but we managed in. It had relics n remnants from the past 5000 or more years .

Archeology , Paleontology , Anthropology , Geography were the flavors of the museum.

To name a few favorites , there were some very old Dinosaur fossils ( T-Rex was the fav ) , Original scripts of Sir Charles Darwin , some very old amber rocks safely preserved & the kohinoor diamond.

& a lot more, but hands down the best were the chamber were they depicted the evolution of Homo sapiens thru 5000 yrs of past. Darwin might have proud of the presentation.

We called it a day & headed to our hide out at Canary Wharf (commercial heart of London ; home to Citi , HSBC , JP Morgan , Barclays ...list is long)..

We began our next day with National Science Museum where the high point was the original Nobel Prize medals of Sir J J Thompson & Einstein , The Sputnik & the world's First Particle Accelerator.

It was a playground for any Science guy. You has 500 yrs of Science from Copernicus to Roger Feynman laid in front of your eyes.

We made our move to Royal Art Gallery soaked in Van Gough , Monet , Michelangelo , Picasso & Raphaeel...

For first time difference between Post Modernistic & Impressionist seemed evident to me.

Well in middle of all this we also managed to loose 120 pounds playing Black Jack on the Westminster Bridge with a conman !! Adding some spice to the trip....

We started the third day with the Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Tower Of London etc...

But the real hoop was awaiting for us : 

It was the IMPERIAL WAR MEUSEUM, man u gotta be there to feel it..

World War 1 , 2 everything u have seen till date on Discovery & History Channel was infromt of your eyes.

The B12 Bombers , German Bombers , Patton Tanks , First Prototype of the Atom Bomb & the best a chamber which depicted the Rise of the Third Reich & 

The Holocaust.

Well the word & feeling is the just mind blowing. You come out feeling good about yourself coz how privileged you are not to worry about freedom , free will & the basic fundamental right which we all have got for free & most of us take for granted worrying about trivial issues of life which we often blow out of proportions..

After a while we took a quite ride on the Underground Tube back to Canary Wharf.

Samuel Johnson once wrote '“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'

I returned back to Worthing on the Sunday but the trip was worth every single dime & second spent.

Hats off to this Great City.