sistawendy | random observations from Islington

I just slept for eight hours out of the last twelve. Go me? I know better, however, than to be sure that I've vanquished jet lag just yet.

The locals might be dismayed to hear that Islington, where I'm staying, reminds me quite a bit of Newtown in Sydney: lots of small, trendy-ish shops & restaurants, densely packed, on an IDGAF street plan. Islington seems less hippy, though, and it feels as if it's in a bigger city, as it is. There are more people on the streets, and there are men in suits.

But what you won't see in Sydney is a good-sized 18th-century church (St. Mary's) with a "church garden" attached that's essentially a lovely, secluded public park, where people walk their dogs and play with their kids. There are rose bushes on one side, and what look like a few scattered sarcophagi on the other because of course there are. I've heard it said that nothing in London is just one thing, and I've already seen evidence of that.

A note on how to walk in London: Americans walk consistently on the right. Australians walk consistently on the left. Break those rules and you're likely to smack into somebody. Londoners, however, don't display much consistency, at least out on the streets. In the tube stations, though, are signs telling people to keep left, and they do. That's a good thing, because it can get crowded down there, even at 1430 or so.

Speaking of tube stations, King's Cross beats Chatelet in Paris for, you know, getting around; the two seem to handle comparable traffic volumes. The Brits just designed theirs better. Sorry, Frenchies.