Traveling thru London for the first time I learned many bits of information. The information learned is some that simply cannot be taught. Living in London and absorbing the culture for the past week I have begun to see several unique societal traits that Londoners have that we as American’s do not.
Even with all the busy streets and loud noises, there are several beautiful areas within the near reaches of London. While we have explored the many areas of interest I have noticed several areas that appear to be safe zones from the chaos of the city life. Those areas are the multitude of parks we visited. Each park was unique in of itself, but they all shared one incredible characteristic, an overall calmness. When you walk into the park from the jungle of the city almost immediately there is a noticeable reduction in noise pollution. The people are no longer absorbed into their phones or running to the next tube station. Everyone is relaxing and taking in the sun, enjoying the beautiful scenery around them.
With all the business happening around, Londoners seem to find time for a smoke or a cup of coffee. The number of coffee shops on each block is astounding to me. While moving around London I probably passed around one hundred coffee shops, which I then proceeded to stop at about half of them. Coffee culture in London appears to be a very large one. Annually the hold a London Coffee Festival, which I attended. The convention mainly consists of a large variety of companies testing new kinds of coffee or displaying new coffee machines that are being developed. At the coffee festival, I tasted probably twenty different kinds of coffee ranging from mild roast out of an electric siphon coffee maker to a new Starbucks coffee that was injected with Nitrous Oxide.
My conclusion of the entire trip is that the people of London come from a large variety of cultures and countries. They know how to take a step out of the busy roads of the city and relax. And they almost like coffee as much as I do!
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