OK, folks, I've just finished reading all the paeans of praise to Paris, so let's hear it for London now. Some of us actually prefer it, you know. Maybe we are in a minority, but we are group. I saw someone comment to that effect a few days ago on fodors. <BR>So, I will start off. London is historic, back to Roman times and before. You can seen remnants of the Romans in places, like the cellars of old churches. The parks are huge and wonderful to wander in. Feeding the ducks in Green Park, near Buckingham Palace. Tea at any of the great places. The British Museum. Walking through the Inns of Court. <BR>I can be in London alone for days and enjoy myself. I can scarcely be alone in Paris and do that, because I am too lonely. I have to be part of a couple in Paris--hey, that's the way I feel, so sue me. <BR>The crispness and politeness of Londoners. The shopping. Going to the Tower of London before the crowd hits and pretending you are back four hundred years. I could go on, but why do you love London?

The pageantry and the guards parading and flags flying and all that good stuff. I love love love it!

Although I have only been to London twice, for a few days each time, I dream of being there often, always in a musty little book store near the British Museum! I think I loved most the sense of being connected to all the authors and historical figures who were the basis of my own civilization and language. I'll be back, and I'll use the great classics of English literature as my guidebooks.

"Mind the Gap" and "Look Left" signs printed on the street at the curbs! <BR>The theater ... the history ... just wandering down side streets and enjoying the neighborhoods ... Camden Market ... <BR>the canals ... Hampstead Heath ... the countryside just a short distance by train from London ... there is too much to list!!

London, what do I love about London? Everything. Taking long strolls at leisurely paces through Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, and Green Park. Seeing the 2000 year old Roman Wall inside of the Tower of London. Tea time, any where. Going to Westminster Abbey and just imagining all the people that have stepped through the doorway into this magnificant place. The palace guards standing in front of Buckingham Palace. Wandering around the food halls at Harrods wanting to sample everything. Turning the corner of a street and never knowing what wonderful little pub will be there.

LONDONERS!! <BR>They are stoic (the Blitzkrieg and IRA bombings have not rattled them); they are flaky (they eat jellied eels, for heaven's sake); they are classic (a monarchy that goes back, what, 4 billion years?); they are avant-garde (Beatles, London Eye); they are serious (Masterpiece Theatre, Charles Dickens, need I say more); they are wackos (Monty Python); they are sophisticated (Ascot, high tea); they are trashy (bum jokes and the Sun). <BR> <BR>

Going to the half-price ticket booth at Leicester Square and getting fourth-row seats for Rent. Wandering rapt among the displays at the old British Library (still can't stomach the sterility of the new one, sorry!). Exploring the miles and miles of "stuff" at the V&A. Bargain punnets of raspberries at Portobello Road Market--even in February. Lusting after practically everything at Liberty's. Haunting bookstores on Charing Cross Road. <BR> <BR>But what always resonates with me in London is the history. The Tower of London, touristy though it is, is always a must-stop for me because of my fascination with Plantagenet and Tudor England...I always stand and stare at Traitor's Gate and think of all the people who came in through that route and the many who never left. And I'm fascinated by the list book kept by the Warders, citing all the prisoners ever in the Tower. (I wish they'd market that one for sale!) <BR> <BR>And I have to confess to a strange love for that cheesiest of British morning shows, the Big Breakfast.

We agree, Gina. Your detailed descriptions are ovely.

Make that lovely, not 'ovely.'

Okay, as the Paris poster, I think it is only fair to share feeling on London. <BR> <BR>The view from St. Paul's Dome - 12 minute walk to the top but worth it!!! <BR> <BR>The National Gallery - especially the Impressionist area!

ABSOULTELY NOTHING!!! (sorry for shouting)

Where do you live in the UK, Sheila?

mine are (in no particular order) <BR>easy tube transport between Heathrow and central London <BR>free museums <BR>REAL Cadbury's chocolate <BR>Harrod's and Fortnum's food halls <BR>the bookstores <BR>digestive biscuits, scones <BR>afternoon tea (we have it here in New York but it's just not the same) <BR>theater, theatre and less-expensive than I'm used to <BR>television: long programs about cheese, <BR>all Star Trek all the time, the comedies,etc <BR>The Abbey Road street crossing in <BR>St John's Wood (Beatles fans will know) <BR>The Banqueting House <BR>Churchill's Cabinet War Rooms, awe-inspiring <BR>Christopher Wren <BR>Hello magazine (I'm ashamed to admit) <BR>the history, the history <BR>but not the prices, the prices! <BR> <BR>

What do I like about London? Hmmmm, well, not much, except the view from the Celtic, a small hotel on Guilford St, looking toward Russell Square, The Friend at Hand and the Museum Tavern (known in former days as YE DOG AND DUCK), misty afternoons in Covent Garden before the evening crowds arrive, <BR>creepy old Highgate Cemetery, The Old Curiosity Shoppe, Kronenburg beer, cod fillets with the skin still on, the sheer weirdness of Earl's Court, donner kabobs and fabulous Indian cuisine, the statue of Ghandi at Woburn Park, St. George's church near Bedford Square, rainy boat rides down the Thames to Greenwich, the aroma of Kew Garden, trains that run on time, the junk on Portobello Road on a Saturday afternoon, the gnarled old plane trees in just about every square, the silhouette of the Tower against a full moon, the bread, the cheese, the grass more vividly green than anywhere else I've been, Trafalgar Square and the multitudes of tourists and pigeons all under the constant gaze of the big, black lions, the National Gallery and hot coffee at Dean's brassiere. <BR>What do I love about London? <BR>Hmmmm. <BR>Give me a little time and I'll think about it.

Oh, yes, I believe I forgot Cadbury chocolate gateau's and Coleman's English mustard in a squeeze tube, 3 day Underground passes from a machine, page 3 (for you SUN readers), polite telephone operators, English school children in uniforms, roses with aroma, Chelsea, The Victoria-Albert, cabbies, pub crawls and the unwavering belief that there will always be London and there will always be England. There, that should do it.

I live in the north east of Scotland. That was not an anti English comment. It was an anti-London one. <BR> <BR>But life would be dull if we were all the same.

Actually, Sheila, I just guessed you didn't like London for real cultural reasons. Not everybody's cup of tea, eh? My husband didn't like London until he'd been there five times. But then, he didn't read all the English history and literature that I did. Still, he grew up in Canada and just thought London didn't look very different. He prefers Paris. To each his own...and all that.

London? You can have it. <BR> <BR>I'll take NYC instead any day. <BR> <BR>Oh, and by the way, I love English literature, history, and the countryside. London? YOU can have it.

Everything except the weather. I am a fan of London- the shopping's great, some excellent restaurants, walking through Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens. The people are nice and (i know some people out there will disapprove but) I like the fact that everyone speaks English- makes it that much easier to get around and unlike in Paris, no one assumes that I'm a tourist.

I lived in Hampstead, 20 minutes north of London for a year, and have returned many times since. I think I have a handle on the place, and I have "affection" rather than love for it--my passions are for Italy and some of the Greek Islands. But I do love the sense of history, the jumble sales, the Goring hotel and the roses.