I am in love with London already.

I have been in London for a little less than a month and I am absolutely in love with the city. There is something so liberating in the air here. Now this could also be associated with the fact that I am living an independent life for the first time and while this can be a lot of fun, it can also be very exhausting at times. There are days when all I want to do is crawl into my bed and have mummy make me some hot soup and daddy come in and take care of all my problems. And there are days when I absolutely love my newfound independence and wonder why I didn’t do this earlier.

Today I thought of listing down a few reasons as to why I love London at the moment. This list is an early indication and who knows, in a few months, I might want to strike out some things and think to myself why I liked them in the first place. So keeping in my mind that it’s only been a month since I got here, they are:

1. LSE. The school ranks first on my list because right now I am absolutely in love with the place. It was my dream school and I am very happy to be here. This might be partially blinding me to its flaws at the moment, but I am sure that I will write about them at some point later.

2. The pubs and bars. It’s amazing how you have a pub or a bar at every nook and corner of each street. There’s not a single street that I walk through without crossing at least two pubs. And it is quite interesting to watch these bars fill up within minutes from 5 pm onwards. The Three Tuns and George are the prime destinations for LSE students.

3. The Walk. I walk daily from my residence (Lilian Knowles) to the school. It takes me about 40 minutes on an average to get to school and on a very good day, I can manage in 30. And it’s absolute bliss to walk in the cold with the cool air on your face. It is quite a struggle to move at the super fast pace of the city. At times like these I wish I had longer legs as I feel like a waddling duck trying to run to get to school. Everyone seems to be in a rush and if you are someone who prefers to stroll then walking during peak hours is not meant for you.

4. Daily glimpse of St Paul’s. I cross St Paul’s cathedral on my way to and back from school. And each time I get to the cathedral, it makes me feel better about the fact that I’m halfway through to my destination depending on whichever side I am going to.

5. Tower Bridge. For some inexplicable reason, I love Tower Bridge. One weekend a couple of us decided to walk to Tower Bridge and we realized that we lived 20 – 25 minutes walking distance from it. Today, I had my first run here and before I realized it, I had reached the bridge. So I ran on the bridge and back. It was great to run across the bridge in the cold and then stop on my way back to stand and take in the sights.

6. Markets. The city has a history of wonderful markets, some of which are tucked into tiny little corners where you might have to slink your way around to reach them. I haven’t been to any many markets here except for Spitalfields because we live right next to it. But I have heard a lot about the markets here and I intend exploring that as soon as I can.

7. Public Transport. I suffer from acute claustrophobia, which is why I prefer to avoid the tubes and walk as much as possible. I know it is very silly because I won’t have an option once winter sets in. However, I am very much determined to avoid them as far as is possible. But, I do love the double decker buses in the city. I grew up on a diet of English storybooks and the double decker buses were a prominent feature in them. I feel like I own the world on days when I take the bus and get a seat on the top and right in front.

8. Free Newspapers. Every morning when I head towards Liverpool Street, I encounter a gentleman who stands with magazines and a bright Good Morning. He is there every single morning without fail. As I cross the street, I am inundated by two people, one of whom hands out free Timeouts and the other a free Evening Standard. Yet further down, there’s another man who hands out yet another paper. I don’t mind because I can put the extra newspapers to good use in my room at the residence. After all anything that is free can’t be bad right.

I think the list might be endless so I will stop here. There’s still so much more to do and see in London that this list might just become a compilation of my 100 reasons why I love London.