Once you get started...

(wrote it 1st March, 2005)

Well... there is so much to say...!

I'm living in a residence, International Hall, central London, 10 min. walking from Oxford Street. Is quite central, believe me. This place is a small craziness, as I believe all the students halls are, where is always somebody around, something to do. Meeting new people has never been so easy. You're warned, if you're feeling lonely apply to some residence and life will get a different colour (mine went from blues and oranges from the sunset in Costa da Caparica, to the grey and pale blue of London... but my yellow shirt and the red one help me not to pass unnoticed in this city and make it more pretty ;)

To try to avoid the monochromatic idea of this city, yesterday I enjoyed the sun (aleluia!) and went for one more recon tour. This time I only walked for 3 hours, but they were worth it. The arrival at Westminster made my chin fall, for the magnificence of the buildings, the wide avenues, for the magnitude of everything. I kept going towards Thames to help my chin fall a bit more when I saw Parliament Square and Big Ben. I've heard about people that were disappointed with Big Ben, that after all is just a clock, that isn't as big as they imagined... I start to get suspicious that they probably have a bedroom in Vatican and that this doesn't amaze them. With the simplicity of my home town, Costa da Caparica, in my blood (without the bad taste and the mess at weekends when the "wanna be's" go to the beach) I kept stood for 10 minutes, just contemplating. I kept on, going to the other side of the river, walking along Thames, passing by the Aquarium, London Eye and once again I decided to use one of the park benches that are around. This one had written on a plate "Because everyone needs a break to think", and that's what I did. I spent 20 more minutes admiring everything, feeling on my face the little sun that still was and thinking "man, maybe I'll really enjoy this city... unbelievable!" (this is so typical of someone who doesn't have obligations... I still have two more weeks of vacations, just hanging around, because I only start my training period on the March 15th! I feel a bit useless.... NOT! :) Passing by me, a dad with his kid, this one totally happy pushing the kid's trolley where she should be seated instead, I smile at the situation and get in return a hard look from the dad. This one is from London, for sure. The englishman who live in the centre of London aren't many, they are either students or rich people in a bad mood (well, with the cold weather they have, I'm not surprised! the cold just freezes their face and even if they want to smile, they can't), all the rest is just like a big melting pot….

Back to the hall I meet some more new people, which I can hardly remember their names (the guy's ones, obviously) and after-dinner I join the Salsa class. Yep, that's right, I had to travel all the way from Portugal (3900 km, straight line) to learn how to dance Latin rhythms. It was very cool, again I met loads of people and it's always pleasant to have many "chicks" with whom to dance. In a matter of fact, because I'm tall and all of them were wearing small tops made it difficult for me to keep my eyes where it is more morally correct. Details... I had a great time!

Keeping up the level of "many things to do and everything's happening at the same time", I just came from the room of an Iranian girl (!) - they really have people from everywhere - where there was a really cool mood, people talking, R'n'B in the stereo and a xixa with "tutti-frutti" tobacco giving some aroma to the room and to our lungs.

Well, I'm already becoming boring. Short version, I'm enjoying the mood of the city and even if the weather got crappy again today, snowed a little bit and that shitty stuff people always complain about London (the weather, is always the weather) things here, don't stop!

Now I'm in a mood to buy some speakers and a CD player to make my room a room "my way" (the amplifier should be coming in just some days)

guess where the next party's gonna be??

Cosmopolitan City

(wrote it on February 28, 2005)

I'm starting to understand the city's groove. Here don't lack things to do. Strolling along the London streets is already some inspiration for a good laugh just because of the people who cross my way. I won't explain, just saying that are tons of people around, it makes it easy enough for many of them to be "strange". This on my way to the restaurant "O Fado", where I had an excellent steak, with the typical fried egg on top, having Amália as a company, and pushed down by a Super Bock (Portuguese beer), while chatting with António (a bon vivant from Angola, supporter of the life that London has to offer during the last 21 years, fan of Jazz, expensive watches and ties, visits "spread the seed" to the south of Asia - sponsored by the presidency of Portugal (it's true... I think that I end up meeting some of the big ones in London, a place where crossing with some hangover Jude Law on a Sunday morning coming from a club is a reality) - and that has the £25 needed to get into Ronnie Scott's (a place where who's someone in the world of Jazz has played)). Well, I was saying that on my way through this East area of the city is easy to see passing by all the top models of all the brands I know, are they cars, women, or whatever. Cosmopolitan is the right word.
The night at Koko had excellent electro moments, where Trevor Jackson, 2Many Dj's and DJ Tiga made loads of people move... well, at the beginning was more complicated. These people from here seem that can only have fun while drunk, even if the music is of high quality. In spite of the night only kicked off at 23 (late for the standards) and the club being full, the dance floor was empty, leaving DJ Manhead spinning his LPs just to give some mood at the club. Here is the place to see big characters (a guy with his head shaved leaving only two pig tails of hair over his ears till his shoulders, like a poodle, takes the first prize), the girls really dress like it's Summer, but even so, are still British girls.... When Tiga stepped on stage to start with his set, the women crowd freaked out... strange...
Next day, non stop. Waking up at lunch time, eat, meet lots of people at the Student's Residence reception, go up to my room to get something warmer and join the group to go for an exhibition, "Turks", about the history of the Turk empire from 600-1600, warm my face with a late afternoon sun that was a bit shy (but it showed up!), coffee with the survivors from the culture dose, at Starbucks (well, I guess I'll have to get used to pay £2 for a shity coffee, served in "breakfast milk" mugs), short walk in Green Park and Hyde Park with another Portuguese girl and a Serbian guy, an espresso at Bar Italia (very good, well brewed and with the typical italian style, but still for the same £2 of Starbucks... I'm fucked!), dinner at a Moroccan with xixa and tea included (for the modest amount of £20 each) with one greek and a "local" who joined us - the price is directly proportional to the pleasure the dinner gave me ;) - and a small dancing moves at "Freud", a bar where "Pixies rules" and where every week they show a new art work from some unknown Londoner.
I think that if end up not liking this city, for sure is not for being boring!

The beginning...

(Wrote on February 25, 2005)

What a depressing city... luckily it's just the first day! Watching snow falling can be pretty, at home, of course. Also, walking along the streets can be nice, but in London... in the cold... in the middle of hordes of people! I need to bring the Sun to this people!
You can see amazing things, a man running with lycra shorts and a t-shirt, with negative temperatures and while snowing. I head for Hyde Park, and there yes, it starts the hardcore scene, there are more the ones who're running, and plenty with small shorts and t-shirt... An old man passes near me, running. But this one is smarter, he's wearing a jumper. Somebody with some brains!
The first impression is that everything is huge. I walked for nearly 4 hours on very wide streets, full of people, endless streets that in the map seem tiny. The shops are great! I went to a shop of adventure gear (mountain wear, backpacks, maps, compasses and likewise) and everyone was friendly, even after I said I wasn't going to buy anything, just watching, I had a class about "Gore-Tex" and different models of rain-jackets. It's a little like Morocco but the opposite, here they just want to show and explain, not for selling!
In the meanwhile, already searched where is the "Rough Trade", a music store where I'm going to buy the ticket tomorrow for a crazy night at Koko. And I haven't been here for 24 hours yet...