Updates from London, England coming to you on the airwaves from the "other" London! Tune in tonight!

Doing the tourist thing in London, UK. Clockwise from top:
Trafalgar Square, a typical London phone booth, Big Ben,
tourists in London's West End.

For the past month or so, our good friend Aaron has been sharing a weekly update of our travels with his listening audience on London, Ontario's "Inspiration Station" 99.9FM. If you're in London, Ontario you can tune in every Monday at 9-10pm EST (a repeat airs every Wednesday at 10-11pm EST) and folks in other parts of the world can listen in online via the live stream.

This week's update is about our experiences in London, England. It also turned out to be a love letter of sorts to the "other London",  London, Ontario. Given the subject matter, I thought I'd share this week's update here along with some supplementary pics showing side-by-side comparisons of the two cities.

Cheerio from London, England!

It's hard to believe that a whole week has passed since we arrived at Heathrow! We've been filling our days visiting the city's many attractions. After all the extraordinary experiences we had in Iceland - our previous stop on our around the world journey - it's feels a bit anti-climatic to be treading the beaten path of regular tourist haunts, but we're having a fine time, nonetheless! So far we've enjoyed most of the usual touristy "must-dos" - Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Buckingham Palace, the National Gallery, Oxford Street, etc. If you have visited, or know anyone who has visited London, England, I expect you're familiar with the routine.

Coming from the "other" London, our interest in these iconic attractions is heightened by our curiosity about how the "originals" compare to the familiar "facsimiles" we hold near and dear to our hearts. How does the first Covent Garden Market compare to our Covent Garden Market located in downtown London, Ontario? Will we find counterpart versions of our favourite London, Ontario Covent Garden Market eats? Gelato? Yes. Sushi? Yes. Burek? No.

If we need a rest, should we seek out a quiet green place along the River Thames as one might along the Thames River in "our" London? We found out the answer to this one is yes…and no. We did manage to find a bit of green space, but there were plenty of camera-toting tourists around to keep us company. In this London's West End, St James's or Hyde Park are better places to seek out a bit of greenery and solitude.

As expected, the first and "original" London actually has very little in common with our beloved "other" London. A multitude of namesakes aside, one could go on and on about how different the two cities are. Of the many differences, the most important is that London, England is a fabulous city to visit as a tourist and London, Ontario is where we go to reconnect with our roots and spend time with our amazing friends and family, including you, Aaron! Miss you guys!

'Til next week.

Joyce

Covent Garden Market in London, UK on the left,
Covent Garden Market in London, Ontario on the right.

River Thames in London, UK on the left,
River Thames in London, Ontario on the right.