London

 

Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, London, England. November 2010.

I love London! It's a big city, old, full of history and stories and layers. I could walk around there for weeks, exploring the alley ways and old buildings with my camera and notebook. What amazes me about the countries that have been around a lot longer than Canada, is the way that they build around their histories. They don't knock down old buildings to just put up a Wal-Mart with enough parking for you and 800 friends, or a gas station or mini-mall. I can walk almost anywhere in England and see historical buildings, buildings with character and stories. Even the old farm houses of the country-side are preserved or renovated, but not knocked down and paved over, covered with some modern monstrosity that maximizes time spent indoors. The old buildings seem so much more robust and sturdy than our modern developments. Not to say they have it perfectly figured out over there, but cutting costs, maximizing output in a given period and profit seem to be the rules of Canadian construction. I think all of our planners, designers and architects should have to travel to Europe and adapt the information they gather there to our beautiful landscape.

My recent trip to the UK pried my eyes open just a little bit wider than the previous adventure. Each time I travel, my thirst is quenched for such a short time, I find myself even more eager to get out there and explore than the last time. It's not like a drug (though many might describe it that way) - it's not damaging to my health or mind (quite the opposite really), and I wouldn't harm or betray people I care about just to do more traveling. It has, though, become something I can't live without - like food and water, for example.