A Love Letter to London

London is a hard city. By that, I don't mean it's difficult. It's...gritty. A little rough around the edges.

When you think of Paris, you think smoke and cafes. Proposals. Patisseries. Washington, DC has a much higher crime rate, but the impression it typically leaves is a bit impersonal, politicians with their heads in their Blackberrys. Cold marble buildings. Wide streets with plenty of room to avoid your neighbor.

London is a huge city, but in a way it's also quite small. The streets are narrow, the buildings are small. It's crowded. It's easy to get overwhelmed here. It's also, however, quite easy to love once you settle in. Everyone can be a Londoner. There are probably more nationalities here than anywhere in the world.

The parks are lovely, the bridges imposing, the buildings charming. There's never a lack of things to do or see. Samuel Johnson said, "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life." I'm definitely ready to go home, but part of me will always miss this city: wandering down streets with three names, popping around a corner and seeing another famous facade, catching a ride home in a famed double-decker bus. It's easy to get used to, but leaving a place always makes you realize the things you'll miss.

So, on that vaguely annoyingly sentimental note, here are a few photos from my last tromps around London. See you all across the pond!