By way of background, I first came to London in 2001 to study law at the London School of Economics. The LSE is located in a very central part of London. My first halls of residence were right behind Tate Modern and at the time that area was very quiet. But once you crossed the river to go to class at the LSE (and cross the river we did) you found places full of life like the Covent Garden, Fleet street, St Paul's Cathedral and the Royal courts of justice. Whatever I did I always had a feeling that I was surrounded by history..by places at which important things had happened..in a way it inspired me..walking down the embankment always made me feel like I was part of a fairy tale..like I was walking from or towards some activity which mattered. I can't explain it in more words..it was a feeling of living the moment..
This Sunday
I had not been to the area in a while and therefore when M came up with the idea of heading to Covent Garden for coffee on Sunday afternoon, I jumped at it! Instead of having to take the tube/bus etc.. now we just hopped in the car which we parked near Lincoln's Inn right behind the LSE. Once in the streets of the LSE you could smell the exam fever..people were (just like 7 years ago) sitting in front of the library, having similar looks on their faces, having interesting conversations about not so interesting topics..
Magic..
In any event M is not the kind of person who lingers in the past or who loves strolling down memory lane (obviously I am) and therefore we kept strolling towards Covent Garden instead.
We bought coffee from Starbucks and sat on a pavement to listen pretty bad live music from some old musician. We watched the pigeons and the people (every weirdo in London will find themselves in Covent Garden on a Sunday afternoon). I felt free and worryless for the 20 minutes I sat on a pavement absorbing the little bit of sun which came out on a beautiful afternoon..and then it dawned on me..important things still are happening in this beautiful area. People are learning at a library near by, tourists are enjoying the music in a beautiful paved square, pigeons are annoying people as per usual...this area has some magic in it and no one could convince me otherwise..
