"London" a London Travel Page by smschley

In the USA no matter what ethnic group you come from, once you start school you start feeling English. From our history books to our sense of literature we find ourselves becoming Anglo-Saxon and London is the heart of this Heritage. My first trip to Europe was here to London. I was very apprehensive about visiting any other country because of language issue. This decision seemed to bite me when we landed at the airport and I went to the train station to ask about which train to take downtown. The man behind the glass enclosure started speaking and I had no clue what he was saying

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Entertainingly to me, London, situated in southeastern England along the Thames River, was actually started as a Roman outpost in 43AD in their conquest of Britain. After the Romans left, the city fell into a decline and was left in ruins. Eventually the city was rebuilt and many villages sprang out. Today what you have is really 33 of these villages that came together and became one. This is really noticeable when looking at a city map where the streets look to be laid out by a drunken sailor. If you have a street name you better look up which borough it’s located in because the same street name can be used 33 times. Streets also may change name multiple times within a very short period of time. Watching people driving with a map in front of them is good sport

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With a population of about 7 million, this vast metropolis is by far the largest city in Europe, a distinction it has maintained since the 17th century. In the 19th century it was the largest and most influential city in the world, the center of a large and prosperous overseas empire. London’s metropolitan area extends for more than 30 miles at its widest point, covering some 620 sq miles and is divided into 33 political units (32 boroughs and the City of London). The City of London is the historical center of London.