"ONCE UPON A TIME... IN LONDON...." a London Travel Page by Krystynn

Ah, London! I like this city. I really do!

Having studied at an all-girls' Anglican mission school for most of my school life and having British-trained teachers drumming the importance of the English language into my head daily... I can't help but fall in love (eventually) with this beautiful language! I also adore Literature (yes, Jane Austen, Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy... the works!!), History and Geography.... I could never get bored learning them!! Having studied so much about Great Britain and her glory days in my History and Geography classes, it was inevitable that I would fall in love with this beautiful city and its people one day....

What you'd see on this particular page will mostly be my first impressions of London i.e. my very FIRST visit in the early 1990s. That's always the most memorable, isn't it?! And that's when you'd see the "country bumpkin" in me at my best! ;-)

London is truly a vibrant city.

Home to Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family; the legendary Tower Bridge; top Broadway musicals (aha, Phantom of the Opera", "Les Miserables", "Cats".... come to mind); the famous Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum where every well-known celebrity and notorious criminals have been immortalized in wax (wow!) and of course, good 'ole Fish & Chips. Yeah, NEVER ever leave London without tasting their delicious Fish & Chips! For lovers of 1980s Retro music, some of the BEST British pop groups/ singers like Annie Lennox, Thompson Twins, ABC, Swingout Sister, Howard Jones, Duran Duran, Tears for Fears, Spandau Ballet, Pet Shop Boys, The Beatles...hail from this great country. British music is cool, baby!

And if you are a football (aka soccer) fan, this is the city for you. FOUR of England's top flight clubs are located in London alone. Another reason why I adore London. Yes, I am a BIG football fan.

NORMALLY, I don't support any London clubs. The only other English club I support WHEN I am on English soil is Manchester United (no thanks to an ex-boyfriend of mine who was a HUGE Man Utd fan during his days at Nottingham University. That guy used to own quite a few Man Utd shares before the club was bought over by the filthy rich Glazers. And since that time 10 years ago, I have been avidly keeping tab of the Red Devils...).

Just for general knowledge purposes, the ONLY football club I support from my heart is AC MILAN (in Italy).

Oops, sorry to deviate... Back to the subject of Top London Football Clubs:

CHELSEA. I used to detest Chelsea cuz of the Special One (a name he coined personally - yes, I am referring to Mr Jose Mourinho). But eversince my beloved Andriy Shevchenko jumped ship from AC MILAN to join CHELSEA (no thanks to his American supermodel wife, Kristen Pazik, really), I have been quietly following this team. This club have been the dominant football club for the second year running since winning the English Premier League trophy. Now, with Sheva and Michael Ballack joining the team, they do seem invincible.

So, yes... if I do head to London soon, a dream weekend for me will be to catch a 'live' Chelsea match at Stamford Bridge. Il mio ragazzo, you reading this? (Big Hint). I am also keeping my fingers crossed I'd be able to bump into the legendary and handsome Andriy Shevchenko, John Terry (the new England Captain... Hooray!) and.... one of the wealthiest men in the world - Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea Football Club. For what, you wonder? To get their autographs, that's what. Hey you! What were you thinking?? Tsk!

The next world famous club to come out of London is - ARSENAL aka The Gunners. Their world famous French manager, Arsene Wenger has transformed the team from formidable to quite an invincible team. All this has been achieved on a shoestring budget. Back when Patrick Viera was captain of the team, the Gunners were the EPL champs. These days, they aren't that invincible though. Anyway, kudos to Mr Wenger for all the amazing work that he's done! What I also delight reading most to destress myself weekly (in the newspapers, of course) is his much-publicized outbursts with the managers from Manchester United (yes, that tyrant) and the Special One from Chelsea. Hilarious!

Next London club - FULHAM (owned by Mohammad Al Fayed, who's also the infamous owner of Harrod's). Sorry, I don't support this club and don't know much about them. From what I can see in the league table, I would rank them as a mid-table team.

And the last club to hail from London is TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS. I absolutely do not even bother to watch any of their matches. Most of the snobs (non-friends of mine, of course) seem to support Spurs. Hey, be nice and don't email me...

So, come along with me as we journey through the city of London together, shall we?

Footnote: The pictures you see here are taken predominantly from my very first visit to London in the spring of 1994.

To find out more about my personal views on this lovely city, please DO KEEP CLICKING to the respective sections within this page for more info and to view my personal photo album. Have fun and Happy Clicking. :-)

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Copyright © Krystynn 2006
Please do not take my personal pics without prior permission.
Thanks.