London

I just spent a week in London, my first time there and my first time to Europe. Thank you to the 50+ people who provided advice, so much of it was valuable and led directly to us doing things we would not otherwise have known about. I do not believe you can make sense of a place in one visit, much less have a firm understanding of it; it took me years of regular visits to wrap my head around New York City and as many times as I've been to Vegas, I still don't think I actually feel like I know it. Nevertheless, here are my initial random reactions to London. Holy shit, what a city. Compares favorably to New York on nearly all dimensions for me. Just interesting neighborhood after interesting neighborhood. A snap to get around on foot or subway. A shocking mix of old and new. History everywhere. Art and architecture everywhere. I even liked the food (see below). I usually prefer mid-size cities that operate like large towns; most of the big American cities I find disappointing and/or a…