London

London isn't a particularly sexy city - but then, I've never been attracted to cities. They are always too busy, too jarring, and there is invariably a certain sameness that threads its way through the streets and blinks down at you from lurid storefronts, no matter which part of the world you are at.

Still, London does have its own charms. The weather as you'd expect isn't one of them.

What is, is the juxtaposition of architectural styles evident everywhere downtown. While I'm no expert on architecture, I can appreciate how these old buildings were repurposed and carefully maintained through the ages. There is a staggering amount of detail everywhere you look, each a vestige of bygone days.

On our last day there, we took a long walk from our hotel at Victoria to Borough Market, passing by the Eye and Big Ben.

There was a most pleasing paella and salted beef sandwich at the Market, but by far the best memory I have is of the buskers along the promenade. There were sand sculptors, limbo dancers, rock bands, and even a violinist in an acoustically perfect underpass. It was virtually impossible to be bored. A weirdly artificial mint soft serve did temper the enthusiasm for a while, but a group of Ethiopians dancing to a feverish tempo quickly brought the mood back up.