"If Paris suggests intelligence," Pritchett once wrote, "if Rome suggests the world, if New York suggests activity, then the word for London is experience."
As the years pass, I believe more each time I go, that Pritchett was right. After all he was born there, lived there and died there. London, as he said, is profoundly about human and civic experience, the kind that shapes both present and future, more than any city I know.
VIEW FROM THAMES
Just look up from the Thames, the river that defines London, to Westminster for the proof: The view speaks of the past, while streets and sidewalks overflow with ever more new people and cutting-edge style.
London is now in a state of keen anticipation, getting ready for the 2012 Olympic Games. The hop-on-hop-off bus readily reveals fresh energy alongside its historic calm in a city of deep tradition and creative growth.
That's most evident in the old East End. Having long been London's somewhat neglected cousin, it's now the centre of fresh attention as the main location of the Games.
For decades it has been blossoming in artistic renaissance, all because several generations ago struggling artists moved in and have since moved up to open galleries, boutiques and cafes.
We stayed first in a peaceful apartment hotel, 196 Bishops Gate, then at a modern Crown Plaza on Shoreditch. Both gleamed in cleanliness and staff were efficient and gracious. Both places are on the edge of a particular East End neighbourhood I wanted to see: Spitalfields.
To many East Enders, it's the heart of the area, drawing its name from a hospital and priory (St. Mary's Spittel), which like its famous market, dates to the 1200s.
Spitalfields has always been a place of deep diversity as you'll sense passing a Huguenot church, a Methodist chapel, a Jewish synagogue and a Muslim mosque, all there for years. But now it's more evident.
CREATIVE ENERGY
In the mid '70s, large numbers of people from Bangladesh settled, some opening cafes that now thrive, like Curry Capital on Brick Lane, where we had Baga Bengal, fresh grilled fish tinged with spice.
But it's in the open air that East End creativity springs to life all summer and into fall through many street events: Tango dancing, music festivals (including one with performers from the fine City of London Sinfonia) and lunchtime concerts by people like singer Amelia Robinson, who has been at Carnegie Hall and on Broadway.
"There can be a misconception," Jacqueline French, a senior manager at VisitLondon, told me, "that London is on hold because of preparation for the Olympic Games. That's absolutely not the case. London is always evolving, always moving into its future trying to do what it does well, but even better."
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IF YOU GO ...
TO LONDON'S EAST END
For inquiries on London, see visitbritain.com. Also check britainforless.ca, for information on very economical packages. I recently saw one advertised for $969 per person, based on double occupancy, that covered air plus seven nights bed and breakfast at the centrally located, four-star Hotel Russell.
- For more information on 196 Bishops Gate, see 196bishopsgate.com.
- For the Crown Plaza on Shoreditch, see reservations@cplondon.com.
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