I don’t think you’d be hard-pressed to find people willing to admit that London presents a number of paradoxes.

It’s huge, yet suffocating. Close-knit, but lonely. 8 million people, but impossible to meet anyone. The tourism advertisement just writes itself…

The last one is the one I want to focus on in particular. It’s something that’s really struck me – especially coming from Canada, the land of unlocked doors and apologies.

A few weeks ago, I spent the afternoon in Hyde Park with a group of Canadians, some friends, some strangers. It made me laugh when I ended up making plans to hang out the next day with one of the girls I had just met. INSTAFRIENDS. But that’s how we do – if you like someone, why wouldn’t you be friends with them? Why deal with the year-long acquaintance zone (equivalent of the “we’re just seeing each other” stage perhaps) the Brits seem so comfortable with. To confirm I wasn’t extrapolating too far, I asked a few English friends and they admitted that no, they certainly would not spend solo time with someone they had just met the day before.

But I digress – all that to say London can be really lonely and challenging for introverts, who may find it difficult to connect with people in ideal situations.

Or is it?

I had THE most wonderful day yesterday. I went to Greenwich, perused the market, drank some Horchata, met some market vendors, bought some treasures,enjoyed a Byron milkshake and Nando’s wrap in the sun – all by my lonesome. But it was AMAZING. And that’s when I thought – maybe London is a city for introverts after all. People who can wander by themselves and just take it all in. Notice and experience things in a different way because they use the silences for good. People who can enjoy.

And enjoy I did.

LT x