London is one of the great cities of the world. As the capital of the largest empire in history, London was the center of the world for a long time. I think about the Industrial Revolution and all of the great scientists, explorers, authors, musicians, etc. who called the city home. Amazing! The city oozes history and there are so many iconic sights to take in. I’ve been lucky that one of the biggest international school recruitment fairs is in London, so this was my third visit. Every time I visit, I see another facet of London and I’ve only scratched the surface.
London’s importance in the world has slowly declined along with the British Empire. City officials and UK leadership have been desperate to keep it an international financial hub, but other cities and regions of the world are taking over. It felt a little bit like a museum when we exited the underground at Trafalgar Square. It was mostly tourists and comparable to Times Square in New York. There is still a lot of wealth in London, but it dropped to number 5 in the world. The UK leaving the European Union didn’t help and banks and investment firms welcomed investments from dodgy clients (ex – Russian oligarchs), it hollowed out the city in recent years.
We had time to kill before our flights after the fair so we visited the British Museum. I like to call it “The Loot We Stole While We Ruled the World” Museum. Like the Metropolitan Museum in New York, you could spend days taking in the different eras of history. It was amazing to see in person the Rosetta Stone, Roman and Greek statues and friezes, Egyptian mummies, etc. Having all these relics in one place gives one a sense of the span of world history.
The best part of this visit was to share it with my son Oliver! We had a great time together and it was cool to combine work with family. He was very helpful at the job fair and is old enough to take care of himself. It gave me great pleasure to take him to the home of the English Premier League, a dream trip for him. It is the cycle of life and seeing the world through a young man’s eyes is always special for me. I won’t see him until May when we go to his brother’s graduation.
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