Lucifer Devil Jr.'s Christmas Surprise... And Other Short Stories

Why I Hate Paris and Love London

The first time I saw London was during my backpacking days: I had just graduated high school and was taking one year off to explore the world before I planned on studying archaeology. My then boyfriend, who was aptly named Paris, joined me on my European tour.

Looking back, I cannot believe how innocent we were and how innocent and promising the world appeared to us in that golden summer of 2001. Even the song that accompanied us on our trip was titled "Come Along."

We were typical tourists exploring the city, I guess: We posed for pictures in front of Buckingham Palace, went shopping in Oxford Street, ate fish and chips and said hello to the mummies at the British Museum. But then again, we didn't stay for more than a couple of days.

Twenty years down the road, I am newly divorced and have just moved to London with my 4-year-old daughter, who thinks that it is terribly funny to imitate the British accent and is mighty good at it even though we have just been here for two weeks.

Of course, the fact that my ex-husband's name was Paris might put that town at an disadvantage, but London happens to be my favourite big city in the whole world. That's because you can make it your city and interpret its character in any way you want.

It does not have the romantic reputation that Paris has and that Paris never fails to live up to, which is especially bad if you are there on your own. London has its romantic corners though, and you can go visit them if you want to. For example, there is a lot of green in the city and even that a part of town that is called Little Venice. I also think that some of the old buildings such as the palaces and the Houses of Westminster have a certain romantic allure, a Downton Abbey-like feeling, to them.

But if you don't feel like experiencing romance in the city, that's fine, too. Paris isn't like that: Even the boutiques and department stores have a wicked romantic feeling about them and seem to have sprung out of a Balzac novel.

London, by comparison, can be a noisy, bustling town especially if you are taking the Tube to get from A to B as a lot of Londoners actually do, no matter how rich or poor they are. Which social class you belong to may matter a lot elsewhere in Britain, but it didn't in the Tube.

If you feel like going on a little comfort shopping spree, all you have to do is to walk down Oxford Street... But don't forget to bring your trolley if you're planning on doing some serious shopping! Or if you want to get into the festive mood during the summer months, you can go to Harrods and spend some time at the Christmas shop. I have never been to a kitschier place in my entire life!

There are a lot of places you can take your kids to in London apart from the "Toy Kingdom" in Harrods, the Disney store or the M&M's store: The parks, the typical tourist attractions like the London Eye, the Tower or Madame Tussauds. Seeing London through a kid's eyes means you'll discover the city from scratch again.

Then, there is the busy nightlife in the famous discotheques, the plays, musicals and concerts... Well, at least that was the case until last year. But there is no reason to believe that our lives won't go back to normal eventually.