A Long Kiss Goodnight

It has been too long for me to justify my reasons for not writing a blog, so I won't bother. Last month I was on holiday to Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands and had an incredible time in all those places. I highly suggest you visit Copenhagen, a thoroughly charming and beautiful city that once was the seat of power in all of Scandinavia. I like the quiet and unassuming nature of the city. It has an enormous palace, but overall it is quite understated. Plus, it has a mermaid.

Belgium is a smaller and less hyperactive version of Paris, with its pretty streets and curiously rude waiters. When it comes to Belgian chocolate, believe the hype. It is not to be missed, but I don't think you should go unless you plan to eat your weight in chocolate and drink your volume in beer. When vacationing in Europe, excess is the name of the game, and one should embrace the joie de vivre of it all.

Finally, Amsterdam's canals and street life are incredibly lively, but I am probably the only American, and definitely the only American student, who was put-off by the Red Light District. Open air prostitution is ugly business, literally, and Amsterdam seems to be trapped by its permissive attitude. Nobody wants their city full of British, American and Canadian students smoking pot in the streets (everyone knows it reeks) and generally being disorderly, but Amsterdam has to accept it, as tolerance and a liberal ethos are its cross to bear. Sad, because I could probably do with less of it. It's not as if other world cities provide no avenues for the illicit pursuits, but they have the good sense to hide it away somewhere. Plus, as a long time advocate of liberalizing societies rules on "harmful behaviors" it was a bit saddening to see what a completely open society would look like. Other than that, Amsterdam's monuments and canal tours were quite nice. I saw the world's narrowest house, which was probably about a meter wide. It is the weird shit like that which interests me.

I have less than two weeks in London, and that is a cause of great sadness to me. I really like London, and British people especially. I am thankful that I was able to chat with ordinary Britons, in cafes and pubs and on the bus and while in the queue for anything. I find them witty and kind and always eager to chat. I've long had an imagined love affair with Brits, and it was incredible to have all my greatest hopes realized. London is, sorry to my American friends, a much prettier city than New York, and I often wonder (both silently and aloud) why New York has so few squares/parks, seeing how they beautify an area and lift the spirits. A few Bedford Squares, or even a Soho Square, imported to New York would do a concrete jungle some good by including just a touch more jungle. If I had my way, I could jet between New York and London on a whim and bunk up in some posh Chelsea hotel, but alas it cannot be. I will have to content myself with the thought that in the last thousand years, London has lasted and I hope to see it thrive again in the next thousand. Of course, this is not my final love letter to London, but I guess I am missing it prematurely.

Last week of classes, and if you are an American student who is already done with school know that I am wishing such a symphony of pain for you Puccini himself would be stunned.

Song: Gnarls Barkley "Crazy" Totally huge here in London, and I imagine it is getting some buzz in the states