My first week in London

There are still a lot of times when I couldn't believe I'm actually in London. I've been here a week and still there's something surreal about being in a place I've always dreamed of visiting. Until about three months ago I wouldn't have thought I'd be here.

The past week had been tourist mode. My aunts had been amazingly kind to show me around. My first day alone we were hopping from one bus to another until midnight just to see the basic sights, e.g. Oxford Street, Harrods, Kensington Gardens, and Tower Bridge.

The highlight of my first day here was watching "Billy Elliot", a treat from my aunt. I wish I have the words to describe the musical, simply put I was completely astounded by it all. I was listening to the songs a few weeks before I watched the show but the music still moved me on performance night. The choreography was of course flawless.

The following days were more touristy stuff, such as the Olympic Park, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, China Town, and Covent Garden.

The next day, I met an Oxford-based Pinay Fairy ("Lady Chatterley") who brought me to the National Gallery. It was stunned when I saw my first Van Gogh, my reaction was summed up into a loud gasp. And then there were a number of Cezanne, Monet, Klimt, and Turner, among others. I'd definitely keep on going back there.

Last Thursday, I met two Pinay Fairies who showed me around Soho, supposedly one of London's gay areas.

Yesterday, I went to the British Museum, which was packed with tourists, so I have to visit again on a quieter day. I then hopped on a bus and walked the Millennium Bridge to reach Tate Modern where I saw a handful of Picassos (yet again another transcendental experience) along with some Matisse, Rothko, Pollock, and Dali. That was such a dream!

Today I went to Harrods to attend the book signing of Scott Schuman's new book, "Closer". Garance Dore was there as well to sign the pages where she appears. I was shaking the entire time I was in front of them. Yet another surreal moment right there.

Oh, I also dropped by the venue of London Fashion Week last Friday. I just hung around outside the tents, watching those fashionable people snapped up by street style photographers. It's a bit amusing to observe the fashion scene, but that's all I could do.

So that's basically a rapid rundown of the things I've been up to over the past week. There are still so many impressions of London I want to write about but that's for next time.