New City

Recently I met a friend for lunch. As we dug in our pizzas and pasta's, he made a very compelling statement. ' yes I have been to London before on a tour, but that is not a way to experience a country. This is.'
True.
The more I think about it, it makes sense. Yes we can have pictures from all over the world, but did we really enjoy the city, the culture, the newness.
As I reminisce more, the first time I fell head over heels in love with states was after 5 years of living there. Only when I did the cross country drive from CA to DC did I get to experience US. Driving the road less travelled, the true country side and experiencing the country up close and personal. One of the best trips ever.
With work, we get only limited vacations, and when we do visit a place, we like to get maximum bang for the buck. What we loose in the process is the concept of 'true vacation' versus 'sight seeing'
I am excited at being in London. This is my first time living in EU and I really want to make the most of it. I am really hoping with time I get to travel more, see more, learn more and overall experience the charm of each new country, new city, new place. Not by seeing the "top 5 things to do' but actually experiencing the country.

On that note, I will try jotting little notes from our trips. A friend of mine does it beautifully on Facebook. I am inspired to add a new tag here 'travel journal'