The London Eye

"One thing about London is that when you step out into the night, it swallows you." 

— Sebastian Faulks, Engleby

The London Eye and Big Ben

Last Thursday, my friends and I went to "ride" the London Eye.  The London Eye is basically a huge Ferris wheel on the river, with capsules instead of baskets.  These baskets are made out of glass so you can see all of London from above.

The way it works is you get into a capsule with about 15 other people, go around for a revolution, take pictures of everything, then get out.  The whole process takes about 40 minutes.  If it were up to me, it would've taken two minutes.  Being trapped in this capsule over the Thames made me uncomfortable, and since I've been feeling homesick lately, the view just reminded me of the superiority of New York City lights at night.

London lights

Seeing the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben lit up at night was by far my favorite part.  It seems like the River Thames splits London in half; one side is old and the other is new.  The old side is cool, with Big Ben being the main attraction.  The newer side is very industrial-looking, and in regards to skyscrapers and cool looking buildings, New York just does it better.

Love that glass glare...

The London Eye is definitely something I'm glad I did, but I'm also glad I didn't pay for it (thank you NYU London!).  It definitely is cool to see all the city lights, but (since I'm terribly homesick) it's nothing like New York.



Rachel