Well I used to go 'up' to London from Middlesex every school holiday with my friends, sightseeing. I adored London, and was proud of it, the atmosphere, architecture, shops, churches etc etc. I knew it very well, most areas. It's not the tourists or the workers, it seems to be the traffic, which in spite of the congestion charge, is totally out of control IMO. I also heard yesterday that the Palace cleaners have removed KILOS of chewing gum from the Queen's carpets, so gum is now banned!! (Can you imagine spitting out chewing gum onto a carpet??) Some of the new buildings I saw yesterday were interesting, eg the 'gherkin', the London Eye, and a few more. But sticking glass boxes beside, in front of and behind our precious historical heritage is MAD. There was also a scruffy 'Peace Camp' of bivouacs planted in Trafalgar Square, with hand-made tatty placards all about. What an eyesore! And Covent Garden! That used to be a very interesting area of craft and other stalls, with street performers etc. Now it's absolute tat and rip-off cafes. Oh dear!! Paris is a million times better.