#walid marmar

[wcharaf]

Walid Marmar Playing the Theme of the Godfather

[wcharaf]

He is an Iranian musician from Italy, living and working in London.  He was playing all kind of music from around the world during our dinner me and Walid at the Rose Garden restaurant, located in the London Elizabeth Hotel, right across from the Italian Fountains entrance of Hyde park.  The food was delicious, and we were the last customers of the restaurant that night.

The waitress is from Lithuania, and the people eating next to us were from Turkey.  London is gorgeous in its diversity.

Next day, the promised foul (pronounced foooooool in Arabic) plate was awaiting us on Edgware road.  We grabbed our coffee from the Italian Fountain cafe and walked through Central Park to Edgware road, a major road that has its origins as a Roman road and runs 10 miles in a perfect straight line.  The southernmost part of the road is noted for its distinct Middle Eastern flavour.  Many Lebanese and Egyptian restaurants, hookah cafes, and Arab themed nightclubs line the street.  The Odeon cinema, once the location of the biggest screen in London, often now shows films in Arabic.

Multiple avenues and neighborhoods in London dominated by Arabic multicultural market. . #wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017 #edgware

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 8, 2017 at 3:06am PDT

There were many choices, but asking around at the best place to eat foul at, we were directed to AlShishawi restaurant.  An Egyptian owned restaurant, but serves all kind of food.  It is nicely decorated in arabesque and wood work of Egypt.  We sat out side and chose couple plates of lebanese style foul, then added some shawarma that looked so fresh and delicious to skip.  Nothing is like a clear cup of tea and the sound of the spoon stirring the sugar.  It brings so much memories of childhood.  What I enjoyed more than the authentic food, is the happiness of Walid, who has been deprived from such dish in Liverpool, since he left Lebanon.

#wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017 #edgware

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 8, 2017 at 3:25am PDT

Walid’s battery was dying, and while he tried to decipher the crooks from the honest salesmen of Edgware Road shopts to buy a new battery, I was in contact with Sheik Ahmad Alkatib to meet.  Ahmad Alkatib is a former scholar, and current thinker, author, and reformer, originally from Iraq, and lived in several countries.  His reform theories are aligned to IRSHAD and we consider ourselves fighting the same fight for Islamic reform.  He has published 10’s of books and currently very active on Facebook, with two live sessions a day!

With Sheik Ahmad Alkatib in London #irshadonline @irshadonline . #wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017 #irshadonlinenews

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 8, 2017 at 7:48am PDT

We met Sheik Ahmad Alkatib and walked with him to Starbucks on Edgware, then we went with him through the tube, which I wanted to experience before leaving London, to another area, called Queensway, which had multiple Arabic books stores.  He showed us a new book he published.  We visited Al Saqi Book Store on Westbourne Grove, which is one of the most popular Arabic book stores in that area.

A street filled with Arabic book stores. . #wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017 #arabicbooks

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 8, 2017 at 7:45am PDT

We said good bye to him there, and stayed a little looking for a book.  Could not find the right book to read, or actually did not know what to look for.  My education in Arabic language has been islamized by my Islamic studies, so I rarely read Arabic books outside the religious context.  The Hawzah (Islamic Seminary studies institution) did not encourage or at least did not facilitate reading books outside the circle of the same school of thought.  I was lost in the biggest book store there.  I decided to ask Walid.  Walid really had no suggestion for me.  He said none of these he would recommend.  I called my friend Mohamad Fahos from Lebanon using WhatsApp, and asked him.  He recommended few classical which I could not find.  The books also were very expensive.  I ended up buying 1 book just so I would not regret having a book from a such a rich library.  Yet it was unfortunate that nothing attracted me.  That is part of the severe lack of literature problem in the Arabic world.  Basically, nobody writes anymore, and those that write don’t publish, and those who publish don’t make money out of their publication.  There are no incentive to publish unless you want to feed the spiders living on the book shelves of the deserted Arab book stores and libraries.

In addition, the books were very expensive.  12 to 20 pounds per book.  Almost double the price of the English similar books.  After placing 5 books on the table for the guy to calculate a price for me, the price was about 70 pounds.  I offered him 50 pounds.  He said take them all for free since you are breaking me anyway, angrily!  I was embarrassed by his statement, but could not just put that investment into these books knowing that they will be available online soon, and they are probably not worth the money to tell you the truth. I returned them all but one, that I paid for 12 pounds and left.

I stopped for a gelato bite at Snowflake Luxury Gelato.  How can you resist a luxury Gelato!  Then we stopped at Arro Coffee for a pour on coffee experience.  I asked the blonde barista to tell my friend Walid all about the pour on coffee.  She was from Italy.  She asked us where are we from, and Walid answered from Lebanon and my friend is from the US.  She right away turned to me and smiled and said “Nice to Meet You!” Without looking back at Walid.  Me and Walid noticed the obvious differentiation in treatment between us upon declaring our citizenships, and it was funny to us.

Italian espressos every where … most authentic coffee and patisseries. . #wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017 #café

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 8, 2017 at 7:26am PDT

We walked back to the hotel, while Walid tried to help his nephew Ali via WhatsApp video chat on his Math homework, getting furistrated at times. We arrive at the hotel, and decided that we are not going to settle down for the remaining of the afternoon to relaxation, while we are on our last night, and we are going to thread down to one sight, that I have read so much about, and watched 3 documentaries about in preparation before going to London, but haven’t seen yet … the Tower Bridge.

#wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017 #londonstreets

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 8, 2017 at 11:44am PDT

It takes two buses to get to the Tower Bridge, but the second bus is always free if you take it within the hour of taking the first bus.  We hopped on in the middle of Rush Hour, and took as about an hour and a half to get there, sitting on the second floor of the red bus, watching London and talking.  Can not have better travel time than that!

Final sunset London … on the tower bridge . #wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017 #london

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 8, 2017 at 11:22am PDT

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 8, 2017 at 11:49am PDT

#wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017 #towerbridge

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 8, 2017 at 11:27am PDT

We arrived prior to sunset to the Tower Bridge, full of tourists.  Strolled across it few times, and beneath it. Contemplated this great city and the people who have walked this bridge and watched this sunset.  We then got a couple Starbucks cafes and walked on the other side of the Thames across from the Tower of London.  We then headed to downtown, and we took a bus from there back to Edgware.  We arrived there about midnight, and it was still full of people and strolling cars.  The hookah cafes were bustling with guys and girls smoking and talking.  We ate couple stuffed lamb plates as a goodbye meal for me and Walid, and walked back to the hotel through Hyde Park after midnight.

#wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017 #bigben

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 8, 2017 at 2:34pm PDT

We talked about what scares you in life?  What is the scariest thing to you?  For Walid, he still had a thing for evil spirits and demons which he believed in.  For me, it was humans,  sick or mentally ill delusional psychopathic humans.

We had short conversations to the sounds of Arabic music before our eyes fell heavy with sleep in the last night in London.

London Trip Day 7: Persian Dinner – Edgware – Ahmad Alkatib – Tower of London – Final Night He is an Iranian musician from Italy, living and working in London.  He was playing all kind of music from around the world during our dinner me and Walid at the Rose Garden restaurant, located in the London Elizabeth Hotel, right across from the Italian Fountains entrance of Hyde park.  

[wcharaf]

It is Friday.

A couple from Netherlands shared our hostel room.  They were friendly, liberal, and hated Trump.  They talked about the economy, and the growth taking place in Netherlands.  They spoke English with us, and it seems that English is the international language in Europe.  They said that Holland was booming.  They said that if you visited Holland, you should not only visit Amsterdam, for there are many beautiful cities and areas.

It dawned on me that we are now in the countdown for the final days in London.  Worse than that, it is the count down for my time with Walid.  I wanted to spend quality time with him during our last three days.  I also wanted him to be comfortable, since he is really uneasy in a hostel.  I wanted to have a private place where we can play Um Kalthoum at night, and sit and talk for hours while eating his wheat Loaves of Bread or his grapefruits.  “Make sure not to peel the white parts”, he would tell me. Walid has grown to mix his knowledge of traditional medicine with his investigation of modern medicine.  He has formulated some interesting medical and health opinions that try to marry both thousands of years old traditions with modern research.  He is very skeptical about modern medicine and the excessive commercialization of the medical and pharmaceutical institutions.  I take his opinion with so much respect.  He is a guru in medicine.  If you are a doctor who is reading this and you don’t like what you are reading, screw you!

So I looked through Hotwire.com, my favorite hotel app, and booked a hotel in Paddington area for the last three days two nights.  Luckily, I got the Paddington Hotel, which was located in a perfect location minutes away from Hyde park, and with beautiful and large room, with two beds.  The two nights costed me 157 pounds (about $230 American Dollars).

I woke up Friday morning and headed to the Tea shop across from the hostel that I read about in America to be one of the best tea places in London.  It is called Drink, Shop, & Do.  I wrote some of my Travel memoir enjoying a truly delicious English cup of tea, till Walid joined me in couple hours.  One of the reasons for our success in our relationship, is that we don’t mind being late to each other, and we are always busy doing something productive anyways, so we don’t pressure each other with expectations, the downfall of any relationship.

I actually made a resolution this year not to schedule appointments with individuals who are very anal about their appointments.  I don’t need that pressure in my life.  I am often late.  Yes! I am late to almost everything.  And this habit has been positively reinforced throughout my life through boring events that start late anyway,  performing better under pressure, and compensating by quality of presence or participation. I rarely miss out on something, because most of every thing is lame anyway.  And it allows me to squeeze many things into my schedule, that I am living five or six lives simultaneously.  So I prefer to be tardy in 5 lives, rather than on time in one.

Actually, being on time is impossible scientifically.  To be on time, you have to be early.  I am early to those appointments whose time is structured in a strict way, like boarding times, work interviews, and immigration appointments.  I arrive early and I use my time wisely in waiting till the appointment time.

People who are most anal about appointments are those who tackle life too seriously.  You will be surprised that they usually are very unproductive on the larger scheme.  They do a lot of waiting!  I don’t wait for anything or at anytime.  I don’t wait for the red traffic light, because I am busy studying French in my car, or have conversations with friends in Egypt.  I don’t wait at the doctor’s office because I am so busy reading my book that I have been waiting for ever for a chance to read.  I don’t wait in line, because during which I would be writing an article on IRSHAD, and posting an Instagram ad for my business, or connecting with someone who is on my agenda to connect with over text.  People who wait doing nothing, are just boring people, and negligent about the most valuable commodity in life …. time.

We took the bus to Paddington, and tried to check in the hotel, but it was kind of early while they prepared our room, so we left our bags there, and Walid headed to Friday prayer with a stranger,  while I headed towards the Natural History Museum, sort of my temple.

I went through Hyde park one more time, but took a different path, filled with the fragrances of flowers floating in the air, and passed through romantic walk ways.  London is beautiful.  It is so BEAUTIFUL!!  Every street.  Every corner.  It is just beautiful.  The doors were beautiful.  The porches. The windows.  The signs.  The trees and shrubs.  People were beautiful.  Taxis. Buses.  Cafes. Shops. Book Stores. Fountains. Monuments. Sculptures.  I was in love.  I fell in love with columns.  I would bend down to take a picture of something, but I would fall in love with a brick in the ground.  It was full of surprises.  Walking its streets was like making love.  Discovering angles, feeling curves, entering dark pathways, passing through pillars, hearing my name whispered from corners.

I ended up in the Imperial college, standing in front of the Nuclear Engineering department.  Then it passed me through to Albert Music Hall.  And it pushed me through a door to the Royal College of Music.  Then I found Albert and Victoria Museum.  But I reminded myself that I am going to the Natural History Museum, and it is already 2PM.  I know I will need to 5PM at least to take a glance.  The museum has over 80 million items!

I needed a bite.  I had a small veggie lasagna and some baked cauliflower in the Museum’s cafe, or one of its cafe, for the museum is huge.  These pictures will give you a glance.

  Then I visited the Darwin Center… 7 floors recently built to give you the ultimate experience of trip of investigative science, with access to real research scientists. The 7 floors spiraled down in modern halls full of artifacts, specimen of life science, and videos and interactive displays.

The Natural History Museum was magnificent.  Established in 1756, that is before even the theory of evolution, it houses some of the most important fossils.  It has been developed over time with many sections, and I barely could visit it all.

I keep the Human Evolution section last in hope that Walid will show up and we can perhaps see it together, but he never did.  So I didn’t visit it due to the closure of the museum.  I visited the Human Evolution sections in New York Natural History Museum, Chicago Natural History Museum, and our small Michigan’s Cranbrook Natural History Museum.

I left at 5:30 and stopped by a coffee shop for some afternoon tea.  They had some books on the table which I glanced, and added to my Amazon books wish list.

I then walked to the market.  It was fascinating the scene of cafes and restaurants filled with people after work hours.  Although, I am to have dinner with Walid, I could not help stopping at this Lebanese restaurant picking up a Falafel sandwich.

On my way back, I passed by what appears to be Lord Baden Powell’s home, or the first scout center.  Lord Baden Powell is the founder of the Boy Scouts.  As a Scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts from the year 2001 to 2005, he meant a lot to me.  I confounded the Muslim Scouts of Michigan in 2001 to encourage scouting among the Muslim community in America. I left it in 2004 after it because a sectarian cult.  I believe in scouting, and am a scout master at heart.  I just don’t like the exclusion of homosexuals and atheists from the Scouting organization, and I don’t like its privatization.

I passed by many Embassies too.  The French, Portugal, Iraq, Yemen, Oman, and United Arab Emirates.

I was again struck by the beauty of the Albert Monument.  I had to take a closer look.

I reached Walid at the hotel.  After sunset.  It was a long day, so we chatted, then resorted to sleep for tomorrow was going to be our Arabic fool day.  That is beans!  A traditional Arabic breakfast, stewed beans, mixed with various things depends on which Arabic country.

London Trip: Day 6: Padington Hotel – Natural History Museum – Persian Dinner It is Friday. A couple from Netherlands shared our hostel room.  They were friendly, liberal, and hated Trump.  

[wcharaf]

Sleeping on the upper bed, I woke up Thursday morning while Walid is playing the creepy man prank on me, staring at me real closely.  I missed his creepy man jokes.  He used to stand behind the door of my office when we worked in 2004 in a cellphone shop, and watch me in a creepy way, and pretend that he is hiding when I see him.  Sometimes it made me wonder if a psychological issue was really being manifested.  Thankfully, it was  just a prank all along.

Walid is 10 years older than me, but he has the wisdom of a 100 years old philosopher. He grew up in Beirut Golden time, in an ocean of intellectual waves, when Beirut was the Paris of the East.  Then the intellectual waves became intellectual wars, and they in turn converted to real wars, and he lived the civil war in lebanon that started in 1975 day by day, the Israeli occupation that swept up to Beirut in 1982, till he left in the 90’s, and the civil war outlasted him till the year 1989, when it kind of ended with the Taif Accord, while the war with Israel continued till today.  He studied music in California, and a bunch of other things.  He is a professional guitarist, a well learned pianist, a great composer, and an accomplished poet in Arabic.  He is a reference and an expert in the Arabic Language with all its branches, Arabic Music, Arabic poetry, and fluent in English and French.  He also speaks Spanish, and some Russian and German.  He is also an Islamic scholar, and few of his friends declared him as Mujtahid.  Although it might have been a joke at certain times, but it really reflected his intellectual capability to infer the jurisprudence he needed for his daily life.

Walid is also an radio producer, video producer, a TV host, a columnist, a chinese cuisine chef, a donut baker, an educator, and school administrator. I have been in London since Sunday, and I have not yet gotten to the real icons, like Big Ben, The Parliament House, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, nor have I seen the Thames yet.  By this point, I knew that it was not possible to catch up to the possibilities of each area, and it will be a matter of glancing over, and selecting few destinations of each neighborhood among the few ones I had planned originally.

It is time now to go to the heart of London, Westminster, where Big Ben, Parliamentary palace, and surrounding government buildings. I wanted to start the tour in the National Gallery.  The bus took us to Telefogar station, but stopped few stops before due to traffic, and after grabbing a croissant au fromage from Paul cafe, a little stony entrance called my name to it.

#wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 6, 2017 at 5:24am PDT

In a city like this, almost everything is beautiful, and every shop or cafe, every alley and corner, is worth a stop and a visit. It is like walking in a large museum. Nevertheless, some places call your name, so sometimes you answer to the call, and sometimes you apologize sadly and promise to have a second chance in the future.

Paul called me into it, just like this arch. Upon entering it, and moving from one chamber to another, I found myself passing through some Roman sites.  It was the Roman Baths.

This is London for you. Layers and layers of history, all preserved, all appreciated, all relevant, all breathtaking.  If an alien species attack us, and give us the choice to preserve only one city from utter destruction, I would choose London, because objectively with it, you would preserve the largest amount of human civilization possible.

Exiting from the Roman Baths, I find myself at Somerset house.

  Carrying on, I got to the Trafalgar Square.

#wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017 #vangogh

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 6, 2017 at 6:10am PDT

Wikipedia:

Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, a British naval victory in the Napoleonic Wars with France and Spain that took place on 21 October 1805 off the coast of Cape Trafalgar, Spain.  The name comes from Arabic طرف الغرب … meaning cape of the West.

The site of Trafalgar Square had been a significant landmark since the 13th century and originally contained the King’s Mews. After George IV moved the mews to Buckingham Palace, the area was redeveloped by John Nash, but progress was slow after his death, and the square did not open until 1844. The 169-foot (52 m) Nelson’s Column at its centre is guarded by four lion statues. A number of commemorative statues and sculptures occupy the square, but the Fourth Plinth, left empty since 1840, has been host to contemporary art since 1999.

The square has been used for community gatherings and political demonstrations, including Bloody Sunday, the first Aldermaston March, anti-war protests, and campaigns against climate change. A Christmas tree has been donated to the square by Norway since 1947 and is erected for twelve days before and after Christmas Day. The square is a centre of annual celebrations on New Year’s Eve. It was well known for its feral pigeons until their removal in the early 21st century.

That area is busy. I can’t start to tell you what is in that area, but  I headed to the National Gallery.

The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900.[a] The Gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.[4] Its collection belongs to the public of the United Kingdom and entry to the main collection is free of charge. It is among the most visited art museums in the world, after the Musée du Louvre, the British Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[3]

Chambers and chambers, rooms after rooms, filled with the masters of the masters, the founders of Art!  Like nothing I have scene before.

There is a room in the Detroit Institute of Arts that I considered the most valuable room in North America.  It contained three paintings for Van Gogh, two for Renoir, Two for Degas, and a couple paintings for Cezanne.

To walk into a building that contained all the pieces I was already in love with, and have watched with awe in Art History Books, and fantasized about all my life, was a big event in my life.

I have no words to describe the National Gallery, but I will leave you with these samples:

1628 … follower of Rembrandt #wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017 #rembrandt

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 6, 2017 at 6:24am PDT

Eugene Delacroix 1859 #wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017 #delacroix

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 6, 2017 at 6:26am PDT

Jacques-Louis David 1816. #wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017 #jaquesdavidlouis

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 6, 2017 at 6:28am PDT

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres 'Madame Moitessier' 1856. It took him 12 years to complete. #wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 6, 2017 at 6:30am PDT

Lady Queen Jane Grey: "Good people, I am come hither to die, and by a law I am condemned to the same. The fact, indeed, against the Queen's highness was unlawful, and the consenting thereunto by me: but touching the procurement and desire thereof by me or on my behalf, I do wash my hands thereof in innocency, before God, and the face of you, good Christian people, this day.1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. 7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. 14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. 15 Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 My sacrifice, O God, is[b] a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. 18 May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar."

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 6, 2017 at 6:37am PDT

Samson and Delilah by Rubens 1609. #wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017 #rubens

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 6, 2017 at 6:44am PDT

Two rooms full of Rembrandt !!! #wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017 #rembrandt

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 6, 2017 at 6:49am PDT

"He that is without sin along you, let first cast a stone at her" John 8:7. Rembrandt 1644 #wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017 #rembrandt

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 6, 2017 at 6:52am PDT

#wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017 #stfrancis

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 6, 2017 at 7:32am PDT

Caravaggio 1609. Salome receives the head of John the Baptist. #wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017 #caravaggio

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 6, 2017 at 7:43am PDT

Joseph William Turner … one of my favorite masters. #wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017 #josephwilliamturner

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 6, 2017 at 7:57am PDT

No identification needed. #wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017 #monet

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 6, 2017 at 8:04am PDT

Vincent Van Gogh #wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017 #vangogh

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 6, 2017 at 8:20am PDT

#wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017 #vangogh

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 6, 2017 at 8:22am PDT

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There was a special exhibition for Michelangelo that I didn’t have a chance to see.  I left the National Gallery, and found Walid napping after prayer on its lawn, right behind a sign that said: “Keep Off the Lawn”.

#fish&chips #fishandchips #wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 6, 2017 at 9:36am PDT

It was time for lunch, and I could not put off the Fish and Chips anymore, so the closest restaurant was called the Admiral, an 1860 restaurant, that offered the authentic British Fish and Chips.  We enjoyed our dinner, and headed to Westminster to enjoy the sunset at Big Ben and the Thames.  It was a lovely night.  The only disappointment is the attempt of American corporations, like Mcdonald’s, World Disney, Universal, and Coca Cola, to penetrate this historical city.

On our way, we stopped by 10 downing street, at the Prime Minister’s residence.

  This Whitehall street that took us down to the Westminster Abbey,  was lined with governmental departments and monuments.  We saw the guards changing at the Guards House, which houses by itself about few museums and monuments.

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#bigben #wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 6, 2017 at 10:55am PDT

The Westminister Bridge had witnessed a terrorist attack few days before, so the columns will filled with flowers, candles, and notes such as this:

#wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 6, 2017 at 10:59am PDT

RIP . #wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 6, 2017 at 11:01am PDT

RIP . #wissamlondontrip2017 #london #visitlondon #lovelondon #ilovelondon #london4all #london🇬🇧 #londoner #londonstyle #londonlife #london2017

A post shared by Wissam Charafeddine (@wcharaf) on Apr 6, 2017 at 11:04am PDT

We spend sunset at this walking the Westminster Bridge and South Bank, chatting, and finally taking a bus back to the hostel, getting lost, ending somewhere with lots of nightlife, eating a Turkish Large Spicy Chicken Shawarma, and walking home in an epic day in which we walked about 12 miles and over 25,000 steps.

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London Trip: Day 5: Trafalgar Square – National Gallery – Big Ben Sleeping on the upper bed, I woke up Thursday morning while Walid is playing the creepy man prank on me, staring at me real closely.  

[wcharaf]

London Trip - Day 1 - Heathrow 

London Trip – Day 1 – Heathrow 

I bought the Heathrow express 14 days earlier for a special. Tickets were stored on my iPhone wallet. I checked in the flight electronically and boarding pass was on my wallet. I have never travelled lighter!  Technology is allowing us to enjoy our life skipping the nausences of the technicalities of the structured civil society.  I think I overprepared for the flight. I had two magazines, a book,…