LONDON is a very cramped city but this can work to a foreign vacationer’s advantage when he or she intends to buy a home here and settle for good. After all, there are lots of people out there who have retired at the age of 40 and for the rest of their lives, they want to spend it attractively with no boss nosing around. London is one such ideal place if you love the urban life. Parties here last up to sunrise and they do party even on weekdays. Parties are more pronounced at this time when 2007 is about the end and London’s Big Ben is ticking the seconds closer to 2008. There’s booze everywhere that even the London Metropolitan Police has instituted a booze bus to bring tipsy and intoxicated partygoers right at their doorstep.

London being a dense city, prices of homes here have steadily dropped since 2002. London is actually a melting pot that is why there are lots of expatriates here. And pop music artists come here all year round to perform. In fact, London’s O2 has just hosted the homecoming concert of the Spice Girls whose individual members have already enjoyed fulfilling private lives both in and out of spotlight. Close to 16,000 people attended the concert at a stadium reserved only for football fans.

Another thing to watch out for in London this Christmas is the shopping. There are lots of items on the shelves which may possibly last out that retailers and malls in London have issued so-called rain checks, promising them of the items by January 2008. Some of the items which easily last out are game consoles such as Wii, Apple’s famous 2007 craze iPhone and various brands of HD and Blu-ray compatible accessories. There are also yearend sales everywhere and not just in malls but in street markets and garage sales up in the suburbs. Of course, salesladies and salesmen are dressed in Santas to help you out.

And just in time for Christmas, a rail service has recently debuted its London to Wearside route and vice versa. It will be a four-hour trip for each journey and the company that made this possible was Grand Central. There will be three trips every day. Another train company, Wrexham & Shropshire, will also debut the London route by 2007. Meanwhile, one pastime that is slowly gaining ground in London nowadays is horse racing and other forms of equestrian sports. Equestrian will become a major event in the 2012 Olympic Games and this early, horse riders from all over the United Kingdom are practicing for the huge activity.

As more and more people are scrambling to be health-conscious, so too are the Londoners. Aside from equestrian activities, people in London have also took a liking in running races. In fact, celebrities often lead these races, exhorting London folk to join them. One of these celebrities is eccentric British rocker Pete Doherty.

I have just been granted a two-week exchange study-cum-holiday in London. I am a college senior from Cagayan de Oro City in the Philippines taking up a degree in international studies. That is why I am now looking forward for a very merry Christmas in London. I have long been enchanted with the London Eye. I first saw it in the movie The Rise of the Silver Surfer. To promote the movie, a huge Silver Surfer was erected at the center of the London Eye. Now I can’t wait how it looks during Christmas. Probably it will be donned with hundreds of small yet powerful lights. My whole body is excited just by the thought of that one. Next, I am also looking forward for the fireworks over River Thames during Christmas Eve and the fireworks in Big Ben during New Year’s Eve. I am also looking forward seeing the back-to-back concert of emo bands Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Paramore and My Chemical Romance at the Hyde Park during the holiday period. Apartments at this area surely have high rates so it’s much better to go to London during Christmas time in a three-star hotel because room rates there do not fluctuate, holiday or not. Anyway, that will not be a problem because I’ll be staying at the dormitory of the University of London. Other structures that I’m looking forward seeing include the Westminster Palace, the Buckingham Palace and No. 10 Downing Street where Prime Minister Gordon Brown resides although I have heard that is too far from the main highway and the whole street is restricted because the whole street is government-owned.

Most of the residents in London are Anglicans and so Christmas here is kind of different as compared to Christmas in Italy, France, Spain or Germany. Despite that, London is a melting pot even though it is not located in the European mainland and it is somewhat isolated at the Island of Great Britain. So there are lots of non-Christians here in London like Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Sikhs. And so for them, commercial establishments here in London have resorted to other gimmicks and are sensitive enough not to promote the religious part of Christmas. Anyway, Muslims and Jews both have major celebrations this holiday season this Christmas. It is exactly that reason why Londoners greet you “happy holiday” instead of “merry Christmas”.

For the Muslims, they will be celebrating Eid ul-Adha this coming December 20. This is a day of sacrifice as this is a commemoration of the prophet Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his only son Isaac. On the other hand, the Jews have just celebrated Hannukah which is the festival of lights. It is a commemoration of the win of the Maccabees from the reign of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes. It is for this reason that non-Anglicans in London have banded together to form a lobby group and pressure the government to remain secular. That I will see during my vacation.

OK there I caught you! Let’s not dwell on the most expensive flats in London but let’s dwell on how much you can afford. There are two basic facts when it comes to the flats in London – number one, they are more expensive as you go to the center of London. London is 609 square miles wide and if you stay at any of its 32 boroughs, you will feel a very suburbia atmosphere. It’s not like the very congested way you’ll see if you’ll just rent a very expensive condominium or duplex unit at the heart of London.

Although of course, if you’re that affluent enough, you can certainly afford staying in a place with a very spectacular view of the sights in London such as the Westminster Bridge, the London Eye, the uniquely-shaped City Hall and everything else at the banks of the River Thames. You may marvel at where James Bond exactly shoots his films. Or if you’re the political kind, you may want to take a closer look at Buckingham Palace or even at Downing Street where Prime Minister Gordon Brown is staying. Or if you’re someone who digs at Elton John concerts, then stay close to the Hyde Park area and find out when’s the next big thing happening.

Whatever the case, staying in London during Christmastime and the holiday season is surely a blast. If you’re staying here with your family and you’re from Spain, all you need to do is click on Travelocity or Expedia at the World Wide Web and find out for humongous discounts on flat deals. That’s flat folks, not hotel deals. Yes, your favorite travel agency may just be the key for your vacation to be thrift. Flat billeting and reservations are now included in their menu.

But it’s even better when your vacation is an all-expense paid trip charged to your company. That’s why readers of this article who are from Spain must be motivated to be competitive all the time. Take some English language courses in the nearest language school in your area. I’m sure there are lots of them here in Spain. Or if there’s none, then you can always enroll in an online schools. Those who have an excellent grasp of the English language after the six-month language course are in the end the only ones who will be hired by Fortune 500 companies here. But don’t be contented with the six-month language course. Also take the intermediate and the advanced English language studies so you’ll definitely be a cut above your peers.

Once you have been hired by a company and you’ll have your first vacation in London, all the rest is easy and relaxation from then on. Christmas in London is a bit different than the one here in Spain so you may find yourself lost in translation at first. But don’t worry, that’s just for the first few days but ultimately, you’ll enjoy the atmosphere here. Admittedly, it’s colder here than in Spain with temperatures hitting below zero during the middle of winter. But living in a London flat with an excellent heater can surely suffice.