Fancy Schmancy Shard

Going to The Shard I had no idea what to expect, just a very tall building that is advertised everywhere. Seeing so many advertisements I was curious as to what the hype was. Was it uber spectacular or just advertising? Well after going to the shard I can say it was both. The fact that we even got a tour was pretty amazing, the high price and ritzy atmosphere it puts off was very off putting. However after getting a tour and hearing about who their clientele is, it's understandable as to why they give it so much hype for such mediocre things. Yes the eagle eye view of London is spectacular (Saint Paul’s Cathedral was a way better view because you had to work for it), yes there is TVs in the bathrooms and the beds are probably pretty comfy. However for the price of almost a grand a night I was expecting a little more. Even the way we were treated upon arriving, getting the evil eye from one of the desk ladies, who hilariously quickly fixed the pillows and couches as soon as we left. Experiencing how the other half lived was quite amusing.

Back to the clientele, it was shocking yet not so surprising that most their customers were mostly from Dubai and other rich countries. I thought it would be more like rich or famous people wanting to stay in the fancy schmancy highest building in London. It would have been pretty cool to have been able to see the pools and observation deck because from what we saw it was just a fancy high-rise hotel. However the triangle building was a pretty big spectacle. A giant, very modern glass building amongst all the old brick buildings, instead of the old world feeling you are left with this monstrosity of a building. Old world London tries to go modern; it looks more out of place then swanky. Inspired by the railway lines and old London spires coming out of the River Thames, meant to enhance the London skyline. But really just shows us that time is moving on, and even old school cities like London are going to become more modernized.