Seriously, what's with all the planes?

I've been in London a week now, well actually a week and three days. But who's counting? Now to the point, no matter where I am nor what time it is. I can look up into the sky and be guaranteed to see at least three planes within minutes if not seconds of each other. As I write this sentence I can hear one right outside of my flat window. So I have to ask, what is with all these planes circling over the city of London?

Is it traffic at Heathrow? I know when my plane was coming in, even though it was delayed due to weather conditions, we had to circle up above London for an extra twenty minutes. I didn't mind much since I had a double window seat and saw all the tourist spots from an elevation of around 11,000 feet. But for such a huge airport with three other international airports within reach of another, you have to ask yourself is it more than just traffic?

No, I think. Actually I think it's a tourism ploy. Many people use Heathrow as a way of connecting to other flights. That's a fact. Now, what if these people saw Big Ben or Parliament from the skies, would they become enticed to come back to the U.K., specifically London?

I think so. And with that thought, I'll explain something. When I was looking through my double window seat and saw the Thames River, I became excited. I thought that in a few moments I will be able to see the city of London. My future home of six weeks, and eventually maybe longer.

So as I sat there in anticipation and doubt whether I had correctly identified the river, I saw him. It. My mouth gasped open. Tears came to my eye, as they still do when I remember that feeling. It was a feeling of joy. Of coming back home. Then I saw Parliament when I blinked. It stood next to Ben, situated on the river.

The man next to me must have thought that I was a tourist or out of my mind. Probably both. But I knew what I felt. I felt like I had returned home. I was in Europe once more. My mother continent. As I continued to fly over the city and reach the airport, one feeling came into my head.

"Aah." That sound of relief.

That's what I felt when I came into the airspace of this city. I've never been here, but that's what I felt. So maybe if flying over London for twenty minutes can make me feel that, it can provoke others to feel something as well. Maybe not necessarily what I did, but a sense of wanting to see the city.

One of the mysteries of the human is what he feels when he sees something through a lens or picture and when he sees the same object up close.

So yes, flying for twenty minutes over London is a built in British Airways commercial. Get ready for it when you fly.