^ No need to apologize, I for one am glad you bumped this thread. Didn't even know it was here!
I, too, was born and raised in London, and was just back there over the holidays where I've been gradually documenting its own
Urban Wilderness:
http://www.panoramio.com/user/2045784/tags/Thames River
http://www.panoramio.com/user/2045784/tags/North Thames River
http://www.panoramio.com/user/2045784/tags/Dingman Creek
Interesting that you should mention how "people in London know just as little, or less even, about other Canadian cities than Torontonians do." That was actualy always my impression of most other Canadians with regards to London. Whenever I'd tell people that I was from London, even around southern Ontario, I'd invariably get some sort of "where's your accent?" comment. I know its not exactly the biggest, or most well known city in the country, but still... I suppose London should share some of the blame, though, for not following the lead of Toronto (aka York), Kitchener (aka Berlin), and others in eventually shedding the unoriginal monikers of our unimaginative ancestors.
And London, as you note, can certainly be a little insular itself. It seems to be just far enough away from everywhere else that it forms its own little cultural island - for better, or for worse. It's interesting to contrast ssiguy2's rather glowing reviews of the city, with your critique of its infrastructure and "surprisingly high number of homeless people." As a native, I can tell you it has pretty well always been thus. One might think of it as sort of a miniture version of Boston in the way its almost evenly split between being a noted centre of wealth, culture, and higher education - and also being a very working class, and (in places) very run-down kind of city. (here are some pictures of
"Abandoned London"). Also like Boston, it has somewhat of a reputation for being more than a little racist (just google "London Swastika Crop Circle" for example, or Wayne Simmonds having a banana thrown at him during a hockey game last year). Not long ago, while I was downtown in fact, I recall one of the city's fine citizens getting right in the face of a black woman waiting at a crowded bus stop and giving her the heil Hitler salute while screaming something about immigrants and taxes, or something...
All and all, not a bad town, though. Enjoy your stay!