Hello folks!
Well, I did not forget my devoted readers, no, not one bit. But until I get some sort of grant, I’m just not paying about a dollar a minute for the privilege of being on the internet. Sorry.
But, as you can see from the fact that I am writing, we had a safe trip and are now home on the ground, where you can roam almost free about the world wide web. And we had a simply lovely time. We saw lots of very British things. Tee hee. The husband and I have posted a photo-album type thing, and that tells the story much better than a very long essay from me. But, I do have a few things to say, some observations to make, and very modestly, some tips for London travel. I know lots of folks have written advice thingys, but, hey, this was my very first trip out of the country, and maybe I have a bit of a fresh view. Maybe not, but here goes!
1.) Bathrooms. English bathrooms are called toilets. Oh, and feminine products are “sanitary cloths” and you never, ever, flush any sort of these whatever. There is a rubbish bin in each stall for those. The actual toilet has very little to no water in it. When you flush, massive amounts of water will very suddenly and very loudly decend and scare you to death. Sometimes there is a “normal” lever to push, sometimes a button, sometimes a chain to pull. Every bathroom, excuse me, toilet, I used was very clean and very safe, except for one. I even had to use a public toilet under the street in Piccadilly Square, and it was one of the cleanest I entered. Sometimes you will have to pay. The going rate seemed to be 20p. Keep 20p on you, as the machines will only accept exact change, and the change machines that will be nearby would only change a few select coins, which I never had. I only paid once to pee, and that was the one nasty toilet I used. Figures, right? The paper is fine. I read all kinds of things that said it would be worse than sandpaper. Not that I saw. The only time it was odd was when it was pink, but that’s color, not texture, people!
2.) Fashion. April, 2005. Buy a scarf. A nice, long, netural colored pashmina. It doesn’t have to be expensive. I bought one on the street for about 10 bucks. Every woman was wearing one, except for the tourists. And it wasn’t just for looks. London was very cold. Even sunny and beautiful days had a bitterly cold wind. So a nice long scarf will keep your neck, ears and face warm, and help you blend in. Blending in is important, pickpockets love Americans! London women wore either jeans or a skirt. I saw very few people wearing anything else, like dress pants or corduroys, or chinos. The women wearing jeans did not go the casual tee-shirt route. Jeans were accented with silky or beaded camisoles, nice jewelry, flower pins, the ubiquitous scarf, and dressy jackets. The jackets were all very long, lean and simple. (City coats.) Shoes with jeans were Puma-type in bright colors. No shoes without socks. It didn’t seem to matter if the shoe matched the outfit. NO Reeboks, Addias, except on Amurricans. The skirts were pretty long, below the knee, and the shoes with these were kitten heels or bright flats. Sometimes knee-high boots. No bare legs! Every woman wore hose of some kind. Colored fishnets, patterned tights, nude.
Men wore jeans, again dressed up a bit, with a nice jacket and dress shirt, or full-out suits. Shoes were again Puma-types, or very pointy expensive looking numbers. Oh, and the men smelled wonderful. (So nice to be around boys who understood the importance of bathing and wearing cologne, unlike most of the guys I work around/with.)
3.) Things close before they close. Something no American guidebook we bought thought was an important thing to mention. Yes, the Zoo closes at 5:30. But it closes to visitors at 4:30. Thanks a lot, London for Dummies.
4.) Traffic is crazy, but polite. Very few horns honking, cars will stop for you to cross the road, and the cars themselves are very well cared for. Few dents, dings, that kind of thing. U-turns are very much allowed.
5.) The underground is great! As long as you stay out of hurried folks’ way, and keep to the right, it’s really the best way to get around, not that we got around any other way at all, but I liked it, and this is my page so shut up. But honestly, it goes everywhere and is really easy to understand and use. I loved it, it seemed safe and clean. Just watch TV in the morning to see if there are any delays on a particular line.
6.) Military time. Places used the 24 hour clock thingy. Ug.
7.) There are gardens, parks, squares and flowers everywhere. Most of the buildings had window boxes, and they were full and beautiful.
8.) Shops close very early. Just because it’s a big city does not mean all-night hours for everything. The neat shops close around 5 or so. The chain stuff is open a little later.
9.) Food costs a lot. Prepare to go into debt or starve.
and
10.) The London Eye and Covent Gardens were my two favorite things we saw/did.
I guess Paris in ten parts is next.
