we've been staying longer in the u.k. than originally thought. basically, because there is a wealth of fun things to do and see!! we've decided we love london and will be returning soon. we're trying to get our act together and take a train to paris sometime this week. i mean, we have to leave our awesome host, sian, alone sometime right?! & venice, slovenia and the rest of eastern europe is calling our name.
art doin's: we've been to the tate, the tate modern, the camden arts center, the serpentine gallery, the damien hirst show at the white cube gallery, the punk show at the barbican & wandered into a few galleries here & there. super stuff to look at - & we haven't even scratched the surface!
wanderings & walkabouts: camden market, borough market, spitalfield's, brick lane, up the thames, down the thames, boat on the thames...big ben, parliament, buckingham palace, liverpool walkings, brixton skating, st pauls cathedral + a couple other church viewings, pub crawling, belsize neighborhood wanderings, primrose hill views of the city, stop ins to many a cafe for a quick treat & a jot in the journal.
observations: eggs are left out on the shelf, all the time (no refrigeration for these babies?!). gin & tonics come pre mixed and sold in cans like soda. their english breakfast tea is the strongest tea i've ever had for breakfast, and i'm a huge tea drinker! they sell american size hotdogs in tin cans (with the proud american flag flying on the 6 pack tin can?!). the yogurt is super yum - creamier. the english love their cheese. serious cheese markets abound. they also like beans for breakfast and on their toast. and carbs - lots of carbs (which is fine by me!). pubs are a lovely break & the drinking age is a sensible 18 - dunno why we can't figure that one out in the states. the tube; public transit, is quite awesome and easy to get around. it is sooooooo clean here. the gooseberry is overrated and entirely strange in yogurt, as is rhubarb in yogurt. i love jacket potatoes with goodies stuffed inside. brown sauce is very odd - like molasses, & i can't figure out what you would put it on. the british don't seem to make eye contact much, nor acknowledge you in passing (on the street)...i guess we are the goofy friendly americans who like to pet the dogs & kitties that pass by & say good morning to people we pass in the neighborhood! it's cold here, just like summer back home in san francisco! lemonade actually means you are getting sprite. you don't really tip here, in fact, you don't really sit down much restaurant style - you tend to order at the counter, then sit for your meal.
sayings to start using: being "pissed on" - as in the rain. "dodgey", as in, the sketchy part of town, or, as in hit or miss weather. the preferred term of endearment is "darling", as in, "that'll be 3 pounds darling."
also, i am in love with digestive biscuits. mmmm...
more later perhaps. i might get one more post in before we head out for france.
cheers mates!
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1 comment:
Can I just say "I told you so"? I knew you wouldn't want to leave so soon. London totally ROCKS. You've been to a lot of my favorite places, too, and I'm getting sad because I need to go back.
Mmm, beans on toast, or better - beans on egg on toast. I have a couple of sources for the Heinz beans that they use over there and I love to put 'em on my baked potatoes, too.
By the way, when you get outside of London, people on the street are super friendly.
Rudy and I were sitting at the bus stop in a little village in the north called Braithwaite (I'm not kidding), and a guy who lived across the street from the bus stop asked us where we were going and dropped us off at our destination. We had just walked there for the day from a town a couple miles down the road. We didn't even have luggage with us.
Don't judge the whole country by London. It's like the states that way. Every region has its idiosyncrasies.
Can't wait to hear/see more!
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