- The chips (AKA crisps) come in very intriguing and delicious flavors. Dill pickle, ketchup, Worcestershire. I wish we had them here. I suppose ranch may be a crazy American flavor since you don't find that elsewhere, but still.
- Flying across England is quite beautiful. Dead flat, and it looks like a gorgeous puzzle of browns, light greens, dark greens, all with an edge of dark green. It's really quite lovely. I flew through Vancouver, BC on my trip and also LOVED the flight from Vancouver to Seattle. Can the San Juans get much prettier?!
Washington, not England
- The Paralympics were going on in London while I was there and it was fun to see all of the Olympic excitement still going on. Even just at Heathrow, there were signs that welcomed the different national teams, athlete check-in tables, and a guy holding a "badminton" sign at baggage claim. I cannot imagine how exciting it would be to land in London and compete! Although I'm fine with the spectator approach (and the baked goods that come along).
Love the sports themed cupcakes, for the less hard core athlete
- I saw men wearing colored denim and colored khakis! Love it! Colored denim is such a fun trend here, but for the ladies. I kind of liked seeing some (straight looking) dudes sporting the color too.
I vote yes
- Thriller!!! I went to see Thriller Live, the "musical" about Michael Jackson's music, on the West End (which is the London equivalent of NYC's Broadway). It was SO GOOD!!! There was no story (which was fine with me), so the show solely consisted of super talented singers singing and dancers dancing, complete with costumes and lights and everything. HIGHLY recommend!
I totally missed my opportunity to strike an MJ pose here...
- Some of the beggars are quite polite, and with a British accent, it's quite hard to resist giving them something. They just sound so darn charming!
- Even street signs are polite. I saw a lot of "courtesy notice" and "kindly don't park your bike here." I feel like some signs in the states practically flip you the bird.
- On the fashion front, Brits are much more chic than Americans (unless you happen to be walking by the Nordstrom corporate office in downtown Seattle, in which case this statement is no longer true... I always feel frumpy walking by there as those Nordstromites are arriving). However, Brits are clearly not as chic as the French. Brits looks much more American than French, unfortunately even in their body size. They didn't seem too far behind us fat Americans actually. (I hope these comments don't sound insensitive... but having travelled a fair amount around the world, Americans in general really are much larger than most other cultures.) The British men are really a sharp dressed bunch. A bit more preppy, a bit hipster-y (in a good way). Just sharp!
- A handful of random tube (i.e. subway) ads had stickers stuck on them that said "This belongs to Lionel Richie." I don't understand it, but I like it!
The escalator was moving just too darn fast! There's a white Lionel label across this Louis V poster.
- Speaking of the tube, it is smallllll!! Compared to subway lines in other cities that I've ridden on, the tube trains are TINY. I have to duck so I don't hit my head on the handlebars on the ceiling and when I go through the doors. If I sat across from someone tall, we could almost touch knees. Very petite little transit. However, the trains come pretty frequently, so even if there isn't room to squeeze in, the next one is coming quickly. I saw a woman doing her mascara on the tube. Bold choice, lady! She's liable to take an eye out.
- Those crazy Europeans like to eat their lunch so late! I went to a Thai restaurant, listed on Yelp as having 4.5 stars and 21 reviews (so, one would presume, it gets regular customers). I went there at noon, WHEN THEY OPENED, and there literally was not a single other customer the whole time. I left at 12:45pm. Aren't they starving by then?! This place did serve a pretty amazing watermelon juice...
Nothing says Thai restaurant like cowhide chairs
- Walking back from lunch, in the middle of a ton of lunch pedestrian traffic, I went past a mom and her kid, stopped in the DEAD CENTER of the sidewalk, as her little guy sat on a little plastic potty and peed. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY SIDEWALK. I don't get it. I just don't get it! Give the kid a little bit of privacy! Don't give the rest of us a show! Sheesh.
- Starbucks does treat receipts in London too. Instead of $2 grande iced drinks in the afternoon, they're £1.50. Considering the exchange rate, we're getting the better deal here.
- I had dinner in a delicious Korean restaurant near my hotel and the waiter said that he noticed my accent and asked where I was from. When I responded "Seattle," he looked at me all confused, as he had never heard of it. So I had to say the west coast of America (always say America, never the US... people outside of the US don't know what the US is) for him to have any clue where I came from. People haven't heard of Seattle?! This "big" city gets smaller and smaller. :)
- London is full of all the cliche things you imagine when you think London: black cabs, double decker buses, and red phone booths. And I LOVE them.
- On the tube, I watched a young boy offer up his seat to an elderly woman that boarded, and said "Excuse me miss, please have my seat." I about melted. Such a polite and courteous young guy!! His father didn't even have to say anything and just beamed.
- I keep a mental checklist of the cities that I visit and whether they have ladies there with my same haircut (or similar). London is one of those cities, along with San Francisco and Austin; Dallas and Springfield are not. Those Londoners are so on top of things. ;)
Okay, that's what I have, weeks late. I'll get caught up one of these days! Posts on the MS Ride and my oral surgery to come. Cheerio!
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