Oh-So-British
London was a great surprise to me. I had been to England many times as a teen, first by taking the ferry across the channel and later by the Eurostar train. England to me was buying “crips” with vinegar at Woolworth, taking double-decker buses across small cities, listening to Oasis (I liked them better than Blur) and bitching about the overall gloomy weather.
I dreaded the price of accommodation in London. Indeed, trying to book an hotel or hostel online was pretty frustrating. Most places were either overpriced with terrible reviews or overpriced and so far from London we had to zoom out from the map quite a bit to see where they were located. We eventually got lucky and booked a room in a nice neighborhood for an acceptable price, thanks to Expedia.
While accommodation remains expensive overall, food was much cheaper than I thought it would be — and much better too. There were tons of ethnic restaurants around the city (mostly Indian, Chinese and Italian) and a nice meal for two was around £20. A quick lunch in a pub for two was between £10 and £15. This is not cheap but definitely not as bad as I remembered it. And the food was good! I remembered all these “weird” English combination from my previous trips (chips and vinegar, mint sauce and meat…), but we had none of that. Fish and chips was good and Indian food with a British twist is very tasty.
I couldn’t get enough of British English. People just sounded so polite and so proper! And the signs cracked me up. In North America, they are mostly interdiction, such as “do not…”. The one that basically says “do not let your dog poop everywhere” is a good example of how elaborate and proper signs can get. Oh, and it took us a while to understand the “free withdrawal” signs above the ATMs. No, it’s not about free all-you-can-withdraw money (damn!) but rather about the fact that these particular ATMs don’t add an extra bank fee charge.
You can follow our trip to the U.K here on Flickr: United Kingdom.
 Fish’n’Chips |
 Indian Curry |
 Beer Menu |
 Feng’s Beer |
 Double-Decker Bus |
 Red Phone Booths |
 Funny Signs |
 Free ATM Cash? Seriously? |
 Look Right! Traffic |
 Chips |
 Evening Newspaper |
 Football Teams |
 British Souvenirs |
 Red Souvenirs |
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@Delph — Oui c’est sûr, d’être en Europe était l’occasion pour nous !
@Tulsa Gentleman — I totally agree! People were so civilized and proper… even drunk!
@Yogi — Well, accomodation is still expensive but food is better for sure.
@barbara — I had only taken the Eurostar once before this time, in 1998. Otherwise, I used to take the ferry from Brittany. The train is very convenient, I love it!
@DianeCA — Unfortunately, it’s not cheap to travel in Europe, especially at this time of the year. This is why we choose to stick around in the U.K and in France.
@RennyBA — I agree, it has its own personality and it’s a vibrant city!
@Poem — I’m sure you will get the chance, you are fairly close to it after all now.
@Jorge — The country is nice, I agree. It’s often a matter of timing though because the weather can make you feel miserable… I’d visit again in the summer.
@kyh — I know, I do find American English easier to understand (because I’m so used to it) but I love hearing British people talk.
@Lizz — Food is quite expensive in Europe compared to Asia or North America so I’m not even that shocked.
Have you seen “Free Cash” yet? Ha ha…
I recognised that pub — it’s a Wetherspoon, right?
Nice English pubs are tucked behind the alleyways.
That is the first time I saw fish and chips served with peas! And you prefer Oasis to Blur? Seriously?