the adventures of cate

I got back from London yesterday evening. It takes two hours longer to come back to the states from the UK than it does leaving it, due to wind. As the Scottish pilot reminded us (several times) - "You can't fight the laws of physics."

I had a fabulous time - the city is such an amazing mix of historical and modern. I walked and walked and walked some more. I saw many of the popular sites as well as things the locals recommend that aren't as well known. Despite popular belief, every meal I ate tasted really good. Confirming other popular belief, it rained more often than it didn't. I brought back enough tea and toffee to last me well into next year.

I have so much to download, both from my camera and from my head, and there's no way I can do it all in one blog post. Instead, I will write a number of posts over the course of next week, probably one per day. Things I didn't get to see: Harrod's, Hampstead Heath, Bloomsbury, a West End show. However, I'd love to go back sometime, so I'll get to them then.

All of the historical info that I'll include is taken from the notes I took from plaques, signs, tour guides, and the 2009 edition of Rick Steves' London guide book. His guide books are the best I've found - they're updated every year (not many guide books do this), they're written in a conversational and amusing style, and they provide all kinds of recommendations and tips for getting around, what to see (and skip), and how to make the most of your money and not get ripped off. You can get his books from his Web site, as well as from Amazon or from a bookstore.
I'm not as impressed with his maps, though. They're easy to read, and they're waterproof, but the street listings are not as detailed. Several times, I found myself on a street that I couldn't find on the map, and had to walk a block or several to find one that was on the map, and then discovered I was walking in the wrong direction. Plus, fold-out maps can be unwieldy, especially on a windy day. Instead, I found the London Map Guide more useful and user-friendly.

London has a great tube system, and some of the tube stations are also train stations. The map of it looks scary, but I found it quite manageable. There are signs everywhere to direct you. The stations and carriages are clean, and the whole thing is kept in good repair - something is being repaired or upgraded all the time. Considering that the ancestor of the tube system was first used in 1863, it's been well-maintained and updated.

I got a week-long travelcard, which is cheaper than buying a ticket every day, and it gave me unlimited use of the tube and the buses all week within zones 1 and 2, which is a huge area and is where most of what you'd want to see in London is located. If I had stayed longer, I would have gotten an Oyster card.

Everyone is quiet in the tube cars - you don't hear people talking loudly or using their cell phones. Even when I found myself on the trains during rush hour, which really gives one an idea of how many people work in the city, people were still quiet. Packed in like sardines may be a cliched analogy, but it's an accurate one.

Basically, if you're armed with a London street map and a tube map as well as a travel card, there's no excuse for not being able to find your way around.

It was about ten degrees cooler in London than here at home. Layers came in handy - obviously, it was cooler and more windy by the river, whereas it was sweltering in the sub-sub-level tube platforms. An umbrella is a given. Seriously. Keep one with you at all times.

Using the money was an interesting experience. There are one- and two-pound coins, plus larger-denomination bills. Then you have 1 penny (the singular of "pence"), 2 pence, 5 pence, 10 pence, 20 pence, and 50 pence, and the sizes of them don't help to distinguish them easily if you're new to the money. However, British people are, for the most part, polite and friendly, and don't seem to mind taking the time to help you with the correct change.

I heard all kinds of languages spoken wherever I went, and you can get any kind of ethnic food you might be hungry for. And the "traditional" British food is better than people say it is. But please, it's pronounced "pass-tee" not "paste-e."

There are pickpockets around, so a thin money belt or one of those thin wallets you can wear around your neck can help protect your money/tickets/passport. Interestingly, the British Museum is one of the worst places for pickpockets. It's free to get into the museum, and since it's one of the few in which you're allowed to take pictures indoors, people are distracted while using their cameras.

The British seem to like Americans, but if there's one thing that makes the locals (and me) cringe, it's the rude habit of comparing things to "what we have in the States," and insisting that what is available in the States is better. A little eye-opening secret: few people in other countries would trade places with Americans because they don't consider the US to be as wonderful as we think they think it is. American arrogance is not appreciated and brands you as ugly. Don't be ugly - you're a guest in their country; you get to adapt to their way of life, not the other way around.

I always bring a book or two with me when traveling. This time, I brought one of my favorite comfort reads: The Adventures of Sally by P.G. Wodehouse. He often portrayed his female characters in an amusingly unflattering light. They're either dumb, devious, demanding or overbearing. Sally Nicholas, however, is a sympathetic and plucky girl, and it's the men she encounters who are arrogant, unlucky, or bumbling. It's a quick and fun read, and I identify with Sally in many ways - especially her travels. I think she and I would be pals.

More later on arriving, the lovely B&B, and a neighborhood stroll.