Going overseas to London...any tips?

Hell, most of you guys have been there since I've been home.

But yeah, don't tip the bartenders, at a lot of the smaller pubs that I frequented, they were the owners as well, so they don't need it.

Do tip the bellhop and porter. Flip them a pound coin -- we got rid of pound notes years ago -- and look cool as you do it.

 

And don't be floored by the petrol prices. Talking to some of my peeps in Deutschland a few weeks ago, with the weak dollar and strong euro, they haven't had it better since the early 90s.

It may be nine dollars per gallon U.S., but factor in the exchange rate and inflation and the Euros are practically swapping gasoline enemas.

 

Don't exchange any money in the U.S. before you go. You'll get better exchange rates at the ATM.

English food besides fish and chips is rancid, but there are good choices if you like ethnic food. If you like Thai food, try the Blue Elephant off Fulham-Broadway. It's right next to a tube stop.

 

You're kidding right? The land of the McRib is criticizing traditional British food like pheasant, game hen, goose and duck?

You guys really need to get a clue when it comes to this.

 

It's been mentioned before, but it needs emphasis — get an Oyster card. Without it you'll end up paying something like £4 a ride on the Tube. With it it's £1.50.

I was there for about a day in April and didn't get to a lot of stuff, but I walked from Kensington to Buckingham Palace to Westminster and Parliament then along the Thames to the Globe Theatre and saw a really good production of "King Lear." I paid for a seat but they have £5 groundlings tickets available the day of shows. I didn't feel like standing for three-plus hours after all that walking, which I think was about seven miles.

London is expensive. For example, at the west end of Kensington Gardens is a playground dedicated to Princess Diana. There is a concession stand there and I bought a hot fudge sundae for something like £3.85. Now, if it had been $3.85 that would seem pretty reasonable, but instead it was twice that.

At least it was pretty big and quite tasty.

And a pint of beer should be £2, which is a fair price, considering the quality. I didn't get into a pub until something like 11 p.m. so I missed out on the fish and chips, but the Timothy Taylor Landlord pale ale was excellent. I also happened to meet a guy who works as a fact-checker at the Daily Mail newspaper, just down the street from the pub.

If you think you might want to do some traveling away from London, look into the BritRail pass at http://www.britrail.com. You can't get it once you're there, but it could save you a bunch over buying individual trips. But if you think you'll just make a day trip or two, buying a regular ticket should be fine.

When I go back I'm definitely spending more time inside buildings than just walking around taking pictures. But I was on a week-long trip to visit family and friends scattered from Glasgow to Harrogate to London and King's Lynn and lost a couple hours in London to Tube problems.

Yes, be prepared for Tube lines to be delayed or out of service. They're working on upgrading the infrastructure, but lots of it is still old.

It will rain while you're there, so bring an umbrella.

Also, Samantha Brown has a new show on the Travel Channel highlighting weekend trips to various places and one is London. She has some good tips, so if it's on, check it out.

And, yes, the tea is excellent. Add some milk and have some scones or crumpets and you can pretend to be a local.

 

There's an article in today's USA Today - "London Doesn't Have to Be Royally Expensive."

We've already covered most of this, but here you go:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2008-09-03-london-on-a-budget_N.htm

 

And how are those meats prepared?

Salt and pepper (but only mild pepper)?

When you make a nice shepard's pie or bangers and mash, what are you pulling out of the spice cabinant?

Salt
Pepper
Maybe thyme?
Maybe rosemary?

What vegtables are prepared in creative ways by the Brits?

England's music in fantastic. Cooking? Not so much.

 

The notion that the term "British Cuisine" is an oxymoron is an out of date perception.

Twenty-five years ago, yes, most British restaurant food was crap.

Chefs like Marco Perry, White, Ramsay, and Heston Blumenthal, whose restaurant Fat Duck was named the best in the world have completely changed the face of British cooking. And guys like Jamie Oliver have been campaiging diligently on trying to change the ordinary Briton's idea of cooking.

England will never be France or Italy but it's not the culinary wasteland it used to be.

 

Two words: Spotted dick.

That is all.

 

The pudding or the restaurant?

 

The pudding. There's a restaurant? I must have missed that. But the pudding, despite the name, is wonderful.

 

There's a restaurant in France, opened by a couple of Brits, called The Spotted Dick.

They wrote a book about their experience.

There's also a pub here in Toronto by the same name.