Well, I am now back in Canada, and for those of you following my trip you will know what a great variety of experiences I enjoyed in 2 weeks.
This just seemed like a good time to share a few more general observations and helpful hints about travel in the British Isles. So here are my useful info bites, in no particular order.
[1] Driving on the left is not difficult. Driving down very narrow streets with cars parked on both sides and a bus or truck coming at you the other way is difficult.
[2] British hotels have small rooms. I mean small. Deal with it. Beds are firmer than in North America and pillows are thinner.
[3] British bathtubs stand much higher above the floor than North American tubs. Practise your leg raises before you go.
[4] Breakfast: grilled tomatoes (pronounced "to-MAH-toes") and mushrooms are standard. Black pudding is frequent. Fried bread appears once in a while. It's just a slice of bread fried crisp in the pan after the bacon is done to soak up the bacon grease. And the bacon looks and tastes different. Some places now also offer "streaky bacon" -- that's the regular kind eaten in Canada and the USA.
[5] Britain is expensive. Prices for most items are double the Canadian prices, give or take a bit. In London the prices are much higher again, especially for hotels.
[6] Pubs: a "pub" is now almost any restaurant which the owners choose to call a pub. It may be a traditional oak-lined local pub, or it may be a glossy modern gourmet palace. In a traditional pub you order drinks and food at the bar. You are then given your drinks, and your food is brought to you when ready.
[7] When travelling by bus, train, or air, a "single" isn't a person travelling alone. It's a one-way fare.
[8] When parking, take a good look around to see if there are any "Pay-and-Display" machines nearby. This is an alien species that is rapidly taking over the British Isles and all its car parks.
[9] Parking "stalls" (spaces) are all designed for cars the size of an obese skateboard. Most cars are now much bigger than that and so there isn't a lot of room to spare. Deal with it.
[10] Watch out for rogue bricks sticking up out of brick sidewalks and roadways to trip you. Some of the more aggressive bricks may jump at you. Ditto for cobblestones.
[11] The population of Britain divides equally into 2 groups: those who walk on the left side of a sidewalk and those who walk on the right side of the sidewalk. Members of both groups will give you an ugly stare as you walk directly into their path. You can't win.
[12] "Queueing" is mandatory. It means lining up for something or some place. Do not, repeat NOT, ever try to jump a queue. You will be politely but coldly reduced to quivering shreds of shame and remorse on the ground.
[13] British coinage is heavy -- especially the pound coin. Try to spend it as quickly as possible so you don't walk around with a 10 degree list to starboard. But do keep one pound coin on hand (see below)
[14] If going to a "leisure centre" (translation: public pool and/or gym), the lockers in the locker room require a pound coin to lock the door and release the key. You get it back when you open the locker again. Remember to take it with you, that's nearly $2 we're talking about!
[15] Old British towns and cities have terribly narrow and twisty streets. Some are restricted to pedestrians only. Parking is rare and expensive, and parking fines are common and much more expensive. If there is a Park-and-Ride on the outskirts, use it! Many towns and cities have them.
[16] Coffee placed in hotel and B&B guest rooms is instant coffee -- together with a kettle for boiling the water. Not to worry, it tastes much more like the real thing than North American instant coffee (for my tastebuds, anyway). And the little milk tubs hold real milk, not the liquid chemical slop so often seen here.
[17] If your hotel or B&B is in an older house (many of them are), be prepared for sloping and irregular floors, slanting walls, and creaking boards. Maybe even a resident ghost or two....
[18] Familiar brand names and logos abound in food and drink. Just expect that they will taste different from the versions you are accustomed to. Especially true of Starbucks.
[19] In a restaurant or breakfast room, if asked "Black or White?", this is not a declaration of racial segregation. It means "Do you want your coffee straight up or with milk?" If with milk, you may be offered a choice of warm or cold milk. Starbucks does this in the UK. Don't expect cream. Learn to like milk in your coffee or do without.
[20] A "bap" is a bread roll with fillings. Usually called this when bought at a take-away shop.
[21] "Chips" are french fries. "Crisps" are potato chips. Keep that straight.
[22] If going to a theatre or concert, the "stalls" are the ground floor seats.
[23] On the "motorway" (freeway) you are not allowed to fill up the fast lane by driving all the way in that one, and you are not allowed to pass on the left (which would be the same as passing on the right in North America). Apologies to all Ontarians who think the fast lane is the only one you are supposed to drive in.
[24] On all other highways, you may not get anywhere very fast at all. Don't plan long distance drives off the motorways. It doesn't work. Get very used to these narrow, twisty roads before you even dream of trying to pass someone.
[25] Especially in towns and cities, do not expect to drive in a straight line to where you are going. Be prepared for lots of twists and turns due to one-way streets, pedestrian-only streets, and so on. British towns mainly predate the invention of "town planning".
[26] "Lifts" are elevators. Everywhere you go, the lifts now talk to you. The voice is the same everywhere too -- female, cultivated, slow-spoken and bland. Evidently the lifts are a species of cloned alien beings, perhaps remotely akin to the Pay-and-Display parking machines.
[27] Also in lifts: the ground floor is often labelled "0". In such cases, the floor above the ground floor is "1", and so on up. The basement may well be called "-1".
[28] Many, but not all restaurants, now add a service charge to the bill. Where this is done, the standard amount seems to be 10%. Use that as a guideline in places where the charge is not added.
[29] If, God forbid, you need a pharmacy for any reason, what you really need is a "Chemist". The chain of Boots Chemist shops is ubiquitous and numerous.
[30] Many stores sell pre-made sandwiches, individually packaged. These are much, much better than their distant North American poor cousins. Whole grain bread is common, cheese is real cheese, not processed slices, and meat is usually better too. If the sandwich label mentions "pickle" don't expect sliced dills. It's the short term for "Branston pickle", a kind of sweet relish with a rich nutty taste that's hard to describe.
No comments:
Post a Comment