Saturday, May 2, 2009

It's a Conspiracy

The citizens of London have been keeping a centuries old secret about the weather there. They've employed artists and especially musicians to perpetuate the myth that London is cold, rainy and foggy all the time. The truth is that it's perfectly pleasant weather nearly always and sometimes actually hot. There's probably a white sand beach accessible by the Tube as well.

My brief time in the UK has been perfectly pleasant, if a bit pricey. Everyone I've met seems to be in a good mood, smiles at my accent when I talk and offers directions and advice without me even asking. Maybe I'm just used to the pushy and impatient Spaniards and Italians. Last night I drank a Guinness and ate a burger (let's not talk about how much that cost), had a BATH (I nearly drowned it was so nice) and this morning I got a big breakfast. The Underground experience was only slightly confusing and that was due mostly to the ticket machines not accepting bills/cards/coins/whatever and the huge lines that went behind them. There were crowds of football fans headed to their various games, singing different songs which echoed throughout the tunnels.

Stansted airport, by the way, is in the middle of nowhere. Don't let them tell you it's the London-Stansted airport. It's a 55 minute train ride through green fields and forests before you get to London. You can't even see the city from the airplane on the way in. It is however probably the least stressful airport in London if not the UK.

More about Italy later.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I remember when we went, the week BEFORE we were there the weather was awesome. When we got to Scotland, it was cloudy and drizzly almost the whole time. We ended up in a downpour in London while out walking one day, and the rest of the time in England it was pretty much cloudy, though we did have a couple of sunny days. We were there from May 19 through the end of May, so a little later than your trip. As for being pricey - at least the dollar to pound rate is only about $1.55 or so. When we were there it was 2 to 1. Talk about pricey!! The big breakfasts are nice, aren't they? There is definitely a difference in the "continental" breakfast vs. the English breakfast. While in Paris we cooked breakfast in our apartment, then made ourselves a nice baguette sandwich to take with us. Never ate a dinner in a restaurant, but we did have nachos twice at the Hard Rock (craved a "normal" meal and they were awesome!) I wish I was there with you!

Middle Child said...

LOndon sounds lovely...I have been told meat meals are very expensive...but plenty to look at no doubt...my big dream is ireland...one day