Have a blast in London. I swear there are more people from everywhere else in London than there are Londoners. Stay away from the Italian food if you go outside London (never knew anyone could actually mess up pasta so badly!).
Get used to a fine curry. They're everywhere. And if you meet any Scots, invite them for a curry and a pint and you'll have a friend for life (I married one). And btw, I've heard there are more indian restaurants in London than there are in New Dehli.
The chinese food is also quite good. One entertaining moment I shall always remember when I ordered chinese food at a carry out ("take way" in England) and the chinese guy spoke to me with an English/Chinese accent. I had a little moment of brain freeze confusion. Very cool.
As long as you stay in London you can still get Snapple and Ben & Jerry's icecream but stray afar and you'r stuck with "sh*t". But the awesome beer and fish & Chips makes up for everything. In any village you can get some good fish and chips and some will still wrap it up for you in newspaper (and their newpaper doesn't get ink all over your hands!).
And for heaven's sake, if in doubt of the accent don't ever call a Scot, a Welsh person or an Irish person BRITISH or ENGLISH! Ugh. I still have the scars.
Try the sweet popcorn at the movies. And if you love chocolate, you'll never want Hershey's again after all the Cadbury and Lindt, etc.
Be sure to visit the Tate museums, Kew Gardens (!!) and take a little ride up the Thames on one of the tourist barges. And of course there are castles and shattered abbeys galore. Be sure to spend some time in beautiful Cornwall and watch the kestrels hover above the cliff edges. I actually saw baby seagulls nesting on the cliffs near Tyntagel (sp?) and I lit a candle in Merlins cave.
Oh heck, just have an incredible time. So much to do and see in very short distances. Great transportation, too. You'll be leaving lots of wonderful things behind here in the states but there is so much to do, see and learn in the UK.
Get used to calling chips - crisps and french fries - chips. Look both ways when you cross the street because the traffic is coming is a different direction than you automatically think. And when driving, beware of the "round abouts". They're backwards!
Peace,
Fran
PS - You can book REALLY cheap holidays from the UK to exotic places. We went to Majorca for a week (full board but the food was so-so) including air for under $500 (for 2 people!). This was just a couple of years ago so I suspect that's still the case.
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth creates a world that is blind and toothless - Ghandi
I suspect blind and toothless may not be optimum for good whistle playing...but then again...
"It might be a bit better to tune to one of my fiddle's open strings, like A, rather than asking me for an F#." - Martin Milner
