Random Pictures that Didn't Fit Anywhere Else
("The Monument." Commemorates the Great Fire of London.)
(Swan on the Serpentine)
(Can't even tell you how many funny looks I got the day I took this picture...this was also about the time I was almost deported so the irony was great.)
(Queen Elizabeth - from the National Portrait Gallery. Her military-inspired bodice reminded me of the military looks on the runways a few seasons ago. Proof that fashion really does repeat itself. You know, in case the re-emergence of all-things-70s hadn't already convinced you of that.)
(Locked gate in Kensington Gardens)
(Green Park. Aptly named.)
(Little garden near Hyde Park corner.)
(French Connection dress in a shop off Regent St., diy tights self-ripped)
(Burberry. Just up the street from Harrods.)
(Baby BMW. Start 'em young.)
(That's a statue of Lincoln looking out at the Houses of Parliament. Because Lincoln rocks wherever he goes...)
(The bank district)Things I Learned from Living in London
1. The Brits don't drink tea anymore. To be honest, I haven't seen a single working Brit with tea. They drink coffee. To be more precise, they drink Starbucks. Tea just doesn't have enough kick to keep up with America... :)
2. Being pale ISN'T a cardinal sin. This is the first time I haven't been teased about my fair skin. It's been nice.
3. The Brits think everyone hates them just as much as Americans think everyone hates us. This is actually a really interesting fact. Because of the rather inconsiderate conquests of the British empire in ages past, many of the Brits feel a bit of a lingering stigma when they go abroad. I've actually been told that they would rather tell people (especially the French) that they're American so that they get better service!
4. When someone says the "first floor" they mean the second floor. Floors here start at zero at ground level and then go up from there. Keeps confusing the daylights out of me... that and "vest" means tank top, "jumper" means sweater and "pants" mean underwear.
5. The Brits have a morbid fascination with murderers. For some reason, they seem to find really evil historic deeds super interesting. Throughout the trip every tour guide (and even normal people pointing out something they think is cool) I've come across has mentioned with great relish things like "Jack the Ripper used to operate in this neighborhood," "ancient knights plotted the murder of a saint in that basement," "so-and-so used to get drinks at that pub before going out and killing people..." Creepy.
6. You're always being watched. I didn't notice so much at first, but CCTV, a camera surveillance system, is EVERYWHERE in London. On street corners, in stores, in office buildings...It certainly adds to a sense of paranoia I've seen in many Brits, including some at work. I've heard all kinds of unnerving stories about the amount of access the British government has to citizens' lives and, well, I kind of don't wonder how Aldus Huxley came up with 1984 anymore...
7. Everyone has a different accent. In the US, we're used to different accents; Southern, Midwestern, Valley Girl, Bronx, New Jersey, but for a country smaller than half the states in America, the Brits have a ridiculous amount of accents crammed together. Each city seems to have a distinct way of pronouncing certain words and people judge worth by accent the same way Californians do by zip code!
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