Five Surprising Things about London

Well, it has been a year since the flying monkeys moved over here to London. And what a year it has been!

Overall, I knew what to expect (I am nothing if not anal-retentive in my travel research and planning). I knew it would be cheap to travel all around Europe, London has three airports and a lot of discount carriers after all. I knew the weather would suck. I knew to anticipate miniature sized appliances:  dorm-fridge, mini-bake oven, and tiny washing machine (no dryer over here people). I knew I would LOVE all the walking - and not having the hassle, expense, and environmental guilt of a car.

Still a few things surprised me.......

#1 - Londoners Are Dirty: Not kidding, you would not believe how people throw trash on the ground, leave it on the Tube, toss it out of car windows, etc. It is disgusting. I suppose we see the worst of it, living near the Victoria Tube/Bus/Train Station where there are a lot of hotels and a transient population of travelers. Still, the trash is not limited to my neighborhood - it is everywhere. And even I (being a fairly politically liberal person) can appreciate the fact that here in London you have a high Council Tax that you pay to fund trash clean-up, so people don't feel the need to do it themselves. They pay for someone to pick up the shit they left on the ground. It still makes me crazy though.

#2 - The NHS is Pretty Good: I know not everyone would agree, but my experience was actually great. I filled out a 1 page form, submitted it to a Dr.'s office around the corner from my house, got my NHS number, and made an appointment for the very next day. Granted, I had a sore foot and not cancer, but it was refreshingly easy to get care - with absolutely no bill at the end.

#3 - The Food is Great: This one has a caveat - if you do some research, the food is great. You absolutely cannot go into the corner pub and expect greatness the way you generally can in San Francisco. But man, we have been to some fantastic restaurants. I have so many restaurants on my list that I just don't think we can make it to all of them in the year that we have left.

#4 - Londoners are Drunk: As in, people will pound beers all night......and no one eats (eatin's cheatin) at the pubs after work......ever. Compare this to San Francisco; when I want to meet friends there is a 40 email-long debate over where to meet for dinner. Here in London, people may grab a pack of crisps at 9:00pm to go with their beer - but that is about it. Let's just say it isn't pretty at about 10:00pm, when there are loads of really drunk men and women in business suits staggering around, unable to walk, and passed out on the sidewalk in the financial district. And EWWWWW the aftermath the next day, it is a good thing Sam isn't here because he loves eating random barf on the street. I have never seen anything like it.

#5 There are Lots of Small Businesses: I really like this part of London. There are a million smaller boutique coffee shops, restaurants, art galleries, furniture stores, clothing shops, etc. Some of the storefronts are no bigger than my bathroom, yet these tiny businesses are successfully operating. I attribute it to (after doing zero research) much lower start up costs, fewer stupid restrictive health department requirements, and the NHS (in that you can start a business and hire workers that are passionate about what they are doing and no one has to hold out for a lame desk job just because it offers health insurance). Anyway, there are a lot of chain-stores still of course, but it is so awesome to see all these super passionate people and cool, creative business across the city.

Well we are off to Rome tomorrow. I am so excited to wear all the summer dresses that I have that I haven't gotten to wear since it has been 63 degrees and raining for the last 3 months in London.We'll let you all know how it is down there.