So I spent a week in London for the first time.
Here are my Top Ten Observations.
Top 10 observations.
1- It reminded me of San Francisco, except more buses and less bikes. Seems there were buses everywhere and it almost like being in a video game. If I could do a time lapse of Central London and Piccadilly , it would be quite amusing. However, there weren’t as many bicycles as I would have thought. Perhaps it’s the constant fear of rain?
2- Speaking of rain, it reminded me of Chicago. I was sitting at a Fulham Soccer game and it started raining- fair enough. Then, it was harder, then it was pouring, then it was raining sideway. Of course, left the game early so I would be stuck in a 25 minute walk in the rain and an hour wait at the Bus Stop. And a “double” of course- Fulham scored two goals after I left to win 3-2. If you want to see how bad it was, check this out- http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2014/november/08/huddersfield-in-pictures
3- You can’t use a normal credit card at many establishments. It’s all “chip and pin”. So, MasterCard may be accepted everywhere, but in London it’s not Fish and Chips- it’s Chip and Pin.
4- I can see why it’s recommended you get to Heathrow Airport two Hours early. It must be a mile or so walk to get from the train to the Terminal (Note- I did learn that the Piccadilly Tube is a LOT closer to the Terminal than the Heathrow Express- for your future planning). However, once there, there was NO one in line at security. Very weird.
5- It was much more Modern than I thought. It’s not that I was anticipating Castles and Churches on each corner, but it was certainly more sky scrapers and a hustling, bustling city. It was interesting as well with the historical buildings standing side by side and nestled up to more recent one. I would surmise that is from the bombings during the war where some of the buildings were destroyed. That thought, made me think further about what it would have been like (or is currently like for some parts of the world) to have your city being bombed.
6- I learned you can’t see Buckingham palace can’t be seen from the road. Well, more aptly, you can’t see it from the Tour Bus! You actually have to walk in through gates. For some reason, I thought it would be this huge building on the side of the road? Hickish of me I know.
7- You can’t change money at banks, unless you have an account. This one caught me a few times as I walked into several banks to change to Pounds, and you can’t without an account. Speaking of changing money (and this is a “bonus” observation) you lose money as you convert. Not just the exchange rate. I had changed $100 to Euro when I was in Dublin, and got less than $100 back. Then, we I converted the Euro to Pounds- I ended up with even LESS. Seems like I was just going backwards.
8- There are lots of Simons in London. On one day alone I had SIX meetings with someone named Simon.
9- The “Ritz” is NOT the Ritz Carlton. This is THE RITZ, so of course they were more posh and more pompous than almost anything. Not that that’s a bad think, again just an observation.
10- Bus Drivers aren’t very nice, especially when compared to Dublin. I can’t attest to Los Angeles, as who takes a bus in LA? However, the Dublin drivers were great, friendly, knowledgeable on routes, etc. London? Barely get a word out of them.
Anyway, that’ it for now on my Global Observations.