The Weird and the Wonderful

S and I thought we would take a moment to record some of the weird and wonderful things we have encountered about living in London so far.  There are so many similarities but there are also some massive differences.  One minute you can feel totally at home and then the next you see/hear/notice something that reminds you that you aren't.  It's absolutely fabulous.

So here goes....

Wonderful:

• Park after park after park.  The parks here are amazing! When the sun is out everyone heads to the park.
• The hidden gardens - getting lost in this city is fun because it is likely that you will stumble across a beautiful little garden full of peony roses, tulips and daffodils when you least expect it.
• Home delivery fast food - last week we ordered sushi by home delivery and it was awesome.  Anything you want you can get delivered straight to your door.
• Transport - it is so easy to get around!
• The shopping is magical. E's heaven on earth.  Most areas in London have a High Street on which there are loads and loads of stores. One of E's  favourite High Streets is Marylebone High Street.  She also loves Upper Street at Angel.
• One word - VARIETY.  Variety of food, variety of shopping, variety of things to do and things to see.  We also love the variety of people and areas.  The pretty tree lined streets in the West End are so utterly different from the grungy trendy streets of the East End.
• London is so trendy - we love it!
• Food - E's favourite topic.  There are so many markets selling fresh produce like olives and cheese and bread.  Then there are thousands upon thousands of restaurants.
• Pub and Street Names - We love looking out for quirky pub and street names.  One of E's favourite lane names is Huggin Hill.  Another is Man on the Moon Lane.

Weird / Different

• The coffee or should I say "lack of coffee".  There are hundreds of cafes in this city but the coffee is awful.  It is soooooo weak.  The Brits should just stick to what they are good at - Tea.  They are only just introducing a flat white here and even then it isn't a proper flat white.
• Littering - everyone litters because in the early hours of the morning a council worker comes along and makes the streets beautiful again.  There is a serious lack of bins here.  In fact, in the tube stations they don't have bins as a security measure to stop terrorists putting bombs in them!
• The shop assistants in the grocery store sit down and they don't even pack your plastic bag for you.  You have to do that yourself.
• As soon as the sun comes out, the Brits drink on the road and footpath outside the pub. It's funny, we Australians to a bar or pub to drink in that pub.  In Spring/Summer, the Brits grab their drink from the pub and head for the street or the park across the road.  They then return their glass when they are done!
• Some of the things the Brits say - "You're right", meaning "Hi, How are you?" (of course that makes sense - NOT) and "Hiya/Heya" meaning "Hello". "Innnit" - Still haven't figured that one out yet.  A zucchini is a courgette and a sweet potato is a squash.  They have never ever heard of the term Macca's either.
• By law, no household can have an electrical power outlet in the bathroom - it can often make straightening your hair very tricky.

xoxo
E&S