A few notes on moving around in London… Here are a few things I learned you should not say in a cab, if you want to continue riding in that cab. These are actual quotes that come courtesty of some American tourists I’m travelling with:
- -“I bet the Queen is a f-ing bitch.”
-“It’s amazing how wrong this country is about so much.”
-“Maybe if it keeps raining, it’ll wash the smell of British people away.”
-“Ohmygod, that store has Miss Sixty, we totally have to remember this street…what is this? Lie-chester Sqaure. Wicked cool.”
It’s interesting taking the lift (elevator) in London because floor numbers are marked differently. The floor on the ground is not the first floor, but in fact the 0th floor. Yes, where you enter, there is no floor. Go up one, then you’re on the first. Well that could make sense, but what happens if you go down? Basement, right? Nope, floor negative 1, yup, – 1. In London you can actually have a negative amount of floors….a lot like you can have a negative amount of dental care.
My favorite way of moving in London is on the escalators. In London, it is very strict that you stand on the right side and walk on the left side, that way those in a hurry can fly up the steps throwing elbows to let everyone know that the extra ten seconds they save are worth sweating it out, racing up the escalator. The escalator is a lot like European politics. You can stand on the right and be content, or you can go to the left and race ahead. Unfortunately, for all your movement, you don’t end up that far ahead in the end. Of course, you can also stand on the left, and not move, and get shoved out of the way as soon as someone comes racing along.
Can I also say how happy I am that there is no metric conversion for time, that would be a bitch. I have enough trouble converting pounds to dollars, and if time were metric, it would make no sense.
Me: Excuse me what time is it?
Brit 1: Yellow.
Me: Oh….right.