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Big Ben, Parliament
November 08, 2007
It's odd visiting a country so far away from home where everyone speaks the same language. The differences one encounters throughout the day are very subtle. I guess every major metropolitan area throughout the world suffers from some form of homogenization. Walking down the street in London on the first day was like this. There's an Irish pub, there's a supermarket, there's a bank, etc. Once you jump in and immerse yourself, you'll start to notice the little things.
We were only there 3 full days. We spent that time zipping from one end of the city to the next on the Underground, taking in as many sites as possible. We visited the Tate Modern and managed to snap a handful of pix before the polite security person informed me that I was not allowed to do that. The Camden Market was completely insane and overwhelming; great to experience. Hell, we even managed to find a place that served veggie bangers and mash. Had lots of weird ales at cellar temperature, and they were all delicious.
We never went to any strictly veg restaurants, but pretty much every menu we came across had a Vegetarian Options section of the menu. Sometimes it was laughable and repetitive, but at least it was there, right down to the traditional English breakfast. Another thing I thought was great was that all of their food packaging clearly labels what is "suitable for vegetarians" and what isn't. Even cheese packaging (sans rennet).
The rest of the areas we visited around England—the Manchester area, Lake District, etc.—were all great in their own ways. Amsterdam was completely surreal. Bikes, so many bikes! Everyone rides and no one dresses like they're getting ready for the Tour de France. Of course, the entire city is flat so it's perfectly fine to bike to work in the same clothes you plan on working in. Bike lanes are completely separated from autos and even have their own traffic signals. We spent most of our time there exploring the city on foot, eating good food, and just hanging out and playing cards. Jet lag really set in when we got home, and I finally feel normal this week.
And now, we're only a few days away from a trip to Costa Rica! 85-90 degree weather, jungles, dirt roads, surfing...can't wait. I'll leave you with this, a commercial I saw in our hotel room in London. I have no idea how it relates to what they're selling, but I love it for some inexplicable reason.
Posted by Aaron on November 8, 2007 01:23 PM| Permalink