Lessons Learned: London

Having returned from London on Friday, I figured I would try to make sense of some of the things I learned while there:

• The American Hot — Apparently, this is somewhat widely recognized style of pizza, featuring pepperoni and sliced mild peppers. I’ve seen it offered as an option in every pizza place I’ve been in so far (and I’ve sampled a few different brands of pizza), and I’m a bit boggled that that’s seen as a seemingly quintessential American pizza. In my days of working in pizza places in the Midwest, I can’t recall many times that that combination was ordered. Certainly not enough that it’s a standard.
• Paying for Food — All I can say is that ordering and paying for food here is a rigidly eccentric experience, and I’m not sure it’s been the same in any two different restaurants I’ve been to. Some you order at the counter and pay at the time, some you seat yourself and wait for the wait staff, some you wait to be seated, but still order and pay at the counter, and almost all of them seem kind of annoyed to have to take a credit card. Which leads me to…
• Cash Cards, Swipe Cards, Cash Machines — Apparently my boring, pedestrian American debit card lacks some kind of chip that allows it to be used in the debit card machines here. I discovered this after running out of cash and wanting to buy some food at McDonald’s. (I know, I know, but they had some choices here that we don’t and I was curious.) But McDonald’s in London won’t take a card that requires a signature. And my debit card won’t work in their machines because it lacks that smart chip. And then, even though it had the right symbols, the nearest cash machine refused to give me any money (even though it accurately reported my balance). I wonder if they’re still holding my order for me at that McDonald’s, five days later…
• Mind the Gap — Actually means “mind the two foot vertical difference between the train and the platform. Sorry about that old boy, don’t know how it happened, we’ll have it fixed straight off.” Where “straight off” means “sometime this millennium.”
• No. 10 Downing Street — Which is the official residence/office of the Prime Minister, appears to be situated down some kind of narrow alley.
• The Tube — It really is a great way to get around. Yet again, I’ve been to a modern, international city with a fantastic public transit system, and I want it for my own. Of the few things that really appeal to me about living in a no-shit megalopolis, effective and reasonably reliable public transportation is probably tops on the list.
• British Food — Not that bad, compared to the reputation. But then, I only had fish ‘n’ chips once in eleven days. And yeah, sorry, I skipped the mushy peas.

That’s the trip in a series of basic and less-than-comprehensive bullet points. Beyond that, it was good, it was fun, it was a lot more work than I wanted it to be and I did not get to see or experience nearly as much as I wanted to, but it was a work trip and not a holiday, so that’s to be expected. I can’t wait to go again, and I hope I can convince my employer to let me.

Mirrored from Bum Scoop.