Travel tips for First-Timers to England

Just because we speak the same language . . . well, almost the same language (see my first post), that doesn't mean that everything else is going to be the same over in the UK as it is in the United States. They do a lot of things differently over here from what you are used to back home. The obvious thing is that throughout the British Isles, they drive on the wrong side of the road, so get used to getting in what you and I consider the driver's side and NOT find a steering wheel. It's over on the other side, along, I hope, with a driver who's used to driving over here. It takes some getting used to, being on the wrong side of the road and not cringing thinking that you're surely driving against the flow of traffic.

If you are bringing electrical/electronic stuff along, make very sure that you also bring along an appropriate voltage converter. If your equipment has built in adapters, make sure you have plug adapters also. The electrical outlets, called the Mains over here, are quite different and much larger than what we use in the States, so there'll be no adapting on the fly with your handy Leatherman pocket tool. :-) Hair dryers require high amperage converters!!! Most everything else you can stuff in a suitcase can get by on a regular electrical converter. Oh, and while I am on the subject of hair dryers and the such, you will not find ANY electrical outlets (Mains) in any of the bathrooms here in the UK! Not even in the hotels. There is one and only one electrical device in the bathrooms of the United Kingdom, and that is the light switch, and it is a string by the door as you go in. This is the law over here. The switch itself is up on the ceiling where hopefully the water won't get to it and cause a short circuit. This means that if you are going to shave with your electric shaver, you'll have no problem because they are all battery powered nowadays. But it gets the women folk out of the bathroom faster because there is no place to plug in their hair dryers in the bathroom. They'll just have to find a mirror somewhere else.

As for cell phones, you'll just have to check with your provider on that one. Some cell phones sold in America are not compatible with the networks over here. Strangely enough, all cell phones sold over here are compatible with the networks in the States. Apparently, some of the phone companies in the States are not keeping up with the technology that's used in the rest of the world.

Most Americans are used to drinking iced drinks, even water. Over here, cold drinks usually means room temperature! If you want ice, you'll have to provide it for yourself if you are staying with someone. Hotels have ice machines just like back home. Restaurants will add ice if you request it, but for the most part, it's not needed in restaurants since cold drinks are served reasonably cold anyway . . . and you get a bit more to drink that way because ice takes up volume that could otherwise be filled with your drink of choice. DO NOT expect to find Iced Tea over here!!! It just ain't gonna happen. You might even get thrown out of the establishment for asking for it. :-) The British think that this is one of the most barbaric things we Americans do; drink iced tea. Tea is meant to be served HOT and no other way!!! You can get coffee instead of tea if you prefer. There are many coffee drinkers over here who don't bother with tea. If you are staying with someone in their home, just ask to go to the corner market where they will usually have small bags (about the same size as a bag of french fries) of ice for parties and such. Or you can simply bring a plastic ice tray or two along and hope that your host has room in their freezer for them. They'll have no problem letting you get ice one way or another. In fact, they'll be expecting you to look for ice. :-) They think it's funny of us and get amusement from it.

If you must go out and walk by yourselves, be sure and look several times both ways before crossing the street. This is because the cars will come from unexpected directions. Remember, they drive on the wrong side of the road. The local governments, called Councils, often times are good enough to paint instructions on the road as to what direction to look before crossing the street . . . no joke, they do this! Mostly, they do this because almost all foreign visitors need this reminder - and the British would rather have you live long enough to spend your money over here before you get killed becoming a hood ornament for some car. Always keep a small umbrella with you too. I like the ones that are small enough to fit in your pocket. It's almost guaranteed to rain sometime during the day, even if there isn't a cloud in the sky. I personally have stood out in the rain while looking straight up and not seeing a cloud above me from which the rain could come from. Apparently, the rain can blow sideways for a while before falling on some poor hapless soul without an umbrella.

When eating out, make sure to try one of the many pubs in England. They are everywhere and you'll get excellent food at most of them. In some places of England, they are called Free Houses. They'll usually have two main rooms; one for the drinkers and the other for dining. As for English cuisine, you can't beat their Sunday Roast Dinners. The only other thing that the English are good at when it comes to cuisine is their Fish & Chips. This is why you don't see English restaurants like you would see Italian or Chinese restaurants. The English cuisine is usually made up of different pies where they just throw all the ingredients for dinner in a pan lined with a pie crust and bake it. Not very imaginative. Now, if you order Fish & Chips, if you don't like green peas, make sure to specify "No Peas," or otherwise you'll get those peas thrown in under your chips (french fries). Also, make sure you're very hungry because they're going to serve you what appears as a side of whale! The Brits don't dally around when it comes to Fish & Chips! Oh, and their idea of french fries (chips) is more on the order of steak fries for us. If you happen to go to one of their Chip Shops - short for Fish & Chips, the fish and the chips will be wrapped up in plain newspaper (plain meaning it hasn't been printed on). This is to soak up the grease, and there will be plenty of grease because they are most often served right up from the cookers with little time for draining.) Chip shops are like everything else, some are great, some are good and some are not so good. However, at Chip shops, if you want green peas, you have to ask for them and they'll serve them up in a Styrofoam cup for you. One interesting thing about the peas here is that in the South, they serve the peas whole, whereas up here in the north, you'll likely be served mushy peas as not. It's one of those North/South things that many countries have.

If you drink mostly soft drinks, be prepared to be disappointed. While they do have Coca Cola and Pepsi and all the variations on those two particular drinks, you won't find too many other of their brands over here. The British seem to think that Sprite and 7-Up are lemonade and as such all their lemonades are fizzy. They don't have much variety in carbonated drinks (fizzy) here. Sometimes you can find Dr. Pepper. But don't expect to find Root Beer over here. Their idea of Orange Fanta needs some work. And beware if someone offers you something they call Squash. It's not the vegetable like you'd expect. It's a watered down version of orange juice and grapefruit juice combined. Nobody I know over here likes it, but many people keep it on hand for visitors. I'm not quite sure why that is or what the implications are. :-) No matter how they talk it up, it tastes terrible! Restaurants will serve you Squash when you ask for orange juice unless you ask for fresh orange juice. Just to be on the safe side, ask before ordering!

When you start to talk to someone over here who doesn't know you, be prepared to be asked if you are from Canada. I don't know why it is, but most Brits cannot tell the difference between the American and Canadian accents. I am especially puzzled because I have a distinct Southern accent, not something that could ever be mistaken back home for Canadian. And this is from people who can tell you what part of England, and quite possibly what town another of their citizens is from just by hearing them talk. They can distinguish what part of Africa, Australia or India other English speakers come from just by listening to them, but they cannot for the life of them tell us Americans apart from Canadians! Go figure. Oh, and when they find out you are from the South, they'll ask you to talk for them! They don't care what you say, just talk for them because they love to hear what you and I would call a good Southern accent. What I find particularly strange about the British is that throughout the Islands here, you'll find that they have several many dialects of English (I remember an English professor of mine telling me that English had no dialects at all, just regional accents), and they can tell them all apart, but they cannot tell a Canadian from an American. LOL

One of the most interesting (my words, not the words of most English) dialects is the Geordie dialect. It is peculiar to the Newcastle/Gateshead area out to the mouth of the Tyne River, an area I would estimate at about 5 miles by 10 or 12 miles (the distance from where I live to the Tyne Mouth). The Geordie dialect has a good mixture of Anglo-Saxon (Old English), Scots (Celtic) and Modern English with the occasional Viking word thrown in for good measure. Nobody is certain how it got it's name, but its origins come from the fact that this part of England has switched hands more often than most. Travelers here will have to take extra care when conversing with many of the locals. The same is true for certain other parts of the United Kingdom. Wales is one of them. While a Welsh accent is beautiful to listen to (think of Richard Burton), if you come across someone whose Welsh doesn't have enough English mixed in to it, you'll not understand him or her at all. The same can be said of the Geordies. If you come across someone speaking pure Geordie, you'll not understand him or her for love nor money. :-) Now the locals are aware of this and try to speak in a fashion that is understandable for most visitors. Many have just what is called a broad Geordie accent that is beautiful to listen to. But to get a bunch of them together and try and understand what they are saying? Forget it! You have to gain an ear for it. I've been here 20 months and I'm just starting to understand a little of pure Geordie. But I digress.

Back to the food thing. They have over here what they call the Full English Breakfast. It consists of 2 fried eggs, usually sunny side up, what we call "pork & beans," 2 hash brown patties (think Arby's potato cakes and you'll hit the nail right on the head), toast, and either a link or 2 of the local sausage (Devonshire, Yorkshire, etc.) or what passes for bacon around here. The bacon is irregular cut and is not cooked done enough to suit most American's taste. Stick with the sausage. Of course, you can order your eggs scrambled or cooked some other way without any trouble too. You'll not find pancakes or waffles on the breakfast menu! They are both considered deserts for after dinner. By the way, dinner over here is usually called Tea and desert is called Pudding. Why? I don't know!

When you travel across the countryside, you may find that you are traveling by train. This is still a convenient option for travel here in England. Or you may travel by car. They have the same kind of roads we do in the States, just different names for them. Then there is the stereotypical English countryside road which is just barely two lanes wide and lined with hedgerow bushes. At the time these roads were paved, the cars here in England were considerably smaller than now. And even now, most of the cars here are smaller than what we are used to in America. If ever you get a chance to be driven along in the countryside along these small roads, take it! You won't regret it at all. You'll encounter beautiful little villages everywhere, usually with an old stone church in the middle. Occasionally, you come across a large stone church in the middle of a very small village. This indicates that at some time in the past, the village was much larger and was able to support and fill the large church. Speaking of churches, you'll find none more beautiful than the churches here in England, scattered across the countryside. Then of course, there are the giant cathedrals that are everywhere. Visit some of these too. Many of them were built between 500 and 1000 years ago. Not too far from where I live is the Durham Cathedral which is one of the oldest and finest examples of Norman architecture in all of Europe. For those of you who are familiar with English history, in particular the period of Henry VIII, you'll know that it was he who founded the Anglican Church when he broke away from the Roman Catholic Church. Sometime after that, he ordered all the Roman Catholic monasteries, abbeys and convents seized and taken over so that he could have access to the tremendous wealth they had amassed for several centuries. The ruins of most of these monasteries are littered across the countryside and are worth a visit. Many were small, but there are some that were quiet large and very impressive. Their ruins today still inspire awe. Here in the Northeastern part of England, there are more castle ruins than in any other part of England. Most are small castles built by the British to guard against the Scots in their many border disputes, but there are some also that are very large and impressive. No matter what part of England you visit, be sure to include both old monasteries and castles in your visit. Oh, and one last thing all visitors will note over here: the grass is a brilliant green year round! I guess that is where they have earned the nickname of the emerald Isles.