Things About England

We spent last week visiting friends in the suburbs of London. Since we stayed with them and were outside the capital city, we were afforded the opportunity to live more like locals. I've visited England twice before but both times were in full fledged tourist mode. It's interesting the things you notice when you're not targeted like a wallet with legs.

• The Suburbs - Life in suburban England is somewhat stereotypical. There's a lot of greenery, old buildings, pubs, chip shops and people riding horses. Yes, that's right, horses are still very much a widespread leisure activity in England and not just for the equine weirdos like in The States. Their houses are smaller, more expensive and generally much older than ours.
  
• The Food - Contrary to popular opinion, Britain actually has some decent food. There really weren't many fast food joints to speak of and most meals we had were eaten in various types of pubs. In addition, the best meal I had while there was in a "mom and pop" style pub. Braised lamb shank that falls off the bone when you sneeze on it? Yes, please. Lunch is generally more of a snack and dinner is a 2-3 hour affair with at least three courses. How can they do it and remain thinner than Americans is likely due to portion size.
• The Alcohol - We were there for a week and I had less than a half dozen glasses of water. Aside from the occasional cup of coffee or tea, I drank beer. I didn't see my Brit friend drink a single glass of water or soda so I figured I might as well do as the locals do. We got pretty drunk watching football/soccer in a packed neighborhood pub on a Saturday afternoon but there were no fights, no cops and no one got sloppy. I also realized I like scrumpy (8% ABV cider) and cask ale.
  
• The Roads - Much of Europe is famed for great roads and England is no exception. Not only do they have so much more character than our counterparts, they're also not very SUV friendly. When your drive to dinner makes a diesel Golf seem like a fun car, you don't need anything fancy to have a good time on weekends. I'm also convinced that roundabouts are a FAR better system than traffic lights and four way stops.
• The Baths - Ever been to a London hotel and wonder how the hell you're supposed to keep the bathroom floor dry? The English take baths, not showers, and don't really understand why anyone would do it differently. I think the last time I took a bath someone else was doing the cleaning for me. When I asked how you rinse properly, given you're sitting in dirty water, I wasn't really give a valid answer.
• The Hospitality - Among our opportunities to "mingle with the locals" were tea with my friend's parents and a brief stint at a New Year's Eve party. His dad not only invited total strangers into his home to have afternoon tea but he'd also gone out to buy jam donuts because he wasn't sure what Americans ate. Yes, it's a bit generalist but I can't blame the guy for trying. At the party, guests made an obvious effort to include us in conversation. Some of it was curious inquisition about America's choice in cars and politicians, but it was all in the spirit of understanding more about our culture. My personal favorite was some guy with big ears asking how the wife and I knew each other. I'm pretty sure he was trying to flirt, thinking we were just friends, because he walked away shortly after I was identified as her husband. In his defense, she did look extremely hot that night. Combine that with friends who let us stay with them for a week, without nary a complaint, and you have the makings of a generally polite people.

So I guess that's it. If you have the option to visit somewhere and skip what they show you because that's what they think you want to see, do it. We're still working through the pictures but I should have them and two videos to post in a few days.