Travel Advice

[Aeson]

That doesn't surprise me - London is a huge, impersonal city with a population that mostly don't come from London. It has a huge amount of stuff to do but, if you want a friendly place to visit in the UK you'll have to get outside the capital.

Sounds like Atlanta and New York.

 

[Banshee16]

Just before you get the atlas out: Leeds castle is NOT in Leeds, it's in Maidstone!

Anyway, I second the British museum. The Kensington museums are also worth a visit (Natural History, Science and Victoria & Albert museums), as is Greenwich, where you can see the observatory and (if you want to walk a bit) take the Brunel tunnel under the Thames.

Outside London: loads of castles, the New Forest and maybe some of the old small cities like Winchester or Salisbury are worth a day trip.

Salisbury is on my list....as I understand it, that's the town nearest to Stonehenge.

Unfortunately, an atlas or trivia book could have saved us some face over there We had a friend take care of our house/dog while we were overseas. Before we left, he asked if we could get a souvenir or photo of where they shoot Coronation Street. Not knowing any better, since I don't watch the show, I asked about it in London, and just got blank looks. When I found out they had Internet access, I looked it up on Wikipedia, and found out it is filmed in Manchester on a soundstage. If it was something I was looking for for myself, I'd have likely done more research before going. Unfortunately, they probably thought we were yokels

The Conciergerie in Paris, and the castle at Chantilly were both very cool. And it was nice to revisit the Eiffel Tower. That's where I proposed to my wife two years ago, and last time, I was too nervous, and she was too scared of heights, for us to enjoy it. This time, we went up and stayed up for longer, got some photos etc. and it'll always be a special place for us.

Banshee

 

[Banshee16]

Sounds like Atlanta and New York.

And Toronto

The husband of a cousin of mine is from England, though not London. Apparently my findings about London don't surprise him.

I did see a few examples of classic manners though. On the subway, an old woman got on the train, and it was standing room only. Two businessmen jumped out of their seats to give her room, which isn't something I see often at home.

Banshee

 

[Aurora]

Doesn't surprise me either. I felt the same way about the people in London.

 

[Aeson]

I guess it's standard issue in a large city.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

But overall, as long as you at least open a conversation in French, then switch to English as soon as you get stuck, it's fine.

This is really the key to getting the French (and especially Parisians) on your side. The French hate looking bad, so opening up in French shows them two things: One, that you're trying, and two, that you're going to look even sillier speaking French than they will speaking English.

 

[Banshee16]

This is really the key to getting the French (and especially Parisians) on your side. The French hate looking bad, so opening up in French shows them two things: One, that you're trying, and two, that you're going to look even sillier speaking French than they will speaking English.

This is true. The "trying" is the important part. It's difficult for me, as I can speak French for hours without switching back to English, but my wife only speaks English, so she feels cut out of the conversations.

I *did* notice a difference in attitude when we dealt with people in English from the outset, rather than with me doing most of the communication on our behalf.

Banshee