London Tips for The Non-British, probably American, Traveller: A Most Definitely Indefinitive Guide

I know a lot of people who have gone to London but the only advice I was give was to eat all of the different foods. That isn't bad advice but I wish there were somethings that I was told before hand that I didn't find elsewhere. Here are some things that people should know before arriving in London.

1 - J-walking isn't illegal.

What this means is that you can cross the street whenever you like and the police won't give you a ticket or something. That being said, the vehicles on the street don't really care too much about you. In the United States, pedestrians are given the "Right-of-Way" at crosswalks. The pedestrian goes first then the car goes. In London, crosswalks are more like "designated suggestions". The car goes first then the person goes.

For example, if cars are stopped at the intersection and the light turns while you're crossing, prepare to experience Frogger in real life. It actually seems like the cars/buses/bikes will actually speed up when you try to cross. They have nothing against you but considering you can technically cross the road anytime you want, they don't really see any need to wait for you. Remember that you are in the way of them and not the other way around. Makes sense, right? I heard that if you've ever been to New York, you're mostly used to this kind of traffic.

There are a few crosswalks where traffic has to stop for you. They are shown in the picture below.

Those light-posts indicate this kind of crossing. If you walk up to one of these, oncoming traffic will stop for you. These are uncommon but they are very convenient and should be taken advantage of as a pedestrian.

The best tip I can give you is: Be Observant. Observe how traffic flows. Observe the way the locals move around traffic. Observe the way the light system works.

2 - Bathrooms

First, public bathrooms are simply called "Toilets". Straightforward right? Bathrooms are where you take a bath. Toilets are were you take a dump. You're not going to a public bathing space but a public toilet. Alright? Awesome.

For you American guys, you'll see one big difference at the urinals. Look at the picture below. Do you see anything missing?

That's right, those little walls separating you from the guy next to you are gone. This is a common feature missing in many public bathrooms in the UK. When they mean public, they mean public. To make it even more awkward, sometimes the urinal is just a big trough that everyone pees into. It really makes the word community take on a whole new meaning when you realize that another persons piss is flowing toward the same drain as yours.

3 - Currency

The United Kingdom uses pounds not euros. I think this is common knowledge but just FYI for those of you who didn't know. There have been a few places that I've seen that accept euros but those are few and far between.

The bills are called "notes". So instead of saying a "5 pound bill" it's a "5 pound note" which just sounds richer. The hardest part about this currency are the coins. There are 8 of them that you will see. It seems confusing at first but I'll explain it and hopefully you'll just how simple it is.

Here are the 8 coins you'll use in the UK. The lowest value coins are the 2 round copper coins on the far left. The smaller coin is 1 penny and the bigger coin is 2 pence. Moving right we have the 2 round silver coins. The small one is 5 pence and the bigger one is 10 pence. Next are the 7-sided silver coins with the smaller coin equaling 20 pence and the bigger equaling 50 pence. The last 2 coins have the greatest value. The smaller coin is 1 pound and the bigger is 2 pounds.

Do you see the progression? It's really quite simple and makes a lot more sense than the coin system we have in the States. Another thing that is really handy is that the size of the notes get bigger as the value of it increases. So a 5 pound note is smaller than 10 or 20 pound note.

4 - Water...

There are the three different kinds of water you'll need to be aware of: Still, Sparkling and Tap. Still is fairly straight forward. It's your normal everyday bottled water. However be careful when you buy bottled water and accidentally buy Sparkling/Mineral Water, which are also bottled. Tap water is what you order at restaurants if you want the pitcher. More about that in a little bit.

-- at Drinking Fountains --

An American coming to the UK will notice a severe lack of drinking fountains. You'd be lucky if you found more than one in a public building, if at all. When travelling in London, it's a good idea to have a large water bottle of some sort that you can fill at the beginning of the day and not worry about refilling too often. Some of my fellow students have gotten 2 liter bottles of water at the store (which is rather cheap I might add) and simply reuse the bottle as they desire. You might be able to find a restaurant that'd be happy to refill your bottle for you though I haven't had the need to do that.

-- at Restaurants

When you order at a restaurant in the United States, you are practically guaranteed free water with lots of ice in tall glasses. In the UK this isn't always the case. In most of the places I've been to, the water is free and you just need to ask for it or serve yourself. Other places will expect you to pay for water. A few of my fellow students went out to dinner one night and they were charged 3.20 each for water. To help avoid this when eating out, make sure you order "Tap Water" or simply ask the waiter if water is free or not. Note: It probably won't have a lot of ice, if any. Just FYI.

5 - Restaurants and Food

London is a melting pot of cultures at the moment and you can practically find food from every part of the world. I've seen restaurants and bakeries featuring foods from America, the UK, German, France, Turkey, Japan, Thailand, Egypt, Vietnam, Russia, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Poland and more. Almost everything you can imagine. It's a foodie paradise and, if you keep your eye open, you can find some great deals for lunch and dinner.

Across the street from our flats, for example, there is a crepe/pancake shop called My Old Dutch that does a 5 pound deal on most of their crepes on Mondays. There's an italian restaurant called Bella Italia that has a lunch deal where you can order a 2 courses meal for 10 pounds or a one course meal for 8. We also found an Indian restaurant that offers a 20% discount if you dine there between 12-5pm.

London is also a city very conscious of dietary needs. If you are gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian or vegan, you will find that most places will have something you can eat. Some restaurants will have a "food bible" or something that list all of their food and if it's gluten-free,dairy-free,veggie or vegan. (BTW - "veggie" is short for vegetarian in London)

The Restaurant system is very much the same as it is the US. Each restaurant has it's little quirks though. Some will seat you and have a waiter for you as usual. Some will seat you and then you go to a register to order rather than having a waiter. Some will let you seat yourself and then a waiter will come get your order. And the possibilities go on and on. If you're unsure as to how they do things at that restaurant just ask a waiter/worker.

On the matter of tips. First they are called "Optional Service". As you can tell by the name, they are optional unless you have a large group then it might simply be added to the price of your meal. Most restaurant will calculate the "proper" percentage for you which is 12.5% rather than the 15%-25% that we have in the US. As a general rule 10% is the polite amount to tip in the UK.

Some recommendations:

• My Old Dutch = Man-hole sized crepes. 5 pound Mondays.
• Bella Italia = Italian Food. Great lunch deals.
• Nando's = Portuguese Chicken joint. Highly recommended.
• Love's Fresh Pasta and Pizza = Italian food. Great pasta.
• Oddono's/Scoop/Amorino = Gelato. Get the gelato.
• Pret A Manger = Coffee/Tea/Natural food. Imagine Starbucks and Wholefoods had a french baby. Good ready-made food for relatively cheap. 
• Byron's = British people making American food. A bit pricey but a good place if you are feeling homesick or looking for something familiar. This place is fun because each location is so different from the next.
• Five Guys Burgers = For when you're really feeling homesick and looking for something familiar.
• Street Food = Food at places like Portobello Road or Camden Market are amazing and incredibly diverse. They offer wonderful food and they can often be cheaper than restaurants. These places might only accept cash though so be aware of that.

There are so many places to eat that I couldn't possibly list them all. If you find someplace that sparks your interest, go for it. Also the cafes/restaurants at museums or galleries can be just as good as restaurants outside of them and are probably just as expensive.

6 - Living Spaces

The United States grew and expanded when transport technologies was booming. We live far apart from one another and we like our space. We have big cars, big apartments and homes. We have big streets and highways to accommodate our want for space. London, on the other hand, is a city built upon 2000 years of history. The buildings, streets, and infrastructure has evolved much in that time as you can imagine but it's ideas of comfort have needed to to fit into the space that has developed into what it is today. In other words, everything is going to be smaller than you're used to if you're from the US. Space is a luxury and you're going to have to pay for that luxury.

I'll give you the example of our living space. We lived in a dorm style of flat. They were okay. They have everything you need. A bed, lots of storage space, a good desk, a bathroom, a microwave, and a little fridge. On each floor there is a communal kitchen where you share dishes, mugs, ovens/stoves, large fridges, and more storage space. However there were some things that were a bit strange about our flats. Look at the position of the toilet in the picture below.

My Bathroom

You'll notice that the toilet in my flat is set at a diagonal in the corner of the bathroom, behind the shower. If this doesn't seem like a design flaw yet, try to imagine sitting on the toilet straight like you should. You can't. The shower stubbornly won't allow it. Your left leg does fit and you can't phase through walls so you have to sit facing the sink. It's not a big deal but it is a bit uncomfortable to sit on a toilet seat in a direction it was not meant to be sat upon.

That's it for now. I hope that was somewhat helpful to those of you you stumbled across this. Until the next post, which is super delayed, have a great day!