THINGS THE BRITISH LOVE

As Americans we love football, cheeseburgers, apple pie, Thanksgiving, fireworks and showers that actually work. :-) 

Here are some things we noticed the Brits LOVE.

BEAUTIFUL HOMES AND GARDENS – Everywhere we went we saw exquisite homes and gardens, whether out in the countryside in a small village or in the middle of London.

SPORTS CARS – They were everywhere!  Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, Jaguars, Peugeot, even the everyday auto was much more likely to be sleek and sporty than in America. Here are two examples. Can you guess the brands?

HIGH FASHION – It was Fashion Week 2012 in London while we were there and the stores were bristling with shoppers. Many from Britain, a few from America, and hordes from France, Germany, Scandinavia and both the Middle East and Far East. Here are shoes we saw in a department store display and a dress by Alexander McQueen.

GOOD MUSIC – Whatever your preference, you’ll find it here. These pics are of a young woman singing opera in the square in Bath and an enthusiastic band at Portobello Road Market singing a Beatles cover.

GREAT FOOD – The belief that British food is terrible is a myth. We found the food to be uniformly terrific. We ate in numerous restaurants of great variety: Lebanese, French, Belgian, vegetarian, local pubs, a burger joint, even department store and museum restaurants. From highbrow to lowbrow and everything in between, the food was excellent. The pic below is of a street stall preparing paella.

THE ROYALS – Kate was coming off her topless photo revelation and all the papers were sympathetic and encouraging. Extensive coverage of their trip to the South Pacific was all over the news. They admire William. They adore Kate. And they’re amused by Harry. Here is Deb at Hamleys (reportedly the largest toy store in the world) posing with Lego representations of the three.

And here are Kate and Will immortalized at Madame Tussauds:

We loved the British culture and its people and can't wait to return.