Touristy in the UK 2015, Part 6 - Acts of Random Tourism

[jamesq]

This is just a catch all for random thoughts about this trip. No real theme or nothing. Just ponders, observations, and other goodies.



Lots of places, including museums, the airport, and British Airways flights, server scones with jam and clotted cream. I'm not sure how this whole country doesn't look like Jabba the Hutt. A few possibilities:

1. Afternoon meals are the big one, and people have a light supper. Calories consumed washes out.
   
2. People get more exercise because it's less of a car culture.
   
3. It's an occasional treat, not something you eat at every opportunity (like I did).
   
4. The English have evolved to ignore all dairy. It transubstantiates into something with no calories when they consume it.

Another thing I enjoyed was the fact that English women all seem to have nice legs. Again, I have a few explanations for that:

1. Like with the non-Jabba nature despite an abundance of scones, I suspect people just walk more.
   
2. The fashion is to show off legs, so more people take the time to dress-up in leg-friendly ways.
   
3. Observer bias: I've decided this is true, so now I notice all the nice legs, confirming my theory, and ignore all the times it doesn't.

Oh well, not something that really needs an explanations. Just enjoy it, James.



I decided to wander around all the touristy bits I missed last time I was here. You know, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, etc. The picture below, commemorating the Arakan Campaign (Allied troops liberating Burma), I saved because I have a role-playing character who was in a heavily fictionalized version.



Women of WWII. Nice to see a little recognition. Next time I'm in the UK, I may have to go to Bletchly Park.



Restaurant recommendations.
Côte Brasserie, London.
Kopapa Cafe, London.
Devil's Advocate, Edinburgh.
Plane Food, Heathrow terminal 5.

Another recommendation: Don't have Chinese buffet in Southampton.



Speaking of restaurants, getting to Côte Brasserie was a minor adventure. I'll spare you the horrible details except to say that I got the time wrong (too early), and the directions wrong (too late), but in the end, multiple screw ups managed to cancel each other out and I somehow ended up at the right place at the right time. Woot! Also notable for my going through Mornington Crescent station.



othelianna and I had a really nice French meal at Côte Brasserie. Our server was very good, but there was something odd about the way our server sounded.

"So, I don't really know English accents, but this is sounding really sing-songy, like he's trying to affect a French accent, but can't quite manage it."
"That's an authentic Parisian accent. I'm guessing you've heard so many Quebecois accents back in Canada, you didn't realize that's not what actual French people sound like."
"Huh."

I kinda love the theatre district. Not just because of all the theatres, but because of the chaotic streets. I never quite knew where I was, but it was always entertaining.



As a final picture, The Hoff, promoting his (then) new album.