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Going to England for Christmas.
Mim
dead.Registered User regular
dead.Registered User regular
Sorry to have two threads going on at once, but this just happened.
I may be going to England for Christmas with my family and even stop in on Paris to take a look around. What kind of things can I expect? What should I look at? I'm 21 and my sister is 19, can we drink in the pubs there?
I already know not to try my hand at a British accent, but what else should I be wary about? Is there any cheap clothing sites? My version of cheap is $20 for a pair of jeans, less is even better.
Also, what will the weather be like? Is it safe for me and my sis to walk around by ourselves? Will I need mace?
I think I'll be in Cornwall? So suggestions needed a plenty.
I may be going to England for Christmas with my family and even stop in on Paris to take a look around. What kind of things can I expect? What should I look at? I'm 21 and my sister is 19, can we drink in the pubs there?
I already know not to try my hand at a British accent, but what else should I be wary about? Is there any cheap clothing sites? My version of cheap is $20 for a pair of jeans, less is even better.
Also, what will the weather be like? Is it safe for me and my sis to walk around by ourselves? Will I need mace?
I think I'll be in Cornwall? So suggestions needed a plenty.
BlueSky: thequeenofchaos Steam: mimspanks (add me then tell me who you are! Ask for my IG)
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And for the love of all that is holy, don't try a British accent!
So how is food in England anyways? I heard it was disgusting. Am I going to be running to McDonalds every night?
Let me add that I find black pudding fucking delicious and that people who say otherwise are wrong.
If you're going out and drinking, try to go to places like Wetherspoons (a big national chain), and ask the barstaff to reccommend other suitable places.
If you can, go for a traditional sunday roast at a good pub, that should change your mind about english food. If you're going to be looking at buying clothes, I'd say don't. Purely financially, they'll work out more expensive than if you bought them at home, but if you do need something cheap (c. $20), you're gonna be looking at Primark or TK Maxx, both of whom have nationwide chains.
With regards to personal safety when out and about, you are unlikely to get shot, stabbed, beaten or mugged during the day. At night, pretty much the same. There isn't that great a threat of anything like that in England outside of the major major cities. If in drinking establishments, try to go places with Doorstaff, and you should be fine. It's like going out in any new place, really. Stick to places that look and feel safe, and make sure you don't walk out late at night on your own. Get a taxi.
The only other advise I can give is Click me and read.
Definitely see Canterbury! I'd also highly recommend Dover - the castle and white cliffs are both worth seeing (especially the warrens used during the world wars).
You're really not going to find much, if anything, cheaper than in the US clothing-wise. About $35 is considered pretty damn cheap for a pair of jeans there (I'm going by H&M, Primark is just too cheap for me).
In December it's likely to be chilly, wet and grey. Unfortunately Christmas really isn't the best time to see the best of the UK countryside, so stick to sight-seeing and pubs.
Yeah. A lot of Americans, my fiance included, eat out far more than is possible in the UK.
I think a mistake you are making is to think that English people eat "English" food. It's like America. Do you eat burgers all day? No. You eat burritos, Chinese, Thai, felafel... You don't have to eat traditional English food if you don't want to, and I can assure you a great many English, including myself, almost never do.
Apart from beans on toast.
Listen, all you need to know about English food is this: If it has gravy on it, you're GOLDEN. And don't eat their sandwiches. The English may have invented the sandwich, but I have never seen a more pitiful, limp, damp little thing as an English sandwich.
Edit: Pretty much what Lewisham said as well, but I'm the type of traveler who likes to experience stuff.
Ah, and while you're in Cornwall, you have to try a Cornish Pasty. Classic working man's lunch, it's beef and potato and onion and all sorts of lovely things, wrapped in pastry and baked. Delicious.
Of course, I haven't been to Kent since I was little, so I can't really tell you what you should see. But damn, the food is great.
Thank you, Rubacava!
Priceless. 8-)
Cornwall is lovely. Be sure to get a full English breakfast somewhere, and visit a traditional old English pub for a good pint of proper ale. Beautiful.
I get the #10 from Mcdonalds (chicken nuggets~) and apple pies from time to time, but that's about it.
So... like... what do you think happens in the UK? o_O We just eat beef and wear bowler hats all day, or what?
Every restaurant is going to have vegetarian options. If you don't eat beef and you're eating in a typical English pub I'd suggest Scampi and Chips or Chicken in a Basket, but really, there are plenty of great restaurants at a variety of price points other than pubs. From what I understand, avoid Mexican restaurants over here as they are apparently a poor imitation of Mexican food according to Americans, but apart from that, pick your favourite cuisine and look for a recommended eatery. Check out restaurants that are classified under British for some real British cuisine (think Gordon Ramsay, Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver etc.). You should also be able to find some great all-vegetarian restaurants, for example up in Edinburgh we have David Bann.
If you're going into London, check out Time Out which has a lot of restaurant reviews as well as things to do and see (they cover Paris as well, incidentally).
No, no (though now I wish you did...), but a lot of people were mentioning things that seem to have beef in them, so I just wanted to give a heads up that if they recommend a dish to me and it has beef in it, it's not going to do a bit of good unfortunately.
Thank you, Rubacava!
Some of the cheaper eating establishments are truly disgusting, however. Pubs are a bit hit-and-miss. For every pub that has a fat landlady that can cook the roast of the gods, there's a depressing dive that microwaves meals from frozen to lukewarm.
Note that you will be paying about 50%-100% more for equivalent food.
Tipping rules are different over here. You don't need to tip bar staff or taxi drivers, but you still need to tip waiters.
I would say wetherspoons is your best bet (as mentioned earlier) for nice easy food with the English roast option. Primark is okay for nice short term cheap as chips clothes, but they won't last you an age, they're pretty notorious for coming apart etc, but for £2 a shirt who cares?
obviously you're not gonna be spending all your time in wetherspoons and primark, but unfortunately English winter weather is atrocious, it wont rain really hard or snow really bad (at all), it'll just stay damp and dreary for months so don't bank on walking around nice places in the evenings.