Contemplating Trip to London, Any pointers? Options

[Greeneyes]

Do "sweet," "snazzy," "awesome," "cool," "stellar" and "righteous" count?
Rick says things are "righteous" all the time; it may make things confusing.

They're probably ok. Just as long as you're not making things sound like a fluffy little kitten. Unless they actually are. Then it's ok.

[Mata]

Those are okay, but you will probably be viewed as a stoned surfer on holiday.

- Get a decent map.

- Be very, hyper, massively, polite. We are a very polite nation, even now. This goes twice for waiting staff in restaurants or people working in shops.

[Righteous]

Those are okay, but you will probably be viewed as a stoned surfer on holiday.

Well, none of us look like surfers (though Rick and Matt do on occasion) and none of us talk like Sean Penn's character on Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

We're more like this:
"How'd you like Camden?" "Yeah, dude. It was awesome."
And not like:
"LIKE, YEAH, MAN! It was, like, totally stokin' dude."

- Be very, hyper, massively, polite. We are a very polite nation, even now. This goes twice for waiting staff in restaurants or people working in shops.

Yeah, I've picked that up. My dad's more polite than my mom and he dislikes most people. It's kinda funny to me how the least polite person in my paternal family is my very Scottish grandad (Cupar, Fife), that is, unless politeness means saying very little to others and avoiding people as much as possible.

[Feyliya]

Oh, I thought of something to contribute! Don't leave tips unless the service was REALLY spectacular! Most places factor in the tip into the actual bill.

Of course, this is only what I've been told, so correct me if I'm wrong.

[CommieBastard]

Oh, I thought of something to contribute!  Don't leave tips unless the service was REALLY spectacular!  Most places factor in the tip into the actual bill.

Of course, this is only what I've been told, so correct me if I'm wrong.

Hmm, some places do but then quite a few places don't. We certainly don't place as much importance on tips as the USA does - if you don't leave a tip nobody will spit in your face or anything.

Best bet is just to check the bill. It'll be listed as "service charge". The menu should also say whether a service charge is included.

[Jonman]

Here's your list of things NOT to do to avoid looking like a dumb ammurr-kin tourist.

3: Wear white socks pulled up to your knees with shorts.

Well damn! That's Randy's NORMAL way of wearing shorts! Maybe I can re-train him before we get hitched.

/spam

It's the American normal way of wearing shorts. But you'll stick out like a sore thumb doing it here. I played 'spot the Yank' with the wife last time we were wandering around central London to prove that there is a definite american tourist 'look'.

[Pab]

There is DEFINETLY a look to each nations tourists. As you may know, Ana and I live in a touristic country (like in season there are literally up to 4 tourists per regular inhabitant), and we are now able to acurately spot a nationality from 50 paces, as long as they are: english, irish, french, spanish, catalan, portuguese, german, dutch, belgian, danish, norwegian, swedish, canadian (though it helps to meet'em), american (from a mile off), argentinian, rumanian and one big bag of all the eastern european newbies like lithuania, poland etc.

Scary, but true. Based almost entirely on clothing, accessories and that 'look' they get, and the invididual nationalistic methods we all have of walking aimlessly in a circle wondering who to ask where the toilets are. Vive la différence.

[Phyllis]

I'm curious now, Pab. What sort of clothing and accessories are typically American then? I wonder if you'd be able to tell my nationality from 50 paces if you didn't already know what I look like and what my nationality is.

The "quaint" thing applies over here as well. I hate that. At least there you don't get people wearing cowboy hats and boots because they're trying to "blend in" with the locals (though I'm sure people wear other ridiculous things like British flag shoes or something in an effort to "blend").

[Jonman]

I'm curious now, Pab.  What sort of clothing and accessories are typically American then?  I wonder if you'd be able to tell my nationality from 50 paces if you didn't already know what I look like and what my nationality is. 

The "quaint" thing applies over here as well.  I hate that.  At least there you don't get people wearing cowboy hats and boots because they're trying to "blend in" with the locals (though I'm sure people wear other ridiculous things like British flag shoes or something in an effort to "blend").

Allow me to butt in.

here's your stereotypical american tourist (in my experience):

White, cheap-looking trainers (very often New Balance).
White socks (pulled all the way up if wearing shorts).
Long shorts or plain faded 'comfy-fit' jeans.
Moustache (very rare on men under 40 in UK - dead giveaway).
Bum bag (trans: fanny pack).
Baseball cap.
Perfect teeth.
Big hair (especially on women).
Sensible haircuts (on men).

Obviously, they don't all tick all the boxes, but what's suprising is how many DO tick all the boxes.

As a caveat, the kind of person who meets these criteria tends to be white, married with kids (who are with them), and middle-class. Exactly the demographic who are likely to be taking foreign 'touristy' holidays. This is why it's dead easy to spot american tourists, becuase as a group, they're much less diverse than americans as a whole.

[Jaq]

Well, now I want to know what a typical Canadian tourist looks like... out of interest... I want to see how well I'm going to fit the profile, though I'm not counting on blending in much, carrying a huge ass back pack and looking lost and confused the majority of the time.

[Mata]

I sometimes have trouble telling French and Italian tourists apart from a distance, but there is something very American about US tourists other than just their clothing. I think it's something in the way they respond to their environment. I usually see them near the train station, so I get the moment of 'which way should we go', which I think can be very indicative of a nationality. As a comparison, the Japanese when faced with this problem will usually form into a circle and discuss where they think they are, Americans fan out into a line and point at things.

[Righteous]

White, cheap-looking trainers (very often New Balance).

Black DC Exactas

White socks (pulled all the way up if wearing shorts).

Short white socks

Long shorts or plain faded 'comfy-fit' jeans.

Either those or my good pants (they're black and made of synthetic material)

Moustache (very rare on men under 40 in UK - dead giveaway).

Goatee

Bum bag (trans: fanny pack)

Oh, dear Christ, no.

Baseball cap.

It says "Bacardi" on it, so it's not blatanly American. That and I prefer my beanie.

Perfect teeth.

Strangely, I get good teeth from the UK side of my family.

Big hair (especially on women).

Um, how about no.

Sensible haircuts (on men).

Is mine sensible?

Damn, you guys have a lot of diversity when it comes to tourists. For us it's northerners or Georgians. I once met a group of Englanders and asked what in God's name posessed them to come to this poo hole on holiday. They said that it seemed like a nice place.

Um, will we get odd looks when we say "y'all"? Rick and Candious don't say it as much as Matt and I, who also say "y'all's" (posessive form), "y'all're" (y'all-are contraction) and "y'all'll" (y'all-will contraction).

[CommieBastard]

Well, now I want to know what a typical Canadian tourist looks like...  out of interest...  I want to see how well I'm going to fit the profile, though I'm not counting on blending in much, carrying a huge ass back pack and looking lost and confused the majority of the time.

Isn't there a Canadian law requiring you to stitch a huge red maple leaf to all your luggage when you leave the country? That's a pretty good way to tell.

[Greeneyes]

Um, will we get odd looks when we say "y'all"? Rick and Candious don't say it as much as Matt and I, who also say "y'all's" (posessive form), "y'all're" (y'all-are contraction) and "y'all'll" (y'all-will contraction).

If you walk around saying it all the time, I imagine you'd get odd looks anywhere .

[Feyliya]

Allow me to butt in.

here's your stereotypical american tourist (in my experience):

White, cheap-looking trainers (very often New Balance).
White socks (pulled all the way up if wearing shorts).
Long shorts or plain faded 'comfy-fit' jeans.
Moustache (very rare on men under 40 in UK - dead giveaway).
Bum bag (trans: fanny pack).
Baseball cap.
Perfect teeth.
Big hair (especially on women).
Sensible haircuts (on men).

Eep! Randy's got the cheap shoes (they're black but they're pretty tattered so I figure it fits), the white socks pulled up to his knees (he does it when wearing pants, too), the long shorts (he only owns one pair of jeans and he's never worn them), the fanny pack (he wears it all the time over his wallet pocket for protection), and the baseball cap (though he wears his gatsby more).

He doesn't wear any facial hair (unless you count occasional stubble when he's gone unshaved for a bit), his teeth are far from perfect, his hair isn't *big* (though I might fit into that catagory because of mine's fluffyness), and his haircut is less than sensible (it's long and pulled back into a ponytail most of the time, though it might become sensible soon; he keeps threatening to cut it).

Yeesh! Maybe I can re-train him before our honeymoon. Or maybe I'll just pack him all short socks, nice shoes, and long pants. And "forget" his fanny pack and hats....

So tell me, do lots of Americans wear t-shirts? You know, the "touristy" kind that have pictures of the places you went on them? I know that most people don't wear them over here, unless they're tourists. I'm one of the few people I've ever seen to wear them regularly. (In my defense, I have some of the coolest t-shirts ever made. Especially the Jupiter Space Station project one from back when the Shoemaker-Leevy comet hit that says "Dave....My mind is going..." on the back.)

[markslut]

Tube Guru is a good interactive guide to whats in an area

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tube/arts/going-out/tubeguru.asp

[voices_in_my_hea...]

At least there you don't get people wearing cowboy hats and boots because they're trying to "blend in" with the locals

Unless your in Texas, and in that case, It's easier to tell if your wearing shorts and complaining how hot it is in the winter.

That one of the major things I've noticed (With tourist in Houston, at least) Tourist complain about everything.
"it's so humid"
"my god! look at the size of that mosquito! How can you people live here?"

I Don't know if the same thing applies anywhere else, though.

[Jaq]

Well, now I want to know what a typical Canadian tourist looks like...  out of interest...  I want to see how well I'm going to fit the profile, though I'm not counting on blending in much, carrying a huge ass back pack and looking lost and confused the majority of the time.

Isn't there a Canadian law requiring you to stitch a huge red maple leaf to all your luggage when you leave the country? That's a pretty good way to tell.

ahhh yes. The old "Canadian Flag" law. Yeah, when I left for Korea people were treating me like some sort of flag dump. "Ooo, here's a flag, let's give it to the person leaving the country! *huck*" I got a huge bag of flag pins, a bigger flashing flag light pin, a set of dog tags with the canadian flag on them, a big flag patch to sew on my backpack (which I didn't do..) and every so often I get a package in the mail with other assorted flags.

Basically, the reasoning behind this is our national source of pride. It's not our universal health care, lax marijuana laws, gay marriages, or liberal peace keeping government, though it all sort of ties into that. Ready for it? Here it goes: We're Not Americans. ... that's it. We may be alot of things, but our defining national identity is the fact that at least we're not American.

But, I ask you, what in the name of Steve am I going to do with so many flags?! I know that I'm Canadian, but do I have to go screaming it out visually to every person on the street?


And yes. I'm going to have a small Canadian flag pin on my back pack. >.> Don't judge me.
/rant

[Pab]

I'm curious now, Pab.  What sort of clothing and accessories are typically American then?  I wonder if you'd be able to tell my nationality from 50 paces if you didn't already know what I look like and what my nationality is. 

The "quaint" thing applies over here as well.  I hate that.  At least there you don't get people wearing cowboy hats and boots because they're trying to "blend in" with the locals (though I'm sure people wear other ridiculous things like British flag shoes or something in an effort to "blend").

Allow me to butt in.

here's your stereotypical american tourist (in my experience):

White, cheap-looking trainers (very often New Balance).
White socks (pulled all the way up if wearing shorts).
Long shorts or plain faded 'comfy-fit' jeans.
Moustache (very rare on men under 40 in UK - dead giveaway).
Bum bag (trans: fanny pack).
Baseball cap.
Perfect teeth.
Big hair (especially on women).
Sensible haircuts (on men).

Obviously, they don't all tick all the boxes, but what's suprising is how many DO tick all the boxes.

As a caveat, the kind of person who meets these criteria tends to be white, married with kids (who are with them), and middle-class. Exactly the demographic who are likely to be taking foreign 'touristy' holidays. This is why it's dead easy to spot american tourists, becuase as a group, they're much less diverse than americans as a whole.

I sometimes have trouble telling French and Italian tourists apart from a distance, but there is something very American about US tourists other than just their clothing. I think it's something in the way they respond to their environment. I usually see them near the train station, so I get the moment of 'which way should we go', which I think can be very indicative of a nationality. As a comparison, the Japanese when faced with this problem will usually form into a circle and discuss where they think they are, Americans fan out into a line and point at things.

Well, now I want to know what a typical Canadian tourist looks like...  out of interest...  I want to see how well I'm going to fit the profile, though I'm not counting on blending in much, carrying a huge ass back pack and looking lost and confused the majority of the time.

Isn't there a Canadian law requiring you to stitch a huge red maple leaf to all your luggage when you leave the country? That's a pretty good way to tell.

The defense rests.


The canadian will ALWAYS have a flag, this is true. They also ALWAYS back-pack. If they don't, they look american, but with shorter hair (good reason for a flag). The girls wear the same range of glasses as the danes and fins, and are a bit more up-market than other back-packers. This is one good way of telling them apart from australian back-packers, who don't do those glasses, but probably do have a flag, and who seem to be more obviously having fun.

[zivane]

Tourists that come to Florida are hilarious - just go to Disney World. I went yesterday. Now, the typical theme park go-er is a tourist, not a local. This has also aided my many travels abroad. Tourists of any kind are almost always often carrying too much of something - wearing too much jewelry, too much make-up, an excessively large bag for a normal person, or just looking "too" in general (hard to define, but you've all seen it). In Florida, we get the tourists who are terrified of bugs over 3 inches (cockroaches up to like, 6 inches here), mosquitoes, things that sting, sunlight (watch out for the nose coat, sunglasses, and hat factor along with those shorts and the funky white socks with sandals or flip-flops).

American tourists, I've noticed, dead giveaways include flip-flops and "fanny packs" and complaining about "why don't they have this or that" or "that's not real Italian/Chinese/Indian food" (yeah, my guardian actually said that when we were in Italy).

Bottled water runs expensive from what I recall (at least, a bit more than it does around here). I never pay more than $12 for any type of Chinese food (take-out or eat-in, and, of course, much much less for buffet style). Lo mein - unless in Camden town from what I got around to, forget about it. Unless you like it dripping with this odd flavoured sauce which is still rather good, jsut not what you expect.

Barbeque is different in the UK (this girl who came back with me for some reason thought she loved barbeque until she came here and we do it pretty damn well in my opinion although I prefer Virginia barbeque anyways).

From what I noticed, you will not find "country style" veg in the UK. Forget biscuits and gravy for breakfast (if you happen to like it).

Grape soda is also non-existant (for the most part, I never found it even at Harrod's who actually HAD Boylan's). Grape flavoured things... well, welcome to black currant (yech, no offense, I can't stand it).

In London, be confident in where you are going whether or not you know where you are going. It's horribly easy to navigate (I used a map once... and somehow managed to memorize most of the underground within a day and remembered it a year later).

Ya'll sounds really odd over there, even worse than it sounds up north here. (And yes, I know Wawa, cheesesteak and so forth - I <3 Philly)

School over there is different (Uni = college, A levels = approximately an associates degree). They get out for summer much later than we do depending on the course. Exams are national as opposed to our FCAT and others. They don't take things like the ACT or SAT. They take things more like AP exams (minus the credits) or SAT-II subject tests from my understanding.

I'll stop now. That's just my experience and I can't wait to go back!!!

[Mata]

President Blair is trying to get our education system to be more like the US style so we do now have an S.A.T. analog, I think they're called things like 'the 14-plus'.

The thing about looking like you know where you are going is important. It is a good way to stop yourself looking like a victim. I use an A-Z of London all the time, but I always put a bookmark on my target page, step out of the main path of a road and quickly check where I'm going. If you need to take longer then step into a shop of a pub. It's a little paranoid, but caution is always advisable when you don't know the neighbourhood.

[froggle-rock]

The thing about looking like you know where you are going is important. It is a good way to stop yourself looking like a victim. I use an A-Z of London all the time, but I always put a bookmark on my target page, step out of the main path of a road and quickly check where I'm going. If you need to take longer then step into a shop of a pub. It's a little paranoid, but caution is always advisable when you don't know the neighbourhood.

I use an A-Z of London, when I have to go places in London, and I've lived in London practically my whole life. In my defense, it is a big place.

[Righteous]

That sounds snazzy, Mata. However, where would I pick one up?

Oh, and to sound even more southern, let us not forget "y'all've" (y'all-have contraction) and "all y'all" (used when there's more than five or so people).

And fer cryin' out loud, it's not like any food here is real Chinese or Italian or anything. Unless you go to a seriously ethnic place, all you get is imitation. They have schools that teach people to make "Chinese" food for the round-eyes of the country.

I like biscuits, but not gravy, actually, so hopefully I won't be missing out too much.

As for "looking" touristy, I'm at the screw it point. I figure if I go to London when it's cold, I'll wear what I wear here when it's cold here; trousers, longsleeve, tee, jacket, jewelry, chains, eyeliner and beanie. If I go during spring break (another viable option we've been throwing around), I'll wear what I wear in the spring, which really isn't much different except regarding the longsleeve and the jacket; in that case it's one or the other. And if it's particularly warm, I won't wear a beanie.

[CommieBastard]

Words That Mean Very Different Things In Our Respective Countries

Biscuits (America)

Biscuits (Britain)

Fag (America)

Fag (Britain)

Chips (America)

Chips (Britain)

[CommieBastard]

don't forget calling things of national pride 'quaint' or 'cute'. This will rile anybody anywhere, and is a habit often observed in trans-atlanticans.

Example:

"What's that?"

"Those are the Houses of Parliament"

"oh, how cute!"

This especially rankles coming from Americans - we think your entire country is cute. Aww, ickle America! Only 200 years old and already it can walk...