The nice thing about London...
I just got back from a nice and much needed vacation in northwestern Europe. Of the places I went, London made a great impression on me, simply in comparison to how things work in large US cities. First off, I will say that London is an expensive city to visit (and to live in I imagine), but it is a large metropolitan area, so it should not be much of a surprise. At least there are plenty of pubs to have a good beer in to drown your woes. This brings me to the first thing I liked: the pub pours. I guess there had been some previous commotion about buying pints a while ago, in that people started to complain when they felt skimped. Well now when you order a pint, you get a pint glass filled to the very brim. I watched the bartenders pour the beers and they would make sure that the liquid touched the rim every time. You pay for a pint, you get 16 full ounces of your beverage. I just thought that was fair as could be, much appreciated.
Since I was doing the tourist thing though, I often felt more like a coca cola than a beer when I got thirsty from walking mile after mile. Apparently in London (as well as the rest of Europe), the Coca-cola (and other soft drinks) are made with real sugar, not the high-fructose crap that we get here in the states. There was a slight difference in taste and I felt it was definitely for the better. A small thing, but something I could get used to.
I mentioned walking a lot in London, which I did, and I did so with relative ease. The sidewalks were nice and wide, clean, and easy to know where to cross the labyrinthine streets of the city. At every crosswalk, there was a label written on the edge of the road that told you to look left or right (or both) depending on the traffic. It was just a nice reminder for the pedestrians without being a distracting part of the road. Speaking of the roads, despite them being slimmer than the US roads, seemed to flow just as well. One thing I noticed they do that we could use over here is an altered traffic light pattern. Instead of the normal green-yellow-red-green system, London's lights added a yellow light in between the red to green change. This gave the drivers a quick warning and even gave them a head start. It seemed to jumpstart the traffic and got it moving faster. I am not sure if this would be helpful in the US, but I think it would be worth a shot since anticipating lights is something I already do.
Finally, I liked how the restaurants and bars included service in the tab. Tips boiled down to a pound or two if you were feeling generous. There was no adding an additional 20% to the bill, what you saw is what you ended up paying. I understand the US system is nice because it encourages better service for a better tip, but in reality, those tips get pooled anyway, so leaving less or more doesn't quite do that way of thinking justice. Instead, having the service included makes it much easier for all. If there is bad service, stop going to that place, don't just rely on a small tip to get the point across.
I would happily return to this great city if offered; there is great architecture, free museums and great parks, not to mention plenty of theaters and great restaurants. In the meantime, I will have to look for ways to bring the things I liked from over there to over here in the US. Spreading the word is a good start.
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