Mind Numbing

My eyes have started to cross now that I'm 4 days into sitting at home, "resting" my knee, and finding things to occupy all of this free time!

I have watched more (bad, British) t.v. in the last week than I have watched in the last year. Highlights include Murder at 1600, old episodes of Laguna Beach, and random cooking shows especially the one where Heston Blumenthal tried to perfect frozen ice cream. Ahhh-I'm officially going crazy!

In these last few days, I've also managed to make a hell of a lot of jewellery. Thank god I took that jewellery class last year because the hours I've spent stringing little beads onto tiny pieces of wire would otherwise have been spent watching...t.v.! Above are a few pictures of my masterpieces. If there is one good thing about this situation it is that it has given me time to make holiday jewellery presents (ok, not something that I originally planned but I don't expect to be hobbling around the shops anytime soon!)

An even bigger highlight of my day yesterday was that my cast cover for the shower arrived. (Everyone rejoice!) It will save me the necessary 20 minutes saran wrapping (that is cling film for the Brits out there) my cast and then tying 3 bags around it so that it is NASA proof against water. I was wholly proud of myself yesterday for the outcome as I managed to take my first sans water shower yesterday. Yee haw!


My latest goal is to secure a seat on an airplane home for the holidays. When I called Virgin (who I originally booked my ticket with for December holiday), they told me I would only be allowed to fly in Upper Class. That's great and all, but I can't spend £4,000 pounds for a ticket home for the holidays. I've looked into SilverJet, and United and American business classes. Both United and American were relatively easy in their answer and told me all I would need is a doctor's note stating that I could fly. SilverJet (the business class only airlines) is still waiting to get back to me.

Later today, I'm venturing out of the flat for a much-needed haircut (this should be interesting getting into the chair) and a friends' drinks. Oh the simple pleasures of life-I CANNOT WAIT!

Not So Happy Feet

It all started last Friday when I travelled to Madrid for the weekend. It was supposed to be a weekend of fun, tapas, sangria, OLE! I met my friend and we went for a late night beer. On our way back from 1 beer (I swear), I lost my footing and my right slipped out from underneath me. I landed SMACK onto my left knee cap. In pain, I could hear a Spanish couple beside me gasp and my friend quickly ran to the McDonalds (thank god for globalization!) and proceeded in broken spanish to ask for..."ice cream...no, ice, por favor!".

Hobbling back to our hotel, I cursed the powers above and my tapas dreams seemed dashed! I could barely lift my knee without any excruciating pain and walking around was almost impossible. Ice, elevation, and a bit of nausea and I quickly passed out on the bed in my clothes!

Saturday and Sunday, despite everything, were great. I managed to hobble around Madrid and see the Prado (gorgeous fabric wallpaper and my long awaited view of Las Meninas by Velazquez). We meandered around the tiny streets of Chuhueca and grabbed a beer and delicious tapas of pate, breadsticks, manchego and of course, jamon, which was cut from a huge leg staged in the front window. The food melted my knee troubles away! I even managed a guest appearance at El Corte Ingles, the formidable Spanish department-everything store in the heart of Madrid with crowds to match.

The highlight of our trip was a visit to a tiny tapas restaurant called "Juana la loca". We were ordering a bottle of "tinto" at the bar and my friends struck up a conversation with none other than the restaurant owner (Juana, the crazy? perhaps!) who insisted we order the most "fabulous" bottle of red wine (ok, she was right!) and also advised our food ordering. We shared: bonito fish carpaccio with soy glaze, sashimi covered with garlic mayonnaise (bring on the calories!), tagliolinni with parmesan flakes and black truffle oil, and last but not least, a deep fried soft shell crab in a Chinese bun with avocado mayonnaise and radicchio. We even managed to devour dessert, not as impressive but worth a try. We finally enjoyed a last glass of vino on the house to top everything off.

Now, here is when the story takes a real calorie-laden turn. We all realized it was way too cold to continue our aimless wandering while miraculously someone remembered "La Chocolateria", the haven for churos and chocolade (drinkable chocolate!). We were there pronto enjoying our churros (a heaping plate full) with the barely there tissue paper napkins soaking up the greasy goodness from our fingers. Not that I would recommend this every day, but it was just what the doctor ordered--smooth, chocolately and the churros (no sugar on them like the ones in NY) gave it a warm, crispy crunch.

Back to the UK on Sunday night, Monday in the A&E, five hours later:
see above.

Another weekend gone...

It's been too long since my last blog. And there have been too many things that have happened since...like:
1. Halloween: not the same as the US. The majority of trick or treaters I heard here in Chelsea were, you guessed it: Americans.
2. Guy Fawkes Day (Bonfire Night: Remember, remember the 5th of November)
3. Julia and Kerem's visit to London: too much fun and pints consumed. I miss them :(
4. My first ever football game (Chelsea versus Leicester City)
5. Israel (warm, beaches, great food) trip with a stop over in Budapest (cold, gray, still great food)
6. Phone lost, phone returned, phone broken, anger, anger, and a brand new Blackberry (yes!)

This past weekend, we had friends visiting from the States and, like always, we managed to squeeze something into every minute of every day we had.

On Friday, we headed to Borscht and Tears for another debaucherous dinner avec lots of vodka. I won't actually tell you how many bottles of vodka were consumed, but it worked out almost to be a 1:1 ration. How can anything be so good and so bad at the same time? All in all, it was a short night and ended with many blurry eyed goodbyes into the cold London night.

Saturday morning we decided to make the most of our day despite waking up entirely too late. We poked around and met up with our friends at Gaucho Grill, an Argentinian steakhouse, where the noir decoration made it easy for my recovering eyes to handle light. My favorite thing about the restaurant was the fact that most of the walls were covered in pony hair (synthetic, I'd like to think) and they present you with an entire tray of raw steaks to show you the different cuts and sizes. Service like that just doesn't come around too often.

We then poked around to the National Gallery where a friend and I efficiently used the last opening hour to walk through the exhibit about the Renaissance Art of Siena. The exhibit was manageable and came complete with mini-catalogues (sans pictures) that more museums should use to attract the non-museum goer. It was informative and I appreciated the subject because it is not given a lot of attention.

Off to Jin for Korean bbq--yum! I tried their spicy seafood soup with ramen and, of course, it was a great success. The broth was spicy and the seafood plentiful. Just what the doctor ordered.

Finally on Sunday I spent a lazy day meandering New Bond Street (shopaholics beware) and window shopping the likes of Prada, Jimmy Choo, and Valentino. I finally landed at Nails Inc. to receive a much needed pedicure. And, as if luck was on my side, I plopped down in the pedicure chair right in front of the flat screen t.v. playing the 6th season of Sex and the City where Carrie goes with the Russian to Paris. It was bittersweet because it brought back my own fond memories of NY moments that just cannot be had anywhere else.

Last, but not least, we had a big dinner at a cheap Chinese/Japanese resto called "The Tortoise and the Hare" in the backwaters of Bloomsbury with some other friends. I had the Japanese Udon and it was a welcome respite from the cold dark night outside.

Weekend in a Nutshell

As the warm autumn weather continues, we take advantage of our friends, London, and some British sport.

Friday
1. No hot water! Yikes! Call landlord! Pump needs to be fixed? Move to the Marriot on Regent's Park. Weird, yes ,but I loved their super comfy bed and soft as silk sheets!

2. Jin for Korean--old friends, new friends. 8 of us altogether. Lots of bbqed beef, pork, and veggies not to mention too much Soju and Bek Se Ju drank with cheers all around. There were five different "cheers" represented at the table from Germany, Sweden, Israel, Serbia, and Switzerland!!!

3. Carbon bar--Catching up with friends we haven't seen in forever. Love this place and its drink list, music and industrial design. Many more drinks consumed. Yikes!


Saturday
1. Wake up-Where am I? Missed our wake up call and haul it to get back to our flat to meet the plumber who will be fixing our broken hot water pump.

2. SLEEP!

3. Rugby and middle Eastern--Head to a friend's flat to watch the rugby match. No cabs so we take an unexpected ride in a wonderful rickshaw down Park Lane. England claims a victory over France! Eaten over some yummy Iraqi cuisine. Long live the Queen!

4. Ride the night bus back home (for the first time ever) and listen to England celebrating in the background.


Sunday
1. Head to Phat Phuc for the best Vietnamese cuisine in London. The best beef pho I've ever had with notes of cinnamon in the broth. We also discovered they have great duck pancakes and shrim dim sum.

2. Walk down the King's Road and revel in the Sunday sunlight. Errands and some girlie shopping at Space NK apothecary.

3. Thai at the Blue Elephant coming up.

4. Back to school....

Sweater Weather..yee hawww!

I walked out of my door this morning to a breath of extremely crisp, fresh autumn air. It was lovely (as the Brits would say). The fog had also rolled in overnight and visibility was low but I didn't care because my street provided the perfect background for a "once upon in London" type of feeling. The whiteness of the fog against the dark stone or brick background of the Victorian buildings-stunning. What a way to start the day!

In keeping with the season's recent dip in temperatures and feeling dismayed at how little my wardrobe reflected autumn, I hopped on over to Kensington High Street after work to pick up some basic autumn gear.

Gap (I know, I know, how boring) was having a big sale which is great because I will never buy anything whole price there. I got two striped shirts (perfect for layering) and a wool black dress with a tie around the waist belt. It is extremely simple but classic.

Then I dangerously popped over to Jigsaw. I fell in love with everything I saw. Deep blues, browns and purples. Yum. I wish I could have bought the whole store. They have gorgeous tailoring like all of those little details that I would never think to add, but make all the difference (and Kate Middleton, William's on and off again squeeze is a buyer for them). I settled on a basic black, Italian merino wool sweater with the smallest bit of brown piping around the collar and wrists.

Autumn is here and I love it!

Ommmmmmm...

I just got back from a physically daunting class at Triyoga. It was a good reminder why exercise is sometimes better than chocolate and chips. I feel rejuvenated, cleansed, you know, all of those great benefits one feels after yoga.

Triyoga has a huge main studio painted white with a vaulted, beamed ceiling. To top off the ambience, they have huge windows with individual panes colored with blue, yellow and green glass. The studio is lit with soft lighting and often incense floats away from the Buddha statue in the corner of the room. A perfect haven for omming our life away. The centre is tucked away on a small street in picture perfect Primrose Hill, which is lined with boutiques, cafes, and small delicatessen type shops.

Only two more days until the weekend. Almost there...

Another Rainy Day in London

Today it rained and poured. Actually, it's still raining and pouring. Mixed with the shorter days and the autumn blaaahs are starting to kick in. It's officially tea and sweater season.

The Americans are Coming!

Today, my sister is coming in from New York. This means that I have a week filled with fun adventures ahead of me. What to do--lots of museum hopping, shopping (yay July sales!), and eating! R and I have already begun creating a list of restaurants we want to go to while she is here and we've also booked Due South in Brighton for Saturday afternoon lunch.

Here's a short list of the things I definitely want to do with the sister:
1. Thames walking-now that we're so close to the river, I can't wait to take a long stroll down the Thames Path
2. V & A: They've got a Surrealism exhibit that we need to catch before it vanishes into thin air.
3. Tate Modern: On that last note, we need to catch the Dali exhibit.
4. Borough Market: Lots of fatty, British foods that we can't get at home. Yum!
5. Churchill Arms: Thai food here we come!
6. Beautcamp Pilates: To sweat off all of that eating we'll be doing.
7. Harrod's and Selfridges and by this, I mean, primarily the food halls.
8. Roam the lovely streets of Chelsea to see how many famous people with names on blue plaques we can identify.
9. Cambridge
10. Globe Theatre: That is if it doesn't rain. High chance of unlikely.

More than anything, I am just happy to have her here and see what her impressions are on our life here in the big U.K. I also can't wait to show off my left of the road driving skills (or lack thereof).

Today, in preparation for breakfast al fresco, I'm going to continue to clean the garden. I started yesterday and it turned into a much bigger project that I expected. Nonetheless, it's great having an outdoor space. I bought some small citronella candles at Habitat and with a little elbow grease, we'll be ready to go!

Classic British with a Twist - Part 2

5 July (Thursday): Rainy Day Blues Calls for Seoul Food

Just another rainy day in London. It's been approximately 3 weeks of non-stop rain and gloom. R got out of work early because his moving injury was still hurting him and he was still feeling out of sorts because of the pain medication. There is only one thing to cure the rain and pain killer blues...

Korean barbecue at Jin.

Jin is hands-down our favorite Korean spot in London. Sure, we've tried others: Ran, Woo Jung, the Korean-Chinese combos (do those really count?), Arirang. But, Jin has become our favorite place to have hearty Korean food with friends or just the two of us.

Here's why Jin rules:

1. No frills approach: What you see is what you get.

2. Friendly service: The host told R a few weeks ago that he sees him more than his own mother. So, I guess this makes him extended family.

3. On the house treats: Some extra kimchi or a bottle of soju never hurts.

4. Free language lessons: R can now pronounce most of the items we order like a true native.

5. Best barbecue: The meats are always amazing and the portions are more than other places.

6. Location, location: Sandwiched between two pubs, you can always grab a pint afterwards.

6 July (Friday): Wimbledon and the Foxtrot

Wimbledon has had its bad host of weather this year, so at the first signs of no rain (gasp), a friend and I made a mad dash to the southwest of London for this year's Wimbledon tournament.

Wimbledon is a quaint village and posh. The restaurants, pubs, and shops are similar to those you might find in Notting Hill or Chelsea. This coupled with the excitement of the tournament, it was buzzing when we arrived on Friday afternoon at lunch time.

Unfortunately, there were no more tickets for the Centre Court or Court 1 matches for that day, so my friend and I bought an 18 pound ticket to roam the Wimbledon grounds for the entire day. We watched some junior's matches on Courts 18 and 19 as well as some doubles matches. We also caught a glimpse of Richard Williams, Venus and Serena's father, walking about probably to Venus' match against Ivanovic on Centre Court.

We finally parked ourselves on Henman Hill to enjoy burgers and Pimm's and watched Djokovic play Baghdatis on the big television screen. Djokovic finally ended up winning after playing for nearly 5 hours. We also saw some of the Federer versus Ferrero match and Venus versus Ivanovic. We decided to call it a day because our eyeballs were all tennised out.

Returning home, R and I decided to try out our new local: Foxtrot Oscar. After a little internet sleuthing, we disovered that this place is a fave amongst the Royal children for greasy spoon dining but the reviews seemed to be pretty split about the food, so we were curious.

The interior is simple: a small bar, about 10 tables, and a basement level area for larger parties. The waitresses were friendly and could answer all of our questions about the menu We enjoyed an excellent bottle of 2003 Conde de Valdemar Crianza to start.

I chose the fish cakes with a side of mash and a green salad while R chose the Scotch sirloin, medium rare, of course. I can't remember the last time I have had fish cakes that tasted that good: smoky, crunchy on the outside but smooth and chunky on the inside. The mash left me wanting more, but R's sirloin was grilled perfectly and looked like a fine cut of meat. We finished with the chocolate walnut pie and ice cream, which was a perfect combination with the cold ice cream and warm chocolate cake. Yum and 2 big thumbs up.

Note: It came to our attention that Foxtrot Oscar is being purchased by none other than the man himself, Gordon Ramsay. R and I are hoping he won't royally F-word it up. We hope he maintains the small feeling of this place while continuing the simple, great cooking.

Classic British with a Twist - Part 1

I've been busy and without internet connection for the last week and a half. This + being on vacation = blog slacking. I'm going to try and include all the juicy bits in an abridged version of this week's past events.

2 July (Monday): MOVING DAY!

R and I were overcome with "pure and genuine happiness" when saying goodbye to our old neighborhood in Bayswater. So long fried chicken den of hell, so long smells of nail polish from Nails USA manicure salon, so long to the throngs of people loitering on our block's stoop. Adios, au revoir, arrividerci!!!

We had a few mild encounters with British inefficiency at the K & C Parking Shop for our new resident parking permit. But, we arrived in one shape to the new 'hood.

Our new location in Chelsea is perfect. We are right along the Embankment and have views of Battersea Park and its golden Peace Pagoda. Our street was once home to Oscar Wilde and Sir Haden-Guest (physician). London's oldest botanical garden, the Physic Gardens, is right down the street.
But, the cherry on top is our recent discovery that Gordon Ramsay's namesake restaurant is literally down the block from us on Royal Hospital Road. This is the only restaurant in the U.K. with 3 Michelin stars and it's our local! We honestly feel as if we've hit the real estate jackpot. I cannot wait to try the tasting menu.


3 July: Hospital Day

Unfortunately, when you move heavy boxes over a prolonged period of time, rusty sets of pipes might get a little bent out of shape and alas, we had our first trip to the Emergency Room since being on this island. We were pleasantly surprised at the speed with which the staff at the Fulham Road hospital attended to R's complaints of muscular pains in his chest and back. After about 1.5 hours (they were very thorough), they sent him off with some pain killers and doctor's orders of no lifting or smoking for a while.

4 July (Wednesday): Happy Fourth of July

An ex-pat colleague of mine invited me over to her house and I just couldn't resist. I brought an assorted variety of delicious English ales and American beers that R and I have been getting delivered through our membership with the Beer Club of Britain. There are far worse things than having beer delivered to your door, so I thought I would spread the beer love with everyone for our celebration. I met my friend's boyfriend at their house in Battersea (just across the bridge from us now!) and we went to ASDA. Come to find out, ASDA is owned by Wal-Mart (yuck), but that also means it has dirt cheap prices (yay) which is good when you are buying bulk to serve an army of hungry Americans.

We returned home and starting preparing bbq chicken and veg kebabs, hamburgers, and hot dogs. Thanks to a generous donation from a neighbor, we were able to trade in our pathetic one time grill for a proper gas grill. On the menu was lots of red wine, beer, strawberry shortcake (with some of the most beautiful strawberries I have seen) and yummy chips and Whole Foods guacamole.

To top of my dose of American patriotism, earlier in the day, I ventured to Patridge's on the King's Road and discovered their American section complete with Aunt Jemima mix, cake mix, and Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers!!!! I bought two packages (1 cheddar, 1 original) and 3 bowls of my favorite instant Korean ramen soup--score!

The night did not quite end standing starry eyed underneath a sky of fireworks, but for this group of Americans in London, we were happy to be together for our Independence Day.

The Good and Bad

We started my first holiday weekend off with a bang. I'll break down the events by Friday and Saturday because they both deserve a fair share of blog love and some important London lessons learned by all.

Friday:
We met up with a friend for a night of river cruising on the Thames. His friend and some buddies of his throw an annual boat cruise for charity. Ingenious, really. The weather was being typically British on land but by the time we hopped aboard the London Belle at Millenium Pier, we were dry and looking forward to the fully stocked bar.

On board, the crowd was a heavy mix of people: French, Italians, South Africans and...New Yorkers! Ashamedly, R and I spent a good portion of the night playing the comparison game between New York and London with a group of party goers. We reminisced about American customer service and discussed the sixth season of Sopranos...how could they leave us hanging like that??? The highlight of the evening was when we passed our new flat (a post to come soon) on the Chelsea Embankment and sighed in great relief knowing we'd be leaving Bayswater soon! Rave: London is gorgeous by night.

After the cruise and many cheap liquor cocktails later, it was revealed that the party raised significant wads of British Sterling for Water Aid. Drinking for charity = good. Our altruistic selves headed off to Crazy Larry's on the King's Road in Chelsea.

Hmm... Crazy Larry's. Crazy, yes. But, it's definitely not the place I would normally go to if given a sober choice. This place has an identity crisis; it's not quite a lounge , club, or bar, but a mixture of the three. CL's has the most ridiculous playlist ranging from typical Eurotrash house music to Salt 'n Peppa's "Push It" and M.C. Hammer's "You Can't Touch This". Nonetheless, we were still reeling from the boat cruise vibes and new friends partied on into the night.

Saturday:
Saturday got off to a great start. We stayed in the whole day from the previous night's festivities and rallied ourselves off the couch (a challenging task at the time) to get ready for dinner and dancing later on at Pacha.

Dinner was wonderful at Cous Cous Darna in South Kensington. I had the seafood pastilla and the starters were fresh. I especially liked the aubergine salad and the warm bread rolls. Yum! And, because no meal is really complete without some belly dancing, we were all pleasantly entertained by the CCD's lone female dancer.

Post dinner, it was off for some dancing at Pacha for their Hed Kandi night. Hed Kandi is a record label that promotes the good life with music. Think beach, tan bodies, beautiful people, and Ibiza. The great thing about Pacha is that it saves any unfinished bottles for your next visit so we welcomed an old bottle of Vodka and Jack with open arms and began our dancing for the night.

Everyone was having a great time and while I would like to offer my seal of endorsement to Pacha, we were met with some unfortunate lack of hospitality. A friend was a few drinks deep when 2 steroid popping wannabes (a.k.a. bouncers) carried him off and threw him out the back entrance. It happened so quickly that none of us had time to react. Before we knew it, we were in a full fledged battle to a) figured out what had just happened and b) get our friend back. Our friend had done nothing wrong and the club's desire to resolve this "problem" was with a disproportionate use of force. The management was completely unprofessional and could not give us the names of the security nor would they let us exit out the same back entrance our friend had been pushed from by security. It was completely ridiculous and we vowed never to return.

Luckily, our friend was safe and we headed off to the police station to figure out what we could do. Was this normal? Who do these people think they are? Our late night trip to the station made me question my own safety here in London considering the conclusion that there was really nothing we could do as tax-paying citizens except to just allow these goon heads to "do their job" and pick on their V.I.P. customers. Overall, it was just unfair.

We learned:

1. When you enter a club, you are on private property and therefore, the management can kick out any person for any reason using force. (WHAT?)

2. The only way we could voice our complaints was with the Westminster council (think governing body for each London borough) and there would be a "full investigation". (My thought is that this investigation wouldn't be so thorough and yield little results.)

3. As the average citizen in this city, the laws aren't designed to necessarily protect you and don't make sense. Be careful!

We had some much deserved McDonald's french fries and headed back home well after the London sun had risen and a new day had begun.

School's Out for Summer!

It's that time of year again! The end of the year is always bittersweet. During May, visions of beach trips, afternoon naps, and the promise of late night drinking (yes, teachers drink...and go to the bathroom...and have, gasp, lives) get me excited for summer to officially kick off. However, by June, I become sentimental thinking about my kids.

This year was especially difficult to end because my students and their families have become my extended family here. We're all far away from our home so we created a "pseud0-family" who could always offer advice, give a shoulder to lean on, or an ear to listen. It was hard to say good-bye, especially to the students and families who are leaving for another country. Life works in mysterious ways and I know I'll see them again.

Next up: summer!

Princes Wombat and Ginger

Those are the nicknames for Princes William and Harry. You can find this information and lots of other useless facts from the interview that aired last night on Dateline NBC with boy wonder, Matt Lauer.

Yes, there were the obvious questions about their mother, the late Princess Diana, and their declaration of being normal twenty-somethings despite all the lavishness that is the British Royal family.

The thing that amazed me most was actually hearing them speak! There are so many pictures of these two all over tabloids but when was the last time we have actually heard them utter a word?

Well, that AND Harry's 'fro.

A New Year's Resolution (sort of)

Well, not as in January's "I'm going to the gym every day" kind of resolution, but my desire to bring you the unchronicled life, as you know it, of myself: an American ex-pat one year deep on London soil.

I'm around the corner from my 1 year anniversary of getting settled and sorted in this suburban metropolis (as I like to call it) so I thought I would do myself a favor and reflect on this year's past. Ladies and gentlemen, the Top 10 Rant and the Rave, London style:

Rant
1. Customer service: Has anyone ever heard that the customer is right? The UK could use a good heaping teaspoonful of hospitality.
2. Carpeted pubs: I've never understood this. There's a part of my mom in me that wonders exactly how clean it is and the last time it was vacuumed.
3. The accent: Posh and privileged, cockney rhymey, it kind of all sounds the same to me. By the way, it's parking lot, diaper, and shopping cart.
4. Teenage hoodlums: It's 3 pm. Do you know where your child is?
5. The prices: When was H & M ever that expensive?
6. Drivers: Yes, that thing on the right side of your wheel is a turning signal.
7. Taxes: I finally now fully understand The Beatles' song "Tax Man". DAMN!
8. Healthcare: Yes, it's universal but that's the last thing on your mind when you have the flu and have to wait FOREVER for an appointment.
9. Smoking inside: 1 heart July 1!
10. Member's Clubs: Pretentious. (Ok, unless there's a really long line outside and you happen to be with a member.)

Rave
1. My flat: Huge compared to my NY apt, great kitchen, and a view of the garden aka courtyard
2. Proximity to the rest of the Europe: Easy Jet here I come!
3. Pubs: They're not good for the heart, but they are good for the soul.
4. Pimm's: Yuuuuum!
5. Trashy magazines like OK and Star: My equivalent of US Weekly British Style. A definite guilty pleasure.
6. Music scene: London is lucky to attract the best of European and American acts and lot sof summer festivals
7. Selfridge's/Harrods: The food halls make them just that much better than Barneys.
8. Taxis: Clean, big, and the drivers are actually nice and knowledgeable.
9. Parks: I have the ability to kill any plant life in my care. It's nice to know there's so many places I can go in London for my dose of green.
10. The history: Yes, cheesy and grandpa-ish, but I certainly can't get this in the US.

There you have it, my first post and my first rant and rave in London. (Well, not really. There have been lots along the way!)
I'm sure I'll think of 1,000,000 other things, but think of it as an apertif to get started. London, here I come.