London

It's Easter which means it was one year ago since we went to England. I've been to many places on this earth, North and South America, Europe, Australia and Asia but never to the British Isles so I thought that it was time to go there. We got very good ticket pricing from, now defunct Iceland  based, WOW Airlines. Considering the prices that we paid, the airplane was reasonably comfortable. We had a short layover in Reykjavik and then flew on to London's Gatwick Airport. From Gatwick we took a bus to Victoria Station in London. At Victoria Station, we took a cab to our hotel. The guy who supervises the loading of the cabs at the station tried, unsuccessfully, to load into some Nissan minivan abortion. After waiting for all these years to go to the UK, I wanted to ride in a genuine London Taxi. I persevered, as is my nature, and finally got my own way. 

The Millennium Gloucester Hotel London Kensington a four star hotel which is conveniently located. We sit here in the USA and consider the US  to be the only place on planet Earth with running water and electricity.  Actually we do know better but deep down inside we like to feel more advanced the the other poor folks.
Such is not the case. Europe, especially Germany and the UK are very much in the twenty first century. In our Uber to LAX, the Mideastern driver gave us a discourse on Halal. For you ignorant slobs, such as me, who never heard of Halal, Halal is the Moslem equivalent of  Kosher. They are basically one and the same. London, much like Long Beach, is  very much a multicultural city. Which means, so it seems, that half the people that you see there are not English. This means, among things, that there Arab everywhere. That meant that in a lot of eateries there were large HALAL signs in the windows. 
I was really surprised how much better the food was in England then I was led to believe. There is much more to eat than boiled beef and black pudding.
Our inauguration was in the morning when we went down to breakfast.  There is an entity called the English Breakfast. It is a bit like an American breakfast but instead of Egg McMuffins and pancakes it goes something like this.
 The traditional full English breakfast includes bacon (traditionally back bacon), fried, poached or scrambled eggs, fried or grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms, fried bread or buttered toast, and sausages (also known as "bangers"). Black pudding, baked beans, cooked tomatoes, and bubble and squeak are also often included.
Along with all of this theren was a London Times newspaper to read which I enjoyed so much I  have subscribed to the digital edition that I still read every day. 
I had to try the fish and chips across the street. As an aside, these folks drive on the "wrong" side of the street. While walking, we Yanks when crossing the street, we look to the left before stepping off of the curb. WRONG yank, there speeding towards you from the right. I almost got creamed to many times to mention. But I digress. After braving the crossing of the British street, we were in front of a nice looking establishment that had a HALAL sign in the window. I said to myself, myself you only live once what the hell go in and risk your life. I came, I ate, I loved it. I still have an inherent distrust of Middleasterners, yes all of them, Arab and Jews. I used to work for two Israelis so I've earned the right to keep my guard up. But that's another story for another time. I think my distrust is partially due to their accents but it's now a little less so. 
For two weeks we were tourists of the highest order. We now can navigate the London Underground like a couple of Cockneys. 
We went to dozens of museums, which most have free admissions in the UK. 
We took a couple of coach excursions. To Stonehenge, Leeds, Dover, Standford on Avon, Bath, Winchester, Cambridge and Jamie's all time favorite Highclere Castle where Dowton Abby was filmed plus the surrounding villages.  We went to Greenwich to see the Clipper Cuttysark and the Naval Observatory. 
We took a train to Portsmouth, the home of the British Navy which the US Navy is modeled after. 
I would be remiss if I didn't mention Big Ben, The Tower Bridge, The Tower of London, Buckingham Palace and Westminster.
All too soon we had to take a tram to Heathrow Airport and fly WOW back to LA. I do love to travel but I also love being home here In Long Beach.