Roast Chicken Potato Crisps

What is the title about you might ask? I got my first taste of roast chicken potato crisps (chips) the other day and was so taken off guard because they actually taste exactly like chicken, just in chip form. It was like something out of Willy Wonka!

Last night was a lot of fun! We went to Picadilly Circus for the first time. There are a lot of lights there, like a mini-Times Square and young people everywhere! The nightlife is so much better than Philadelphia- maybe it is because we can actually go to clubs and bars now. It was my first time taking the tube somewhere and their tube system is very nice and clean. Once we got to Picadilly there were all of these club promoters asking if we wanted to go into their places and we were all a little skeptical and unsure of where the best place was to go but there was a club called Zoo Bar which was really crowded outside of it and the guy who worked there said he could get the 6 of us in. We paid 5 pounds to get in and then a little more on some adult beverages. My first legal drink at a bar was a cranberry vodka which was pretty good. It was really crowded inside but the music was good and it was a fun atmosphere. We danced some and met our first british mates! At around 2:30 am our group decided to head back and I took my first double decker bus which was neat! We rode on the 2nd level and took the bus (#97 I believe) back to Kensington. Needless to say we're all pretty tired today.

This morning we started out with a walking tour of Kensington that lasted about 2 hours. Our tour guide was great, and not only showed us the local area but told us a lot about the history and other bits of information we wouldn't find elsewhere unless we did a good amount of research. When we got back to Metrogate around noon, we made lunch in the kitchen. I tried microwaving a packet of mac and cheese and it wasn't very appetizing. At 2 pm a bus picked about 50 of us up for a double-decker bus sightseeing tour of London which lasted about 2 1/2 hours and we saw all of the famous sights like Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the Tower of London, London Bridge, Harrod's, Buckingham Palace, etc etc. There were too many places to count! I want to post all of my pictures up but the connection with this blogger site is awfully slow. We also saw where Gringotts bank and Diagon Alley were in the Harry Potter films! That was pretty cool.

Tonight we're going to a pub called Anglesea which is apparently down Queens Gate Terrace further. It's a real local place, which was recommended by our bus tour guide. We're all dying to try fish and chips, and get a pint of Fuller's (sp?) beer, a local brewery in London!

Noticeable differences discovered so far between the U.S. and Britain:
1. People drive on the opposite side of the road and you have to be SO careful not to get hit when crossing. Likewise, the driver is on the right-hand side of the car and the passenger is on the left.
2. Taxi cabs here are black and don't look anything like a NYC taxi.
3. Everything is in pounds and pence here, and there are no 1 pound bills, just big heavy coins.
4. You need a converter for any appliances.
5. Things are pretty expensive. Most everything is.
6. People are very nonchalant about drinking, and don't make fools of themselves by getting too drunk. They've been drinking since they were 16 or so.
7. Firearms are illegal! Fun fact I learned at yesterday's orientation. I feel a lot safer here than in Philly.
8. Telephone booths have pictures in them of naked women. One, there are few telephone booths in Philly (and they're definitely not red and distinct like in London), and two, you will definitely not see full out nude pictures.
9. Tipping is only 10% at restaurants, you don't tip at bars and you don't tip for taxi cabs- just round to the next pound.
10. There are double decker buses everywhere! So cool.
11. You won't find many SUVs or trucks here. All of the cars are very small and there are a good number of the mini smart cars.
12. The British are more reserved and less flamboyant than Americans. It hasn't been hard to determine who is American.
13. Items at the grocery store are smaller. And everything is in metric. When making my mac&cheese today I just poured in milk and water and hoped it was about the right amount. I don't know how much 250 ml is!
14. Things go bad sooner here (food) because there are less preservatives.

I'll keep expanding this list in the future, but they're some interesting things that I have noted.

Well we're off to the pub soon! Cheers!