Tower Bridge
Traveling to London has always been on my bucket list of travel destinations and realizing that it is the country that America came from I never figured it was crazy different expect for the obvious accents. While some of the things that they have and how the city operates are the same there are definitely some things that threw me for a loop. So without further ado here is a list of things that are different between American and England!
1. They don't have air conditioning!
Being from the South air conditioning is just an expected thing but here it is very rare that places have AC. They prefer to use windows to cool down the buildings and have large doors to let in air. Even museums won't have air conditioning. They might have fans in certain rooms but that is still rare. The hottest that it has been is 96 but getting on the Tube (what they call the subway) feels like a sauna in that kind of weather.
2. Everything is eco friendly and biodegradable!
All of their "disposable" silverware is made out of bamboo and all straws are paper. Grocery stores don't give out plastic bags but use paper or people bring their own. If you have a car in the city it has to be under a certain level of carbon output otherwise they will make you pay an extra fine with your city permit. This is part of why public transportation and walking is so popular. Their toilets even have a water saving setting so that you aren't using a lot of water with each flush.
3. Water at restaurants isn't free!
In the US it is expected to automatically get water when you sit down at a restaurant but here you have to specifically ask for it. At a few of the places we have been to getting a soda costs less than getting water. If you do ask for water it is not chilled and is just straight from the tap.