During our trip I made several observations, but most didn't make it into my travelogue.



Observations

• The purported obsession with tea in the UK is not an overstatement. Not one of our hotel rooms had a coffee maker, although there was freeze dried coffee (ugh). They all had electric kettles, tea cups and saucers, and milk in small vacuum sealed containers like you see with half and half in the US. They also all had spoons for stirring (not plastic stirrers) and a few of them actually had teapots so we could make more than a cup at once.
• On the other hand, apparently washcloths (known as facecloths) are not normal in hotel rooms. Two of our hotels didn’t have them at all, and one only would provide one, and we had to call and get another one. They had two of every other towel, except the “facecloth.” I still haven’t figured this out. We actually bought a couple of facecloths, but one of them got scooped up by housekeeping. I’ve also yet to figure out how she thought it was theirs when they didn’t provide any. 
• Another linen observation: almost none of the restaurants we went to had cloth napkins, and I’m not talking about fast food or cheap restaurants. Our last night in London we ate at a fairly expensive French restaurant and had to struggle with skimpy paper napkins. I wonder if the cost of laundering the linens is just too high?
• I had been looking forward to eating Scotch beef, but didn’t really find a place that cooked steaks well. We even went to the “Scotch Steakhouse,” but the sirloin I had was cooked to the consistency of leather. Apparently, the Brits have meat one way: well done.
• I was pleasantly surprised, however, at the quality of the bread in England. Specifically, anything called a “baguette” had crispy crust and slightly chewy interior as it should. The bakeries, particularly in York, were also fabulous.
• Along those lines, I was amused to find that “chicken salad” and “ham salad” are not chopped up chicken or ham with mayo and various spices, but rather, slices of chicken or ham with lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes.
• Let’s talk booze. There is much of it, and in Scotland, it is Scotch. You can get Scotch just about everywhere and even the lowliest of sit down fish and chips joints has a selection of whiskys. You can also get beer, ale, or “bitter” just about anywhere, but cocktails are more difficult. If you would like to drink anything that requires a shaker or a variety of liqueurs, you’re mostly out of luck. Also, most restaurants have wine, and quite a few even have half bottles, which I much appreciate. But, if you want wine by the glass, you have two choices, “white,” or “red.”
• I have developed a taste for “Pimms #1” which is a shortcut for Pimms #1 with “lemonade” which seems to be ginger ale + lemon juice or something like it. Yummy.
• Service in restaurants is actually quite good, but we found we have been trained to be rushed! We are so used to being asked if we want dessert and if we say “no,” to have the check appear immediately. In our travels, we found that we had to sometimes chase people down to get the check, and I have to assume this is because they are letting us have time to sit, chat, and digest. Also, it is called the “bill,” not the “check.”
• Similarly, the English are, in some ways, more straightforward with the language than we are. In most places, the bathrooms are called “toilets,” and if you ask for the bathroom, it takes a second of processing before they understand what you are asking for. The exception to this was in Buckingham Palace, where they are called “lavatories,” of course. In the underground (which is also a better name than subway, don’t you think?), the exit is called the “way out,” which makes much more sense…when you step out of the train, you are looking for the way out, right?
• Once you’ve seen one castle, you’ve seen most of them. The best thing about visiting castles, unless they have museums, is the view they provide over the area. Which, if you think about it, is why they were built where they were.
• Most cars are new. No old beaters here!
• Do not ask for a cab. You want a taxi.
• I am not any fatter in the UK than I am in the US. Also, the English ladies are quite buxom, God bless ‘em.
• Speaking of the English ladies, girls, I know that it is not hot too often there, but flip-flops are not commuting shoes. I understand your desire to get your feet out of hot hose, but invest in some Tevas or other athletic sandals. I shudder to think about what your feet look like after a day of commuting in those flimsy things.
• Also, yes, I know it’s hot, but it is not an excuse to wear the skimpiest of skimpies during the work day!
• Despite the aforementioned, people are mostly very well dressed for the work day. Men still wear suits (ah, suits). Women still wear suits. People still dress. Thank goodness there’s still one place in the world.
• Look right.
• Mind the gap.