Our daughter is currently overseas and was in London just last week … which got me thinking about our trip there all the way back in 2015.
I really wasn’t expecting too many surprises or any culture shock when we visited England. I mean, at least we all speak English, right?!
Turns out, there were quite a few things I didn’t know about London.
1. The biggest shock to me: the Underground isn’t in fact, all underground. Quite a lot of it travels out in the fresh air, just like our trains. Who knew?
2. The Tower of London isn’t just one tower. It’s actually a whole palace complex built around the White Tower – an old style castle with a tower at each corner. So there you go.
3. The City of London isn’t huge at all. In fact, it’s only 1 square mile. The rest of it is the Greater London area, made up of 32 boroughs.
4. Public toilets are few and far between, and you have to spend a penny to well, spend a penny. (Actually, it was more like 50 pence.)
5. Only British residents can climb Big Ben the Elizabeth Tower – and even they have to book. By the way, Big Ben isn’t the tower itself; Big Ben is the actual bell inside the clock!
Please tell me I’m not the only one that didn’t know these things about London?!