Welcome to a Parallel Universe

You think America has influenced the global communities in ways that show up in everyday life? That's a fair argument, but I have just spend my first two days in London and have yet to experience something even remotely close to my familiar American life. In the next few posts I'm going to give a few insights for soon-to-be travelers of the UK or an interested audience...

First off, the oven symbols are much different than your regular ovens at home. I did some googling and found a nifty key to their symbols. They aren't exact, however they do hover around these general symbols:

http://www.franke.co.uk/page.aspx?sp=380

Secondly, the ovens (and the outlets over here) here are individually complemented with on/off switches for everything. I took about 10 minutes trying to turn on or configure the oven when suddenly I noticed the circuit powering the oven had a switch to it on the wall, hidden behind the block of knives.

Needless to say, I cooked my first meal in Europe! I had a crispy chicken breast with spinach and a 660ml bottle of Beck's, all found at the local Sainsbury's market. All the fresh, healthy food is in the back of the supermarket, similar to grocery stores back home (oops I have found a similarity). The best deals are at the end of aisles where they have discounted food that's reaching their expiration dates. I'm still really hungry but I have get used to this European grub, in volume and quality.


P.S. I got over here safely. I was greeted by snow on the ground and ice on the sidewalks. They don't drop a lot of ice on the roads and sideways in the inner boroughs of London like the U.S. does. They drop mixtures of sand and salt near stairs and doorsteps but that's about it. The picture above is from a park bench in Hyde Park. I'm not sure if the British always talk about weather, but the local pub chat has been ALL about the snow.