As a leading global city, we knew London would not be cheap. However, we only actually realized this once we got in from Southampton and had to purchase our first subway (or tube) tickets. Paying 4.90 pounds (around 8 CAD or 5.50 Euros) for a subway ticket is not a price we’re used to in Montreal, or even in France! At that moment, we decided that we would always favour walking to public transportation (unless necessary), a practice we’ve kept since then. Not only is it cheaper to walk; it also allows you to see much more while keeping in shape!

An Array of Free Museums

London counterbalances its expensive public transport system with its range of free museums. In all of the museums we visited, we found donation boxes with suggested amounts of about 5 pounds for the entrance and 1 or 2 pounds for the maps. With such small amounts, we felt culture was still easily accessible. We visited three of the most popular museums: the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Natural History Museum. They did not disappoint us! All three are worth a visit, each with its specific point of interest: history, design and the natural sciences. I especially enjoyed the Natural History Museum, with its detailed content describing the research and discoveries of Charles Darwin and Mary Anning (the first female paleontologist).

The Art (and Rules) of Walking

The city was very crowded in this month of August. The streets seemed to be dominated by cars and it took us some time to understand how pedestrians were expected to behave. We weren’t sure whether to walk on the left or the right of the sidewalk and when and where to cross the street. Ben proposed to walk on the left as it would be the more logical strategy (given that people drive on the left). As soon as we did that, we were confronted with other pedestrians who insisted on walking to the right. We moved to the right and faced people who wanted to walk on the left. We later learned that “slaloming” was a standard pedestrian practice in the UK and that jaywalking did not exist. We should have read this BBC article beforehand, which labels the British as “ambulatory anarchists”!

This situation contrasted drastically with the multiple written indications and voice messages that could be seen and heard all over the city:

“Please mind the gap”

“Keep to the right”

“Look left”

« Keep clear »

“Stand on the right”

“Keep off the grass”

“Please hold on to the handrail”

Tourism on Ibuprofen

I must confess that we may not have experienced London at its best due to not being at our best ourselves. Benjamin was suffering from some kind of disembarkment malaise (feeling the land rocking after a prolonged time at sea) and felt the streets of London (and even his bed) swing for about three to four days. I, on the other hand, had caught a bad cold on the Queen Mary 2, and was therefore quite tired (and grumpy).

By our fourth day in London, it was time for us to leave for France. For this route, we took the Eurostar, a high-speed train connecting London to Paris through a tunnel under the English Channel. In just over two hours, we were in Paris. After a quick transfer from Gare du Nord to Gare Montparnasse, we boarded our second train, this time for Bordeaux, which we reached two hours later.