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Just visited, a long time ago (the 1990s).

What I liked was the historical stuff. Visited Duxford, The Royal Armoury at Leeds, and few things in London, everything.

With very few exceptions, most of the people were great, too.

There was a little old guy at Duxford working on a Beaufighter. He was impressed that I knew what it was and admired it. So he let me climb up inside it, told me be about some metallurgical oddities (the Duraluminium skin survived the Australian desert just fine, but the rivets turned to dust when they were hit with a punch) and taught me how to pronounce “aluminium” properly. A great man. Hope he got it finished flying again. Also bought my first Biggles book - “Biggles Learns to Fly.” Saw them fly a Spitfire and DeHavilland Dragon. Just wow!

Also, while visiting Duxford, I stayed in Oxford in a hostel near the train station. I walked into Oxford proper to look around (unfortunately it was much too late to do any really good touristy stuff). When I was walking back I got lost. I asked for directions, but when I tried to follow them I ended up walking on a road headed for London. Had to call a cab... I guess I don’t speak the language very well...

The Royal Armoury at Leeds was great, REALLY great, but, believe it or not, there was an anti-gun undertone in some of the skits (they had a gunsmith who helped introduce muskets into Japan committed seppuku from shame at what he had done - bullshit like that). Still it was great - almost an amusement park for gun-nuts! Loved the tent-pegging exhibition. Who knew you could use a lance like that!

Also visited London - saw the War Cabinet, the Tower, Trafalgar Square, Picadilly, Kensington Gardens, Westminister Abbey, etc. Didn’t get to the Imperial War Museum or to the great museums like the Victoria and Albert. Very disappointing, but you could visit London for a month and not hit all the cool stuff there. Kensington Gardens were beautiful and, of course, I saw the Peter Pan statue.

The Tower was pretty cool, the Yeoman Warders even more so, too - esp. the “Legend of the Curse of Yeoman Warders” (cursed to guide tourists around because they once let a prisoner escape...). Helped a Japanese tourist understand that the holes he though were loopholes for archers were actually garderobes...

My host in London was running an un-official B&B - dodging the taxes on those establishments; my sister connected me. He found out that I like firearms and own a few and made a snide remark about the “gun culture.” I didn’t make any remarks about him being part of the “tax evader culture” because I’m not rude.

I also like the underground. There is almost no need for a car in London - and I don’t think I could drive there even if I got the hang of driving on the left (had some practice in Barbados), any more than I could drive in NYC; too crowded, too crazy. However, cool as it is, it is getting old. I took a lift down to the underground. When it got to the bottom the cables made a loud stretching-squealing sound. Being an American, I naturally had to make remark, “Is that a good sound or a bad sound?” Everybody laughed, and, after we got out, a little old lady told me, in a mocking fashion, that you are not supposed to talk in the lift... Also, saw buskers on while riding the tube.

The train was pretty cool. Wouldn’t work in the US, but it was great for traveling around the UK. Didn’t sleep on it; too absorbed watching the countryside go by.

Food was nothing to write home about. I disappointed that I didn’t try a curry. My fault. I should have looked harder. Then again, I didn’t go there to try the food.

I was more than a little creeped out by all the CCTV cameras I saw.

Thats about it. Also, stayed in Brussels, and visited Paris.

Oh, and I despise Virgin airlines with a passion. Worst customer service I have ever encountered anywhere. First my flight was delayed, then cancelled, then hours later we were (finally) put on another plane. No comp worth mentioning. However, our baggage was not. So I arrived in London minus baggage where I supposed to take a train for Leeds. So headed to the B&B where I wasn’t supposed to be for a few days... gave my host a bit of fright; he thought he’d been found out! Eventually my luggage caught up.

Also, when my plane circled London to land at Heathrow, it was almost a mystical experience. It was like I belonged there and was coming home. Personally, I think I watched “Mary Poppins” and some other London based movies to many times. But it was amazing. Wish I had a picture.

My wife lived and worked there for years, too; In London, and on the Isle of Wight. She had more contact the class stuff than I did. I just noticed with my London host, and the different attitude evinced by the “regular” folks I encountered. As an obvious American tourist folks probably considered me lacking all class... But they were all nice about it.

I remember being cold a lot, even though it was late summer / early fall.

That is all I can immediately remember. Does that sound anything like the UK you live in?