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Let me start by saying that my starting point as far as finances is to look at the pound prices as if they were in dollars. \u00a0Yes, the pound is really worth $1.50 or thereabouts, but I figure it\u2019s the only way to avoid freaking out at prices. \u00a0Looked at in that way, restaurant meals are decently priced, even if not so if truly converting to dollars.<\/p>\n
Observation 1: \u00a0London is chock-full of sandwich shops. \u00a0Pret a Manger, EAT., and others, sell ready-made sandwiches (on baguettes or regular American-style bread), pre-packaged salads, soups, pastries, fresh fruit, and beverages, all marketed as being \u201call natural\u201d and the like.<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s the catch: \u00a0many of these stores are take-away only, and so far I haven\u2019t seen a single one with a customer restroom, even those with customer seating. \u00a0Whoever heard of \u201cno customer restrooms\u201d in a restaurant? \u00a0At least the Starbucks, if you make a purchase, will let you pee. \u00a0(Update: \u00a0after typing this up as a draft, we did pass one with actual restrooms.)<\/p>\n
Observation 2: \u00a0what else they don\u2019t have in London is stair-free Tube stations. \u00a0This was a surprise, really. \u00a0It seems to me that in Munich there are almost always, of the various entrances to any given\u00a0U-Bahn station, one with an elevator and one with an escalator, but here most stations are chock-full of stairs that can\u2019t be avoided simply by taking a different route. \u00a0The Tube stations also seem to be unable to handle flooding, even despite the regularity with which London gets rain; there were a number of closures.<\/p>\n
Observation 3: \u00a0what they do have? \u00a0Drinking fountains. \u00a0Not consistently, just here and there without any clear pattern to it.<\/p>\n
Observation 4: \u00a0you know what\u2019s strange about pubs? \u00a0That people congregate outside them to drink, when the pub is full inside.<\/p>\n
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Observation 5: \u00a0London is a city under construction: \u00a0new buildings, new tube stations. \u00a0And it\u2019s quite disorienting, to see this mix of old and new \u2014 The Cheese Grater and The Gherkin and The Shard next to old Gothic buildings of various kinds in the skyline.<\/p>\n
And last observation: \u00a0the EU referendum is quite interesting as an observer, though, sitting here watching the returns, they\u2019ve just announced that (the polls having closed at 10:00) the first results aren\u2019t expected in until past midnight so it\u2019s now just more commentary. \u00a0What\u2019s the right decision? \u00a0As an outsider, I can say that Europe, and the world, is better off if UK stays in the EU. \u00a0But if I were a Brit \u2014 well, I think the reasons\u00a0for leaving are well-founded: \u00a0the EU has certainly moved from promoting a common market and appropriate regulation to life- and livelihood-impacting decisions made by un-accountable Brussels bureaucrats. \u00a0Does the UK need<\/em> to be in the EU to have a strong economy? \u00a0No, of course not. \u00a0Plenty of strong, Western economies are outside the EU \u2014 within Europe, Switzerland, most obviously. \u00a0But leaving would be disruptive. \u00a0One wishes that there was a middle ground \u2014 essentially, keeping the bureaucrats in check \u2014 but there doesn\u2019t seem to be. \u00a0Or, at least, the Leave proponents\u2019 argument is that they\u2019ve tried for years upon years to keep the bureaucrats in check, to no avail. \u00a0Will a close call (as the exit polls seem to suggest it\u2019ll be) persuade the Eurocrats to dial back their regulation? \u00a0Or will they consider a referendum failure as a sign that it\u2019d be dang near impossible for a country to leave, and \u00a0feel all the more entrenched in their power.<\/p>\n Oh, and why does it take so long to get results in? \u00a0Not just the late poll close, but the fact that people use paper ballots, on which they mark an X for \u201cleave\u201d or \u201cremain\u201d \u2014 no computer touch screens, no bubbles, no chads.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Let me start by saying that my starting point as far as finances is to look at the pound prices as if they were in dollars. \u00a0Yes, the pound is really worth $1.50 or thereabouts, but I figure it\u2019s the only way to avoid freaking out at prices. \u00a0Looked at in that way, restaurant meals […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":4764,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[414],"class_list":["post-4745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-london"],"yoast_head":"\n