Tagged With "difference between UK and GB"
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Re: Dec 15, 2016: Kamloops, BC, Canada
That's not unlike what my front yard looks like! And Kamloops is not an obvious choice for someone from the UK to move to. What inspired that?
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Re: January 20, 2020: Newport Beach, California
Great photos Rob. Can I use your POD page to ask a question that I've been afraid to ask ? When I visit my US Family each year from the UK I am impressed with the good standards of Restaurant Food. But when I ask why some Restaurants are rated better than others the answer surprises me. "Because Restaurant C serves huge portions" In a health concious World I wonder do folks ever question themselves ?
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Re: Limone, Lake Garda, Italy
Only to be found in the Mediterranean are the delicious Meyer Lemons. A cross with lemon and a mandarin orange. A sweet and juicy - less acidic fruit. Colour of a lemon and shape of an orange. Wish they were available when I get home to the UK . Delicious !
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Re: Notes and Noticings from the road
Actually, I think the banks have a fairly minimal (as small as I can make it) impact on my currency transactions, in part because I never deal with exchanges; I use bank ATMs. That way, the exchange takes place not on my account, but as an interbank transaction at the base rate banks use with each other. I used to use my ATM card from Citibank, but eventually they began charging a 3% foreign exchange fee even on withdrawals. At that point, I opened an account with Charles Schwab, a brokerage...
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Re: Notes and Noticings from the road
The Schwab card sounds like a good deal. I have a (UK) Halifax Clarity card, which also gives me a reasonable deal on credit card transactions - no fees/commission and the actual market rate for the currency conversion. It's a significant saving compared to other credit cards.
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Re: What's the Best City in the World to Eat in?
The Restaurants in London have Chefs and Staff from the country they represent. They're not 2nd or 3rd generation French or Indonesian people. They have mostly arrived in the UK after learning their trade. Even in Liverpool I can taste the authentic food of 30 or more countries, So in a Cosmopolitan Capital like London I'm sure I could eat genuine food from anywhere in the world !
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Re: Why I Travel
My early travels in the US were all done with maps. I've been lost many times. So I bought the American Maps for my UK TomTom Sat Nav. Best thing I've done in years ! I love taking roads that aren't tourist routes - and getting lost - now. Explore the back woods and the one horse towns. Explore where the rich folks live and the poor. Taking photo's of local characters. Folks that have worse teeth than the Brits ! Show me the tourist route and I'll go the other way !
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Re: Everyone loves a parade and party!
Full day of celebration today here in Liverpool ! The largest and oldest Chinese Community in Europe Entrance to Chinatown - Liverpool UK
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Re: London In 1927, Recreated Shot For Shot.
Many older buildings and structures in the UK get a Grade 1 or 2 "Listed Building" Preservation Order. Some orders include the interior too. Helps to stop the spread of faceless skyscrapers with no lasting architectural qualities. Enjoyed watching that film. Thanks PM.
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Re: "Mind Your Manners!" VisitBritain Warns Hoteliers
CICAK. No one gets upset over a few words here. Unlike my family in the US who think that an exchange of views is the start of WW3. I enjoy exchanging opinions and alternate ideas. As do most people here in the UK. Constructive criticism is a wonderful thing ! DrFunblefinger likes to throw me some "bait" occasionally - but he knows I wont bite the hook. PHeymont likes to rock my boat too. But it's just "light hearted teasing" and we've all been friends for many years ! Some of the...
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Re: Travelodge to relaunch its brand
Is this the UK Travelodge Company - which has no connection with the American Company ?
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Re: Travelodge to relaunch its brand
It is the UK company and I thought it was also the North American one. Different businesses then?
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Re: Travelodge to relaunch its brand
The UK Company was bought out by a Dubai investment group after running up big debts. So its trying to catch up with the quality of other UK Budget Hotels to survive.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan. 11, 2014: Please Close the Gate.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth is the richest woman in the World. She has a fortune of 33 Trillion Dollars (including assets) When she is resident in Windsor Castle she has 24 hour security as you'd expect. She doesn't annoy the Staff who work through the night by going around the Castle turning off the lights !! I've heard a few Drongo's down under calling her Maj but don't use that name in the UK as you'll offend people.
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Re: Merry Christmas from all of us at TravelGumbo
Thanks DrF for those words. We will all be trying to be kinder and more considerate people in 2014. In many countries around the world - including here in the UK. We all have everything we need at this time of year, maybe too much. So its back to the diet in January and back into those Speedo's by April ! Hope you all have everything you need over the next year !
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Re: Tampa Bay Automobile Museum: 1) Museum Overview and its Czech collection
Actually, there are a number of different stories of how Ferdnand Porsche, under Hitler's direction, designed the Beetle. Another fascinating possibility surfaced last year in the Daily Mail (UK), showing similarities to a project by a German Jewish engineer, Josef Ganz, which Hitler saw at an auto show in 1933. Another aspect: the sort of streamlined design represented in all of these cars was not a unique design at the time; aerodynamic research was starting to have an effect on car design...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan. 2, 2014
And I forgot to mention - the complete "All Inclusive" deal costs around $1000 US. Flights from the UK - hotel - boats - entertainment - mini bar stocked daily - 24hr food and drink. For 2 weeks. How do the US companies come up with $3900 for 1 week. I smell a rip off. It does look good for December DrF. Its still too hot in the afternoon though ! To have that same view you would have to "Take my blanket from my cold dead hands" I wont even share with Mrs F !! Next door is nearly as good...
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
Sadly, that $4K isn't going to go a real long way in UK...it's a pretty expensive place. You'll need to find seriously cheap lodging and really mind your pence! If you're not really stuck on UK, you might look at other places where English will do, including Jamaica and Puerto Rico or even Guyana. If UK is really IT, though, you should look into hostel costs, and into sharing sites like couchsurfing.com. Depending on when you're going, you might find some luck with college spaces that are...
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
Hi Hank, I've actually found the UK a pretty reasonable destination in recent years, especially outside of London.(My budget was way under yours for a month long trip to Europe last June.)A lot of museums are free. Transportation costs within the country can be reasonable too.Not only do they have advance cheap train tickets but they have bus and budget air choices.And of course there are some good budget hotel chains as well, such as Travelodge and the Tune Hotel Have fun and keep watching...
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
Staying in the UK is no more expensive than being a tourist in the USA. You wont get a month in London. Same as me travelling from the UK to New York. Silly Prices ! So decide on what you want to do over here and start planning, Have a look at the YHA web site. Youth Hostels Association. Forget the Youth reference. My Kids aren't Youths anymore. And I use them too! They are used by Travellers like yourself - and me - across Europe. They are Family groups and Ramblers ( Countryside Walkers)...
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
Wow! This has been very helpful, especially the tip about the Youth Hostels. I'm definitely going to look into that. I think staying at a hostel can help me stay within my budget. I'd really like to go to the UK if at all possible. I know there are cheaper places, but there's only one England and I've always wanted to see it. I think I'd like to spend maybe a week in London then head into the country, maybe doing a circuit to include parts of Wales and Scotland. I need to do some thinking...
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
Getting around the UK is very easy using Public Transport. Students travel around the country all the time - going to Uni and back home for the weekend. Friends going to weddings and folks going to London. London - like big Cities in the US - is a Traffic Nightmare ! Fortunately the UK is about the same size as a US State. Maybe Florida ? So its only a few hours by road. Trains are much faster - but more expensive, You're choice. So... look at http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx They're...
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
Starting to get things planned now Hank ! You have the choice of flying into Edinburgh in Scotland. Manchester in the North of England. Or Gatwick / Heathrow which both serve the London area in the South of England. You can get a Train to Paris to end your tour with a few days of Culture in a foreign language ! Fly back to the US from Paris will save you hundreds of Dollars because you wont pay the UK "Departure Tax" but not vital ! Liverpool is less than an hour on the Train from...
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
I frequently fly from NY JFK to Manchester UK. With Delta ! I know you are in Chicago but will Delta do you a thru Ticket ? We'll sort your Visit to Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields and The Cavern Club nearer the time!
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
The "Rubber Sole" Pub where the Beatles drank between Gigs at the Cavern And the Beatles LP No T&N - no other UK airports without another flight within Europe
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
That's helpful too, Rob. So with your guys advice, I'm thinking of the following plan, which still has holes I need to fill. I actually like the idea of Paris more than Scotland for this trip, plus I worry about the cost of travel to Scotland back so unless I can get a really cheap plane ticket or train ticket to Edinburgh, I think I'll drop that and focus on eastern UK and then on to Paris. So this is where I'm at now: 1) Arrive in Manchester. Maybe ??2 days 2) Travel Liverpool. 3 days 3)...
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
Here's a link to the current rates: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Passenger_Duty The rates are based on distance from London to capital of the other country; for U.S., that's 3661 miles and the rate converts to about $108, twice that for any class above cattle class. The APD particularly bites for Caribbean people living in UK; they're in the next band up and that means a family of 4 visiting home pay about $750 round trip on top of the tickets!
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Re: Finishing college. Need help planning trip to U.K,
Hank, While you're in London you can get a Coach (Bus) Tour that will show you Stonehenge and Bath and The Cotswold Villages - very pretty and very old. Leeds Castle (not in Leeds, close to London). Stonehenge is not an overnight stop - remember what I said about distances in the UK being smaller? If you need to fill a gap take the Train (or Bus) to York. Very old - lots of History and a Museum that will take you back 150 years walking the streets of Victorian England. Go into Old Shops and...
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Re: A Visit to Ireland: Part 1) An overview of the Country and its People
When I go to my local Pub in Liverpool I'll have a choice of Beers. Heineken Dutch Lager - San Miguel Spanish - Carlsberg Danish - Stella Belgian - Fosters Australian - Sagres Portuguese. Plus many local brews. Old Speckled Hen, Bishops Finger and my favourite Newcastle Brown Ale. Served in a Pint - 20 ounce - Bottle. With a half pint glass. It keeps cooler in the bottle ! Liquid Toffee ! Not a light Beer. Lots of Flavour and quite potent. I've found bars around Ocean City Maryland who serve...
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Re: Do you Like these Hotel Tipping Tips ?
Yes. I get the picture Paul. To be blunt about the experience - I don't care who's fault it is ! Perhaps dining out in the UK is a less frequent event. But when I go out for Dinner I want a pleasant experience. I don't want to hear about other peoples problems. I never get a reduction in the price because the service was bad. And I'm certainly not going to reward it either ! Minimum wage of a waitress in the UK is about = $400 US for 40 hrs. But we still tip for good service !
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Re: Doctor List for Traveling
SueZee, wherever you travel in the world your hotel will find you a suitable doctor who will speak enough English for your needs - just like Dr.F says - and Italy will have plenty. Don't bother with lists as they will always be out of date by the time you might want to use them, plus it will no doubt not list a great doc that the hotel knows is just around the corner! At the worst the hotel will have an English speaking staff member sit with you to help translate. Conversely, I do think that...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day: Haddon Hall, Derbyshire, England
As you may know, DrF, a number of houses in the UK are known as much or more for their gardens as for the houses. Not so in this case, although what they have sets the house off perfectly. The rest is more natural landscape as you can see in the bottom picture. I love the fact that the house is the star, as it should be in this case, and the gardens are a compliment.
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Re: Birmingham's Greatest Buildings
I enjoyed Birmingham's architecture a lot, it has changed and it is still changing in a pleasant way. Unfortunately many British people are stuck to the old image of other UK cities, the same can be said for other cities such as Manchester or Leeds. They are totally underestimated because people think they still are those kind of purely industrial minor cities devoted to production but it's not like this anymore. A weekend or day trip is enough to make you change your mind
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Re: Aug 4. 2016: Delaware City. Delaware.
Delaware City has only one set of traffic lights - how's that for small ! I only get crab when visiting the family in the US. Not here in the UK. I've had crab from Delaware - Chesapeake - Rehoboth Beach (Hooters) down to Ocean City Maryland. All gorgeous and worth waiting for. I've learned to say "These are the best ever" because that's what the locals say. Best Pizza - Best Crab-cakes - Best Chilli Fries. When my son was working his way through University he worked the late shift in a...
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Re: Isle of Portland, Dorset, England (Where Gumbo Was #176)
Wonderful collection of photo's PHEYMONT. Lighthouses are full of history. You can tell where you are on the high seas by checking out the colours it's been painted. SatNav from the 19th Century. My cousin has done 30 years in the British Royal Navy and has moved on to Trinity House who control all the lighthouses around the UK. I thought they were all self lighting - but I suppose they all need painting too !
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Re: Banksy Opens up a Bemusement Park in England
I think devoted Disney fans would welcome a lawsuit. Especially in the UK. Nothing like a good turf war. Think football. Think footpaths.
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Re: Swiss glaciers under threat after hot summer
Warmer Autumns in the UK mean that farmers can leave Cows and other animals grazing on grass for at least 6 weeks longer. Animals are fed on maize when they are brought in to over winter. The savings they make there are a bonus too.
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Re: Airline fees hit new $7 billion record
I can get 2 weeks in an all inclusive Hotel in the Caribbean including flights for less than my Trans Atlantic flight UK - NY. Of course the US Traveler is getting ripped-off. The rest of the world is enjoying the benefits of cheap-fuel flights. The sooner Ryanair make inroads into the US the better. Maybe Mr O'Leary is guilty of copying the ideas mentioned above for adding on fees !
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Re: French bus drivers at war over heat and pants
It's a movement, boys in UK schools: https://www.theguardian.com/ed...horts-uniform-policy
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Re: April 4, 2018: Mother sheep and lamb, Wales
Whether landowners are in favor or not, public access to footpaths and other rights-of-way are protected by law in the UK in perpetuity. Any landowner who tries to fence them off or otherwise deny access will soon find an angry mob of activists helping them correct their "mistake". http://www.environmentlaw.org.uk/rte.asp?id=207 Lovely photo!
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Re: Assiniboine Park, Winnipeg, Canada. Where Gumbo Was #36
You must be civilised in Canada too - cricket ! The original design for Central Park NY was made here - near Liverpool UK Birkenhead Park. Same guy did both. Just a bit smaller. We're a bit pushed for space over here !
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Re: Walking the Freedom Trail in Boston
Must be 15 years since I walked most of your journey through Boston. The mix of old and new buildings are fascinating as you walk the city. Many of the older buildings look like they have shared an architects plan with older buildings here in Liverpool UK. I do find it odd that 5 Bostonians were stoning a single Redcoat then you call them unarmed ! A situation that would bring about the same end results today. I enjoyed your Blog. Thanks.
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Re: Is it time to regulate airplane seats? Chris Elliott thinks so!
This debate seems to accept that the profit margins of Trans-Atlantic Flights are squeezed by costs outside the carriers control. The only solution they have is squeeze more seats in to control income. Last month I paid £759 ($1245) for 1 seat UK to Philadelphia - Return - with an American Airline. 7 hours in the sky. Each way. My £759 will also get me a flight to the Caribbean from the UK. 10 hours in the sky. 14 nights in a hotel. Food and drink included. And flight back. The Caribbean...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Oct. 4, 2014: A Courtyard in Marrakech
I was just looking again at the book in the picture, on the table, wondering what it was I was reading. I found it in my bookcase, 'Marrakesh: through writer's eyes'. Published in the UK by Eland, thought I recognized their distinctive binding. In case anyone else was wondering...
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Re: Following the European Beer Trail: Oktoberfest to Sorrento
Peroni is a good example of Italian Beer. Crisp tasting with a malty flavour. A white frothy head and sparkling. Available around the world. Drunk with Pizza and Italian food at UK restaurants.
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Re: Memphis, Tennessee 2) The King's chariots
Thanks, Garry. Yes, there is definitely an interest in Elvis from the younger generation. I'd say that today most of those visiting Graceland were not alive when Elvis died. And what's most amazing to me is how they come from all over the planet. Some of his greatest supporters, as you know, are from the UK (and also Japan for that matter). Elvis always regretted not performing in England, but his manager (he of the 50% cut fame) was an illegal alien without a passport, so he only kept Elvis...
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Re: "Cruise Night", Thunder Bay, Ontario: The 1960's (Part 1)
Hi GarryRF! I do hope that by the time Hurricane Cristobal reaches the UK it will be nothing more than a weak tropical storm. Here's hoping Cristobal misses you altogether and that the only thing that should "blow you away" on September 2 is my "Cruise Night" blog (ya ya I know...really bad joke, right?). Take care of yourself and stay safe. Let us know how you weather this looming storm.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Feb 11, 2015: Fruit of the Vine
I never knew that New York was a wine producer. I'll add that to my shopping list in August. Blossom Hill of California is a big seller here in the UK. Thank You !!
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Re: Something completely unrelated to travel
I know many people who have travelled for a better career. Residents of North America often travel away from their birthplace. Here in the UK my family have lived within 2 miles for at least 150 years. We have strands living in the US and Australia. But we like to keep in touch. Travel isn't just about vacations. Nice video.
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Re: Bones Recreated Using 3D Printer, What Would Richard Have Thought?
They must have used a cement mixer to keep the "Ink" flowing ! But it's good to see the $25,000 the UK Government has ripped off my pension going to a more worthy cause .