Susan

"Loathe" is a pretty strong word - I would say that I was disppointed in the food, didn't like not being able to sit on the grass in certain public areas, & hated driving (in ALL of England - never could adjust to driving on the "wrong" side). I was also disappointed at the noise level (& crowds) at the British Museum - where I'd longed to go all my life. It was a mob scene (with a babel of languages as each tour group crowded in to see something & their guides shouted out to be heard). The museum could do with some crowd control I was shocked to see several people running their hands over the priceless Rosetta Stone & said something about it to our British docent who sniffed and said, "Well, they should know better." (How about something practical like a "Don't Touch" sign?)<BR>I did love the lack of age discrimination (as can exist in the USA) - it wasn't uncommon to see people of vastly differing ages sitting together & having a friendly chat in the pubs.

Amy

I don't exactly hate London, I just was disappointed due to the expectations I had for it. I was one of the little girls who woke up early for the royal weddings (go ahead, roll your eyes!) and had always wanted to visit to see the palaces, the churches, etc. I very much had the feeling of "is that it?" everywhere except St. Pauls. We never had a meal that we can remember as being really great and I wasn't breathtaken by anything I saw. On the same trip, we went to Paris and I was completely awestruck by the Eiffel Tower (completely unprepared for how big and beautiful it really was) and the museums. Other than the V&A, I was underwhelmed by museums in London.<BR><BR>I did see some wonderful theater (which if I'd really wanted to I could've seen in NYC when the shows passed through there) and did some fun shopping in Harrods and some smaller shops we found along the way.<BR><BR>That said, I probably wouldn't go back. It just didn't have the pull for me that Paris does. I also don't feel like I was far enough away from home...in many respects it feels an awful lot like Boston to me (though I will see the tube beats the T hands down!) And it definitely didn't have the old towne feel that Edinburgh had that I loved (and although they are quite similar, I much prefer Edinburgh to London)

Peter

Just there for the 3rd time and love the:<BR><BR>1 Theater<BR>2. Museums<BR>3. Historical places, ie, Tower, St. Paul's, Westminister Abbey, etc.<BR>4. Just did a tour of Buckingham Palace and it just blew me away. The most magnificent interiors I have ever seen. Put the white House, Hermitage and Peterhof to shame.<BR>5. Double decker buses<BR>6. British humor<BR>7. Shopping<BR>8. The tube<BR>9. The magnificent parks<BR>10. Wonderful old hotels<BR><BR>Dislike:<BR>1. Too many Arabs everywhere. Sorry to sound so bigoted but as an American I, like a lot of my fellow countrymen, are developing a serious dislike for their race, culture, and religion.

Oy vay

Bye bye to what was an interesting post and responses thanks to the one above.

Amy

Peter, as a fellow American, I ask that you not generalize for "fellow countrymen" when you make statements like your last one. How shallow. No wonder we have the problems we do today.

Ursela

I agree with a lot of what EenieMeenie had to say. We have to remember that London took a beating for all of us during WWII. and that ireperably damaged the superstructure, but it's cool to be in a place where that kind of destruction happend but the city took it on the jaw and came up bloody but unbowed. We hear a lot about what happend in NYC last year, and it was awful, but imagine that going on day after day after day, etc.!<BR><BR>It is nice for Paris to have come through the war virtually unscathed, but the reality of London means more to me.

xxx

Likes<BR><BR>Double Decker Buses<BR>Theatre<BR>Pubs<BR>Historic Monuments<BR>Common Language (can you imagine how impatient I get when waiting on a queue on the Underground when some foreigner who doesn't speak English holds up the whole queue)<BR>Underground signs which tell you how long to the next train.<BR><BR>Dislikes<BR><BR>1. Inefficient zone system in the Underground. Causes administrative nightmares, costs millions to administer what with tickets collected upon exit at turnstiles. Compared to New York where one fare no matter how far you travel and only necessary for one turnstile experience.<BR><BR>Lack of air conditioning on the tube...in New York 95% of trains have A/C<BR><BR>Too much smoking<BR><BR>Too few television channels in hotels (at most 6 or 7 channels compared to US where you usually have at least 15 to 20 channels)<BR><BR>11 PM closing of pubs<BR><BR>Too much rain<BR><BR>Too many tube stations have lifts which cause big time congestion and no escalators (Convent Garden best example)

love

Love the tea, hate the food. Love the old buildings, hate the dirty appearance. Love the gardens, don't like the looks of the locals (not very attractive - such horrible teeth). Love the cheaper theaters prices, hate the exchange rate.

loveit

I love all the above, have no problems with the diversity of population, but as a westerner, I miss green salads! On the other hand, the pizza more than makes up for it.

francesca

I love London, England, Scotland and Wales and the British people. The only things I hate about London are:<BR><BR>the Tube<BR>the prices<BR>Oxford street

carolyn

London is my favorite place of anywhere I have visited, and I have traveled on the continent. I really can't say why--it just appeals to me, probably from early exposure to Sherlock Holmes and Charles Dickens. And I get to go back for a few days next week. Woo Hoo!

Judy

I adore London, and I like it better each time I go there! The theater is the best, with the most marvelous buildings. I love Covent Garden on a sunny Sunday afternoon, the British Museum on a rainy day. I love going to a session of Parliament....the Ceremony of the Keys, Concerts at St. Martins. <BR>I want to stay there for a few months to really get the "feel" of London. <BR>Dislikes? Very few and no biggie deal! <BR>Judy

xxx

The drabness and the food.

Shannon

Love --<BR>The Christmas Crackers<BR>The telly <BR>Raisin & Biscuit Yorkie Bars<BR>The pub in Middle Temple<BR>Rumpole<BR>The canal rides<BR>Rowing on the Serpentine<BR>And most of all, my friends.<BR><BR>Loathe: the newer Central Line trains (talk about suffocation!). The old wooden panel ones were so much nicer and airier.

anne

The PEOPLE. I feel genuinely welcomed as an American in London. People will hear me speak and ask "are you a yank?" and then will extend an invitation to sit with them at a pub, make sure I know where I am going on the underground and just be warmly human to a traveler far from home. It is very easy to feel that bond that unites these two English speaking peoples.

Stella

(not in any particular order) Love - Arriving, the food, the British Museum, the National Gallery, the V and A, Westminster Abbey, walking through beautiful neighborhoods and parks, the blue plaques on places of interest, Islington antique shops, a cider when tired of walking, the cabs when tired of walking, British men in their perfectly cut suits, Hyde Park, British TV, Hobnobs, Waitrose, and so on...<BR><BR>Loathe? That I can't afford to visit London more than every other year at best! The six month quarantine for dogs that prohibits me from packing up with my two dogs and moving there!

Fulano de Tal

I'm one of those who LOVE London. I really don't know all of the city, just the tourist's London. There are lots of the traditional reasons for loving London, but I think that I do most because I feel so welcome there.

Lucy

What blew me away about London was going there on my first trip to Europe as a 23 year old was a visit to the amazingly preserved the Tower of London with its fascinating history -I come from a country where there are no buldings older than 200 years & London is so full of living history which I loved. Having said that, while I enjoyed London (& can't wait to see more of the English countryside) I didn;t love the place the way I have France & Italy as the culture is just not exotic or different enough I guess. I did however love the shopping & theatre.