re: #367 iceweasel

Terrific! so happy for you both— some generic info:

If you’re in London proper, Mad-Al Jaffee is absolutely right. Driving on the other side of the road isn’t difficult, but it will take you surprisingly long to look in the right direction when crossing streets. And that is really important, because people in London drive like people in NYC, or LA, or Boston do. You could get killed. I still wander into streets and cross randomly.

the good news is that unlike the US, the UK has extremely safe traffic crossings. Wait for the pedestrian lights and cross with them.

Take the Tube when you’re in London proper.
renting a car: remember, you won’t merely be driving on the wrong side of the road, but if you rent anything with a clutch you’ll have to shift with the other hand! rent an automatic.

Money: Talk to your bank, and also your credit card companies. As stupid as it is, and unsafe, for a short trip like that you may well want to bring travelers checks, because using a bank card to withdraw money (your US bank card, drawing on a US acct) can carry many hidden fees. Also you won’t get the best exchange rate.
Whatever you do, do NOT bring US cash and then change it especially at airport locations or similar. The exchange rate they’ll give you and the extra fees they’ll tack on make it terrible.

Also, the UK and has now implemented a separate security measure for bank cards. There’s now an electronic chip imbedded in the side of most credit cards and debit cards in the UK. you know how we swipe our credit cards or debit cards for payment in the US? The magnetic strip?— you can’t do that any more in the UK. You dip the end of the card into a reader that ‘reads’ the chip instead.
If you have a US card, some retailers won’t take it, and nearly all now have to call the manager, key in your credit card manually, and they’ll ask you for other ID. Make sure you have your US driver’s license— the passport won’t be sufficient. (They’ll want to check your signature as well as your photo) and that isn’t on the passport in an official way.

Tipping is very different in the Uk, for example, you don’t have to tip in pubs or bars— google and get a reliable guide on that.

These are the major areas I’m thinking of; I definitely have lots more info for you if you like, especially when you figure out exactly where you’ll be going, and I can give you info on cheap flights, hotels, and where to eat as well.
Hope this helps!

I had a terrible time with travelers checks Weasel. The clueless c;erks didn’t know what to do with them. My friends took me to banks to cash them.
I love GB and wouldn’t mind living there. Great place.