If there's any country that should be on every American's list of countries to visit, it is England. It's mind-boggling how much of the world's history is in England (thanks to that funny little thing known as the British Empire) -- from the Rosetta Stone to the Magna Carta to the oldest existing copies of the Bible (dating back to AD 100). All that history, combined with its accessibility (no language barrier for those of us not gifted with bi- or trilingualism) and ease of getting around (da Tube), make London, England a no-brainer for international travel. England has long been on my list and I'm finally able to check it off. Also on my list of countries visited outside the U.S. include Italy, Canada, Mexico, Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands, and Germany (only in passing), though the latter four only sort of count since I was too young to appreciate being there (I was 13 and in those countries for a month playing soccer with an organization called TeamsUSA). Jen and I were joined by her parents for our action-packed weeklong trip, which focused primarily on London, along with a day-trip to Leeds Castle, Canterbury, and through Greenwich. We got to spend time with my cousin Sararose and aunt Suellen. And we even got to hang out Friday morning at GP and CM's London house with Rose and Apple (yes, that Apple)... It was an amazing trip; I'm still trying to process everything we did and all the history and sites we took in... read on for all my observations and fun facts about our trip (or skip right to the trip photos)! The People Consistently, the English people impressed me with their politeness. Wednesday night after we saw Chicago, I noticed a fellow theater-goer kneeling on the wet sidewalk next to a man sleeping in a sleeping bag. With her hand on him, she spoke with him softly. There was something incredibly compassionate about her body language, and unlike anything I've ever witnessed in other cities. Another night, while heading to the Camden neighborhood of London via Tube for drinks with my cousin and aunt, I was approached by two teenage boys. "Can you spare 5p for my mate, please? He's short for Tube fare." Having lived in San Francisco, where one must always be on guard, I cautiously agreed and dug through my coat pocket for some change. I handed one of the boys a 20-pence coin and said, "There you go." I was ready to go on my merry way, when the other boy said, "Here you go," and actually handed me three 5-pence coins. It was the first time I can recall that someone asking me for money on the street actually gave me change. The Accents I've always been a sucker for the British accent. While viewing the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London on Wednesday, Jen and I were tickled silly when we heard a 10-year-old British schoolboy lean over to his friend and say (insert British accent here), "Charlie... bling-bling!" The Diversity London is a very international city. Almost as common as hearing English is hearing other languages -- French, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish. (We had a drink with a Swedish couple Monday night at the Pride of Paddington.) The Pubs Beer. Oh so good and so fresh. Much better than here in the States. Long-pull ales attached by long line to kegs in the basement are the hallmark of British pubs. These ales are cellar temperature and pretty bitter. I enjoyed them all. The glass is filled not by hitting the tap and letting the beer flow, but by pumping the tap until the glass is full. In one case, an ale I ordered at the Museum Tavern (Old Peculiar) had to sit and settle, much like a Guinness. Other ales I tried included Greene King IPA (my favorite, Guinness notwithstanding), Bombardier, Black Sheep. The ales are amber and dark amber in color. The draft Guinness was more fresh and smooth than here in the States (closer to the source). Imperial 20-ounce pints and half-pints are standard. A "proper drink for the ladies," according to Rick Steves, is lager shandy. My mother-in-law drank mostly this sweet mix of lemon soda and lager. Liquor bottles in pubs are mounted vertically upside-down with spouts at the bottom for easy pouring. Gordon's gin seems to be the standard. I tried it one night in a G&T at the hotel bar and wasn't too impressed. Video lottery machines are in every pub, as is smoking. All my clothes that I brought on the trip now reek of smoke. Select pubs -- like the Jugged Hare and the Silver Cross -- have small non-smoking areas in the back; they're the least populated and least lively. We were fortunate enough one night at the Sussex Arms to hear a group of women break out in drunken song, a tradition at British pubs. The menus at most pubs we hit were very similar -- they had the same cover design in most cases. Fish 'n chips, ciabatta bread with brie and pesto, lasagne, crisps, vinegar, baked pie with sweet potato and spinach filling. Overall, the food was much better than I had anticipated. The Loos Aside from being small and downstairs through a maze of doorways and hallways, most loos were incredibly clean. I was blown away by the 50p public toilets near Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. The company that maintains them (City Loo) won the "Loo of the Year Award" recently (see photos). As with other international trips I've made, just being there is an experience beyond description. Rick Steves' back-door travel philosophy sums it up best: