In the first couple of days...

I arrived on Friday afternoon (after some "fun" with airports), and after a relaxed afternoon, dove straight into the British stereotypes.  My first pub.  However, I was surprised and maybe slightly disappointed to find that apparently the music that is played in bars is universal... Beyonce's "Single Ladies," along with other American Pop music, currently and also quite a bit from the '80s.

Saturday was full of sight-seeing.  Westminster Cathedral (not to be confused with the Abbey, this one is Catholic).  The Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.  Walking along the Thames.  A lot of street performers, some creatively entertaining, some not-so-much.  Saturday night was my first fish and chips.  Yum (even for me, who's not a huge fan of fish).  Then a Philippino disco/kareoke night, which was.... interesting.  I describe it as Philippino b/c that was the demographic of about 98% of the people there, and it was a hidden little place, so you wouldn't really just stumble upon it (plus, that's how it was described to me by our Philippino friends who took us there!).

Today was Mass with the Sisters and then I went to the Tate Britain.  Enjoyed John Everett Millais paintings.  Rode the Tube to Notting Hill, walked around a bit and walked back to Kensington.  No, I didn't find where the movie was filmed, although any of the neighborhood streets I walked down probably could have been the location.  And I wasn't going to be so American as to ask someone!  Blue doors are not uncommon.

Ok, onto the entertaining part.  Translations (or different kinds of phrasing):

Jumper = Sweater or sweatshirt  (I also saw a sign for sweatshirts that said sweat tops).
Quite = Pretty, as in "It's quite chilly out isn't it?"
Pip = Seed
Rubbish bin = Garbage can

There's more, but of course as I try to think of them I forget.  More to come later as I move onto Newcastle tomorrow morning, and an entirely different kind of accent!  (and it will be shorter since I won't have to catch up)