Here vs. Home

I'm going to dedicate my second blog post to the differences that I have noticed as a Canadian living in London.

• Driving on the opposite side of the road/car. Obvious, I know, but this also means that people also tend to walk on the opposite side of the sidewalk. This took me a while to figure out, as I was walking into people and wondering why they were running into me when in fact it was the other way around.
• Money - coins here are much heavier than at home, and there are more of them. This makes my wallet very heavy
• Everyone goes to the pub all the time. There is definitely a pub culture where it is totally acceptable/expected that you stop off at the pub for a drink or two on your way home from work at the end of the day.
• The mail comes/goes on Saturday.  If a packages are delivered to your house, and you're not home (i.e. at work) you can only go pick it up between 8am-12 Mon.-Fri., and between 8am-1pm on Saturdays. This means that I have to wait until Saturday to pick up the 'mystery' package delivered here on Monday (Mystery because I don't know who sent it. I gave credit to my mom for it, but she won't claim responsibility for it. Hmmm.)
• Cupcakes are called fairy cakes. Don't get it.
• It's somewhat difficult to obtain a decent cup of brewed coffee. Most places offer espresso based coffee drinks like lattes and cappuccinos, but no one seems to care much about just plain old coffee. If anyone wants to start a Second Cup franchise over here, I'd be all for it!
• Streets do not run parallel/perpendicular to one another. This made travel by foot difficult initially because I was under the 'Toronto grid system' mentality. I now carry my trusty 'A-Z' which is a map book of London that even Londoners need and use. (Holly has one as well)