One we are very fond of, the other we are not so sure about. The first is of course the justly famed Underground. Not just a tube that hurtles you from A to B, but a significant attraction in its own right. I can think of no better venue for people watching, especially given London's intensely cosmopolitan nature and many of the Leslie Green designed faience tiled Art Nouveau station facades are now recognized as significant works of art. But it is also the exceptionally high quality of the busking (no winos warbling Hotel California here), the soothing voice of the "mind the gap" announcements and the roll call of iconic station names, each one plugging into and lighting up a particular warm memory from literature or film or song: Paddington, Piccadilly Circus, Kings Cross, Leicester Square, Hyde Park Corner, Baker Street, Knightsbridge, Covent Garden, Charing Cross, Blackfriars... (and of course the amusing ones: Cockfosters, Barking, Wapping, Mudchute, Tooting Bec, Peckham Rye...). We love this tube. We love London.
The other tube is the one that is automatically attached to your wallet upon arrival and to which a startling suction force is applied. London is breathtakingly expensive.
"Coffees? That'll be £15 ($30) sir."
"Lunch? That'll be £50 ($100) sir."
"Visit the Tower of London? That'll be £57 ($114) sir. (I know I probably don't need to keep doing the math for you, but maybe it's early where you are.)
" Visit the Harry Potter movie studios? That'll be £250 ($500) sir."
And on it goes. To be fair, some things are the opposite. The British Museum, The British Library (amazing incidentally) and The National Gallery foe example are free. Their gift shops are not, but that only makes sense.
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