Not Your Father's England

Meals in French restaurants: 2
Meals in Italian restaurants: 2
Fish and chips: 0
Times we were offered ice with our Coke: 1
Traditional pubs: 0

But...

Trips in Black cabs: 2
Lovely accents: everywhere

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Also, coming from the U.S., it's easy to get an overly rosy view of British television. Over here, we hear BBC and we think culture. And our brother-in-law has shown us the best of British telly (The Office, Father Ted, MI-5, Doctor Who, etc.). But when you're actually in Britain, it's a bit of a wasteland, at least if the channels available in our hotel are any indication. BBC2 seems to show nothing but snooker (a variant of pool). There are about four channels devoted entirely to sports, and a couple others that seem to have only "cookery" programs. (One of the French restaurants we ate at was part of a chain owned by a celebrity chef, Raymond Blanc, and we caught one of his shows -- a competition called the Restaurant, where couples try to impress him enough that he'll fund them to start their own restaurant.) And then there are the reality shows, including "Cirque de Celebrity" (where minor stars and former athletes perform on unicycles, trapezes, and so on), and "Leave the Kids Alone" where teenage dropouts run a school for younger kids.