Johnny Jet is a fictional character.
A couple of days ago I just happened to interview my friend and London travel expert, Julie from aladyinlondon.com. Julie was kind enough to share her best London travel tips which you can either read about, listen to on my podcast or watch the interview on YouTube (below).
There is a lady in London. After quitting my job in 2007, I moved to London and started the A Lady in London blog. It has been 15 years.
How many countries have you traveled to?
I've been to 112.
Johnny Jet thinks that is insane. How did you end up in London since you have been there for years? Was it a big cultural shock? Is it the same as the us?
It is a big culture shock because you think it will be the same as before. Some of the cultural differences are more subtle than others, but some of them take a little while to get used to.
Johnny Jet likes what he sees. Pubs closing early.
A lady in London said that those are big ones.
When I was in London, I was with a hotel GM who got a text to meet Prince Charles. He said that he would let me ask his security team if they would allow me to go. You can either listen to or read about the story here.
Is everything more expensive with the pound?
The UK is a good place for Americans to visit because the pound has taken a hit. You might experience a little bit of a shock if you are from another part of the USA.
Johnny Jet wants to know what first time visitors to London should know about the city.
One of the things I like about London is that it is an enormous city and there is so much to do.
There are a lot of ways to get around in London.
Johnny Jet asked if he used an oyster card.
There is a lady in London. You don't have to get an Oyster card or load money on it, you can just use your debit card.
I didn't know that, but I would use a credit card with a tap feature so I could get a better exchange rate.
Johnny Jet knows that London is a great place to walk.
There is a lady in London. It is one of my favorites to do. If you're interested, there's a lot of free self-guided walks on my website.
Johnny Jet showed you a map app he used in London. It doesn't tell you turn by turn directions. It shows you the distance and estimated time of arrival on a compass. This is more information.
Normally in the summer you want to have an umbrella with you, but this year it has been oddly hot.
Johnny Jet has one in his back pocket, but can you buy them on the street?
Most souvenir shops in London have them, as well as Boots, which is the pharmacy equivalent of a drugstore in the US. There are umbrellas in boots. supermarkets have umbrellas They can be found everywhere.
We rented a place through London Perfect, which was awesome, and that was my first trip to London where I didn't pay cash. I used my credit card or Apple Pay for most of my purchases. Just tap and it was done.
I don't remember the last time I used my wallet, but I use Apple Pay for everything. There is a lot of cash there now.
Johnny Jet is wondering if the buskers use a payment service.
People usually pay each other via bank transfer in the UK, because we don't have a service like Venmo. Apple Pay is all over the place.
A lady in London said to get into the food scene because a lot of people still think Britain is bad at food. It was years and years ago that London had great food. Go to a curry house if you like Indian food because it's a big thing in Britain. The bars. They are a great place to get good traditional food like fish and chips or bangers and mash, as well as to meet the locals and to see what London life is about.
London is my favorite place to get Indian food. I prefer it over India because I trust the water more in England.
A lady in London likes to visit a place in East London. It is one of the few places in London where you can still use cash. It was jammed when I went there last time. It is a great local experience and it has good food.
Johnny Jet: I think we went to an Indian restaurant when we were in England.
a lady in london We went to Veeraswamy, which is the other end of the spectrum, and it was great.
Johnny Jet wondered if first time visitors to London should know where to find things.
Plan your itinerary based on where you are. If you want to see the Tower of London and the V&A Museum at the same time, you have to go to the other side of the city. You won't have to take the tube or run around the city.
Johnny Jet is a smart man. Is they free?
a lady in london The museums in London are all free. I pop in for a while and then leave. It is very pleasant.
Johnny Jet asked if they are closed on certain days.
It's more that they're open late. If you want to see something before or after dinner, the National Gallery is open late on Fridays.
Johnny Jet said that it was amazing that he lived in England.
a lady in london You can go all the way through Little Venice and Maida Vale if you know where to look.
Johnny Jet asked if Americans still enjoy going to Portobello Market.
a lady in london There are lots of other markets. It is London's big food market and it is located under the railway bridges south of the river. It is very local and not a lot of people know about it.
Camden Market is one of the most famous and you can find a lot of things there.
Johnny Jet loves going to Marks and Spencer's and getting different kinds of potato chips or chocolate bars because they're unique and delicious.
There are a lot of British sweets and snacks here. You can get all the flavors of chocolate. A lot of them are good.
Johnny Jet: You told me last week that you use the internet while on the road. Do you recommend getting a local sim card for people who are going to London for a long period of time?
A lady in London says you can get a local sim. There are a lot of mobile phone shops. You can buy a £10 pre-paid sim, pop it in your phone, and then use it in the UK for $10 a day. Some of the websites that I was looking at had 30 gig for as little as 15 bucks. There is a great deal of value in it.
Is there any other tips?
If you want to get out of Zone 1 you need to go into the more local neighborhoods. There is a station on the Northern line. It feels like a country village in London, and there is a large park with great views.
There is a park with tens of thousands of types of roses.
There is a lady in London.
One of the things I like to do in London is go see a play.
You can get cheap last-minute tickets, but you can also book online or early.
Johnny Jet wants to know if you have a favorite tea spot.
A lady in London said that afternoon tea is a great tradition and she loves it. I don't know if I could pick a favorite, but the most recent one I went to was Fortnum & Mason, and that was a great experience.
What is the difference between high tea and afternoon tea?
When you think of afternoon tea, you think of the tiered trays with sandwiches on the bottom, and the pastries on the top.
People need to be aware of any scam. Pick pocketers are like that. I think they are on the tube when it is crowded.
There isn't that much in the way that it's unique to London. Pick pocketers are not usually used. A lot of places in Central London have signs that say "don't leave your phone lying around on the table" or "don't hang your bag over the back of your chair"
Johnny Jet asked if any apps should be downloaded.
If you want to know how to get from where you are to where you want to go, you can use the City Mapper app.
Johnny Jet asked about his favorite time of year to visit London. I think it's the summer.
The weather is nice and everyone is happy because the flowers are starting to come out.
It is my favorite time of the year to be in Connecticut, where I grew up, because everyone is in a good mood because they made it through winter and summer. Everyone else does, and I really appreciate it. How can you get people to subscribe to your newsletter?
My website is aladyinlondon.com and I also have a newsletter on my website.
It's a bio
Julie has traveled to 112 countries and developed a strong social media presence on her travel and lifestyle website, A Lady in London. She is a speaker and lecturer on social media. After leaving a career in finance to attend Brown University, Julie moved to the UK in 2007, where she is currently working.
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