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Rick Steves’ Travel Blog

Here you can browse through my blog posts prior to February 2022. Currently I'm sharing my travel experiences, candid opinions, and what's on my mind solely on my Facebook page. — Rick

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London’s Anglesea Arms Pub

When in London, I like to stay in South Kensington. It’s a classy neighborhood — so elegant, my hotel is not allowed to put out a sign. It also has a quintessential British pub, the Anglesea Arms.

Along with beautiful Georgian architecture, the Anglesea Arms is filled with classy Londoners.

 

The Anglesea Arms Pub is everything a British pub should be, in my mind. Musty paintings and old-timers, beautiful people backlit, dogs wearing Union Jack vests, a long line of tempting tap handles advertising beers available, and flower boxes spilling color around picnic tables perfect for a warm summer evening. That’s why I recommend the Anglesea Arms in my London guidebook.

 

And for me, eating in a pub that takes its cooking seriously is the best deal in town. For £15 (just under $25), you get a delightful meal. When you consider the high cost of dining in London, the joy of immersing yourself in a neighborhood pub, and the quality of this dinner, this is a great value.

To top it off, we filmed an on-camera for our Travel Skills Special here. After a pint of beer, I was thankful I remembered my lines. Looking up from my meal and into the lens, I drilled home my point: “Unification does not threaten Europe’s diversity. In fact, that diversity is both as vivid as ever, and more accessible. Imagine: Today for lunch, it was quiche and fine French wine under the Eiffel Tower; for dinner, it’s pub grub and a hearty ale in a classic London pub. Here’s to diversity.”

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Bulleting Under the English Channel

I still get excited about the Eurostar train trip from Paris through the English Channel Tunnel (a.k.a. “Chunnel”) to London. But the routine at the station has become, well, routine: Show your ticket and passport. Wait in a lounge until it’s time to board. Cross over the tracks on a secure sky bridge to a secure platform where your bullet train awaits, and follow the crowds as security officials make sure everyone gets on the right car. Within minutes, you’re zipping at 180 mph across the French countryside. Now that the new tracks are complete on the English side, you go just as fast there — and within about 2.5 hours, you’re in London.

When the tracks parallel the highway, we pass cars like they’re standing still (the train is going 100 mph faster than the speeding cars). When the attendant offers wine, it isn’t the cheap stuff they serve on American airlines — it’s a fine French Médoc.

And then, suddenly, there’s darkness for 20 minutes. Whenever I ride my bullet train down through the tunnel deep below the English Channel, playful thoughts fill my head.

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.

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Paris Is an Ever-Entertaining Parade of Images

When I’m in Paris, my camera gets a workout capturing the people and places that bring to light this cultural capital’s joie de vivre.

Sitting at an hors d’oeuvres bar, I watched people wait with eager anticipation as their crêpes were swirled and cooked — which added a delightful dimension to my meal.

All along Paris’ Seine River embankment, couples enjoy romantic picnics with an ambience no restaurant can beat. And every few minutes, a tour boat motors by with its searchlights blazing.
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Europe: Fast and Funded

If you’ve never traveled beyond the USA, I think you’d have a hard time imagining a society not built around automobiles. Steadily investing in a long-term goal, Europe is now networked by high-speed trains. It’s not right or wrong. It’s just a vision for European society that its people embrace. When American politicians threaten that if we pursue this or that government-funded policy, we’ll “descend to a European level of socialistic misery,” they just show how little they know. And when those messages resonate with the electorate in a positive way, it demonstrates — sadly — how narrow-minded and fearful their political base really is.

America is not Europe. We do things differently. And the USA does not need to take care of its working people, or invest in its infrastructure, or respect diversity like Europe does. (Doing so would decimate the wealth of our billionaire population.) But using Europe as an example of failure is wrong. Yes, countries like Greece and Spain are struggling. But other European nations, who embrace these same ideals with more prudence — such as Germany or the Scandinavian states — enjoy a financial prosperity that any nation on earth would envy.

With this short clip, you can take a little train ride with me in France. Then…tell me what you think.

If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.