Adventures of a Ginger: Tomatoe vs. Toe-maa-toe and other common disagreements in the English language

Ah London.. I have spent the last five years of my life attempting to visit this amazing city. The first time was when my "Mum" and I traveled to Europe when I was 20. We visited Italy and France and I was scheduled to stay in Paris, and then travel to London to catch my flight and explore the city. Many of you might remember that was when the underground bombings happened in the city, and I was forced to cut my trip short and leave out of Paris. My love for Europe was sparked on this very trip, and I promised myself I would come back, never knowing that I would actually live here instead of visiting. Again, at Christmas time, I was at the airport twice with the family I work for, and due to snow in Amsterdam, and then London we were forced into cancelling our trip. I promised myself that my February trip WOULD happen, whether I had to swim to England or hitch hike. A month prior to my trip, I started making plans with my good friend Kaitlyn, who I haven't seen since University when we were perhaps 19.. She's been living in the UK for almost 2 years now after meeting a great British guy while on her "world adventure".. I also, had made plans to have a date with a Brit named Ben while I was there.. I had museums I planned to visit, and lots and lots of places I wanted to see. My flight took off without a hitch- my airfare round trip a mere 90euros to London from Amsterdam, but I also had to fly EasyJet. The easiest way to describe EasyJet is to compare it to a cattle herd. Literally, you congregate into random groups, and wait for them to open the door and everyone takes off to the airplane, because you have no assigned seat. Really? They herd you into the aircraft and then off you go. It is the simplest yet painful form of travel I have ever endured, but for the price, who am I to judge. I arrived into London Stansted, which is one of three airports in London, and took the EasyBus (another cheap alternative, but what you save in money, you gain in poor customer service and horrific driving.) Dropped me off right near the flat, so again, for 19 pounds r/t, you get what you pay for. Went to bed early, excited and nervous for my first day in the city. Day One: Woke up, went to the underground which is right across the street near the ever popular Madame Tussauds http://www.madametussauds.com/. Madame Tussauds is a celebrity wax museum, and I can confidently say I absolutely have no urge to go to there. however, people line outside like crazies.. the line wraps around the entire building, all so that tourists can get their picture taken with the likes of "Obama" and of course, " Robert Patterson.." I decide for my first day I will go to the Victoria and Albert Museum which houses tons and tons of artifacts and art from all over the world. It's an enormous and extremely beautiful collection. I purchase an Oyster card which is a fabulous means of traveling as a tourist. You simply buy the card, load GBP's onto it, and then swipe it when you enter or exit the tube. It's a much better deal than buying a one day pass, or tickets as you travel. I managed to find the museum with no problem, rather enjoying myself on the underground- listening AND understanding the people around me.. After a couple of hours at the museum, I took the underground to Notting Hill/Portobello Rd. I realized my fascination with British men when I was quite young, in fact, I believe Hugh Grant in Notting Hill was my first love (pre cheating on gorgeous Elizabeth Hurley with prostitute in car).. Ever since, I have had an admiration for the Brits- specifically, the way they speak and the humor with what they say things. I walked around the markets/shops and then decided it was perhaps time for me to change for my "date" that evening.. At this point in the day, I was a basket of nerves. I've been on many first dates at this point in my life, but I had been talking to Ben for at least two weeks or more, and I was quite nervous, and excited. We decided to meet outside of the National Gallery- Trafalgar Square around 6pm. He was just getting off work, and I was finishing up my touristy things for the day. Needless to say, I had no reason to be nervous.. we had a fantastic time, we met up and he took me to an underground wine bar named Gordan's which was amazing. Had a bottle of wine, talking (finally in person) about our lives, what we wanted, our families.. never running out of things to talk about, laughing the entire time. Afterwards, he took me through Chinatown, which at night is spectacular, all of the lights, all of the people- it's such an experience. We went to another bar, which he had picked, named Waxy O'Connors- which was an Irish bar, that had a tree growing out of the middle- and a pulpit. I know it sounds like a weird combination, but it was amazing. And, the Jameson reps were there- meaning, few free Jameson's for the evening. All and all, a fantastic first date- so good in fact that we decided to meet up the following evening as well.. To Be Continued...