What's England Really Like to a Tourist?

I finished A Walk with Jane Austen by Lori Smith and wanted to post one last quote, actually a few from one longer section.

"I sit here in the occasional rain, eating a ham and cheese toastie with chips and a salad with no dressing. The idea of a toastie does not bother me - sort of like grilled cheese without the butter - but I don't understand why no one here uses salad dressing. They sell it apparently, every kind you can imagine, only they forget to actually use it."

"Sandwiches are mostly bready things with the smallest amount of meat possible. At every opportunity they will put cucumbers on them. Or you can have something like cheese and onion, held together with mayonnaise. After a few days, I began to wonder how anyone gets enough protein in this country."

"It's impossible to get a good cup of coffee. Most everyone considers coffee to be the powdered instant stuff and even that they manage to make weak . . . half-and-half does not even exist here and they don't put out cream, so you have to make do with milk. Even at a restaurant, if you attempt to order decaf, they'll bring you watery instant with milk. Blech."

"I think the chocolate here is better."

I've just realized that all of these quotes are about what the food is like in England! I have to admit, even when I look back at historical periods, one of the things I always want to know is what did they eat? And on what kind of dishes? If I went to England, one of the first things I'd want to know is, what are their grocery stores like?

Lori Smith has a blog that includes excerpts from her book.