That’s not British food. The good restaurants in London serve French food, like those above. Or Chinese, or Indian.

British food is stuff like beef pie, which is mashed potatoes with onion and lima beans and ground beef, but no salt. Or beef kidneys, or blood sausage. Fish and chips can be good provided it is crunchy and served on newspaper. When they serve it on a plate it gets soggy and gross.

As someone who makes many trips to Europe each year I second this. I go to great lengths to avoid Paris, I have zero use for that place. The rest of it isn't much better. So many amazing places in the US or Canada I'd rather go.

If you put a gun to my head and forced me to give you a list of places to visit...

In London, Cliffs of Moher Ireland, and maybe Amsterdam or Strasbourg, if you are hell bent on France. If you want to get wild there's a full nude mixed company bathhouse in Baden Baden Germany. That was a three-hour adventure I'll never forget.

After last nights Olympic opening ceremony fiasco in France, visiting Paris would definitely be a "no go"! Replace it with Edinburgh, Scotland.

Do NOT spend time in the big cities.

Just as most would recommend people to visit the smaller towns of Texas instead of Houston/DFW/Austin….to get the full experience of a region, you need to spend most of your time outside of metromesses. Big cities are pretty much the same wherever you go.

Land at the airport, rent a car, and explore the countryside.
Be sure to remember the general rule of thumb that whatever side of the vehicle the steering wheel is located, the vehicle is driven on the opposite side of the road.

USA…steering wheel on left…drive on the right
UK….steering wheel on the right…..drive on the left.

…..or just go to the train station with your Rail pass and get on a train immediately to smaller towns.

England….I recommend either the far south (Bournemouth/Portsmouth/Dover). Nicer weather…lots of maritime history.
….tell England to eff off and just land in Edinburgh, Scotland and explore Scotland….mich better topography/geography up there. Only visit Scotland June to mid September…you still risk bad weather, but you might actually get lucky with a stretch of sunshine.

Oh, and avoid big metromesses…they suck.
Scotland and Wales don’t have metromesses…even Edinburgh and Glasgow are nice and pleasant with salt of the earth people.

It's been a minute but I have been to Florence, and it's very cool. Venice was OK, as was Rome. Also spent a night in Lucerne Switzerland, I wasn't there long enough to get a feel for it but it seemed like it could be pretty good time. I went to the Vatican, I think you need to be catholic to appreciate it, or at least mildly religious which I'm not so other than being able to say I have been there it didn't move me much

France…southern France….the part that actually held the Nazis and Italian Fascists back because they can actually strategize and fight.

Sarlat
Bordeaux
Toulouse
Montpellier

Stay out of northern France…they are a bunch of Ps that surrender within two weeks.

Spain—-can’t go wrong with anywhere in Spain (minimize time spent in Madrid)
Great people (some of the senoritas there will leave your jaw on the ground and you will have to scrape it back up and reattach it to your face)
Perfect weather most of the time
Best food anywhere (the closer you get to the Mediterranean)
Best coffee in the world (makes Italian coffee and Moroccan coffee look and taste third string bush league)
Incredible museums (waaaay better than the boring French artists)
Much more interesting architecture…a blend of Roman/North African designs)
Unique, interesting people….strong willed with great senses of humor (Similar to Texans)…just don’t piss them off…especially a Spanish woman

Italy—-the islands are where it’s at…Sardinia and Corsica…like going back in time as they’ve been isolated from the mainland mostly failed state. Pompei is can’t miss though.

Not that I'm a physical specimen anymore... But, I've been there done that... ... Dan

Always wanted to go to Spain, July 7th running of the bulls, and watch a bull fight

Went to England and Ireland for a couple of weeks earlier this year. Skip London and definitely Dublin. Do see Liverpool and the rest of England. Ireland is truly a magical place.

Ramsey has about 8 restaurants in London