THE United Kingdom is composed of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Its capital is London and the official language is English. It has also several regional dialects like Gaelic and Ulster for the Irish, as well as Scot, Welsh and Cornish. It is currently governed by Queen Elizabeth II and her current prime minister is Gordon Brown. With Northern Ireland included, the United Kingdom has a combined land area of 244,820 square kilometers.

To get to the United Kingdom, you need to land in any of its international airports, the foremost of which is Heathrow in London. Of course, there are other airports in London as well such as Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and the aptly but unassumingly named London City Airport. The rest of the international airports in Great Britain are Manchester International Airport, Liverpool International Airport, Birmingham International Airport and those located in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Bristol, Southampton, Cardiff, East Midlands, Doncaster-Sheffield and Durham Tees Valley. Meanwhile, most prominent international airport in Northern Ireland is Belfast International Airport and the smaller one is located at the City of Derry. Even though the most famous part of the United Kingdom is located in the island of Great Britain, one can still easily arrive there by land through train from via ferry like Eurostar from Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Ireland. There are also ferries coming from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Calais in France, Bilbao in Spain, Ireland, Iceland and Norway.

In London alone, the main city is divided into several tourism districts and these are the following: Bloomsbury, Kensington, Hyde Park and Westminster. It is in Hyde Park where one can view concerts of famous music performers such as Elton John and the U2. It is in London also that one can find the most expensive flats in the United Kingdom, albeit they are kinda cramped. Your kitchen, bedroom and bathroom will be compressed into several square meters only. But as one goes farther from London’s city center, the flats are not that expensive anymore. Flats are ideal places for young adventurous people who are getting off to a road trip. These are also fit for college students from other parts of the United Kingdom and from other parts of Europe. The newest architectural attractions in London are the London Eye overlooking the River Thames and its dome-shaped City Hall. They are interspersed with old attractions like the Westminster Bridge, the London Bridge, the Tower of London, the Palace of Westminster and No. 10 Downing Street, where the seat of government is headquartered.

For gastronomic delights, the following are considered staples in the United Kingdom – an Indian dish called chicken tikka masala with rice, roast beef, fish and chips served with mushy peas, vegan foods and regional specialties such as black pudding (a sausage from pork intestines and blood), the aptly-named Cornish pasty, haggis (sheep innards), Lancashire hotpot, laverbread, oatcakes, potato bread, Yorkshire pudding and many others. British ales are the most common drinks. So come now to the United Kingdom and savor a good vacation.