Just this morning, the London-based bloggers behind British Airways’ best of NY/LON guide, Metrotwin met up with the 5 transatlantic bloggers we sent over to London (and later this week, Glasgow).   Among the London reps was  Metrotwin’s Anya Driscoll,  Beauty and the Dirt, and Urban Junkies.

What happens when 10 bloggers collide at the Arch Hotel’s Martini library at 9:30am?

They exchanged notes on top travel spots and random fun facts. Here’s a sample of Anya’s takeaways:

* ‘Bubble and Squeak’ is a sort of cabbage and mashed potato concoction that is nowhere near as exciting as it sounds.

* The best place to get a Guinness in New York is probably at Molly’s.

* Park Slope is a bit like the Crouch End of New York.

*If you happen to be born on Burns Night – even if you are American and not remotely Scottish -  you will be subjected to a lifetime of haggis jokes.

For the full list of learning’s, check out Anya’s post on Metrotwin’s blog.

Of course – the question on every one’s mind really was:

“@refinery29 –  Heading to a martini bar at 9:30 am. How early is too early for a stiff one? #BloggingUK”

You can follow this blogger trip by watching out the for #BloggingUK hashtag on twitter or by following updates from Jeremy Viray on @BritainInUSA.

We’ve picked five expert travel and style bloggers to go to London and Glasgow,  from Jan 27th to Feb 1st, and report on some of the in-the-know things shops, destinations, hotels.  This isn’t just a stodgy bus tour press trip, we’ve given them time to discover their own interests and let us know, and you, what’s worth visiting.

Plus, we’ve organized a meet’n'greet tip off with 5 London based bloggers that are currently powering the New York meets London destination guide, Metrotwin.

Look out for hash tag #BloggingUK and updates from our own Jeremy Viray on @BritainInUSA in the next few days to follow these five:

Sarah Menkedick

Sarah Menkedick is a freelance writer and editor currently based in Oaxaca, Mexico. She is a contributing editor at Matador Network, a contributing writer at Change.org (she blogs about women’s rights), and she maintains a website called Postigres devoted to creative nonfiction and photography inspired by travel. Sarah has been traveling, teaching and exploring the globe for five years.  She has lived and taught in France, China, Japan and Mexico, and traveled to more than fifteen countries. She speaks fluent French and Spanish and can amaze Mexicans with her capacity to eat devastatingly spicy chilés.

Where to check Sarah out and follow her:
www.posatigres.com
matadorabroad.com
@Matadornetwork

Andrew Hickey

Andrew is a travel writer/blogger for his own Brooklyn Nomad and the Social Media guru at CheapOair.  He has visited numerous destinations around the world and never gets sick of traveling. Some of his favorite spots to hit up include Dublin, London, Zurich and San Francisco.  His work has appeared in USA Today, New York Times, MSNBC, AOL Travel, Yahoo! Travel, and more.  Andrew is also the mastermind behind the blog of CheapOair.  You can look to his blog, Brooklyn Nomad for tips on deals but also food, nightlife and music when he travels. You’ll likely find him writing about curry and pubs while on the trip.

Follow Andrew:

www.thebrooklynnomad.com
blog.cheapoair.com
@BrooklynNomad
@CheapOair

Connie Wang

Connie is the associate editor at fashion, style, and shopping website Refinery29. Refinery29 is the ultimate online destination for discovering the newest and best in style, shopping, and emerging trends from the runways to the streets. Every day, Refinery29 delivers up-to-the-minute insider reports on the designers to know and the coolest global street style, breaking fashion news from sample sales to boutique openings, along with the best local shopping reports from experts who know their cities best.  She has also been published in Teen Vogue, Vice Magazine, Radar (RIP!), Fashion Week Daily, and Chictopia.com.

Get more on Connie:
www.refinery29.com
@Refinery29
@conniewang

Annie Scott

Annie Scott is a freelance writer slash editor in New York City. Writing for AOL websites including StyleList, Gadling, Luxist, Slashfood, and Holidash, and editing for Tonic, she has traveled the globe and covered everything from New York Fashion Week to Singapore’s Grand Prix, and interviewed everyone from oceanographer and explorer Sylvia Earle to fashion world darling Tim Gunn. Annie specializes in travel, luxury, style, honest product reviews, humor, and living the good life wherever you go. She has a personal blog called The Annie Scott Experience.

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See what Annie’s up to:

www.luxist.com
www.gadling.com
@luxist
@gadling
@AnnieScott

Lee Carter

Hint Magazine

Lee is the founder and editor-in-chief of the New York fashion site Hintmag.com, a Webby Award winner and original online fashion magazine. Hint Magazine takes an edgy look at the fashion industry and the media. It features the latest reviews of fashions and emerging designers and takes a peek at the new stars in the modeling scene. He also contributes to a variety of international fashion magazines.

Read up on Lee:
Hintmag.com
@hintmag

You can track their trip, send suggestions, and and chat with us when you follow #BloggingUK and updates from our own Jeremy Viray on @BritainInUSA in the next few days to follow these five.

London can seem like an endless metropolis, impossible to navigate or even know where to start. Dig a bit deeper, though and you’ll find that London is really a collection of interrelated boroughs, a series of small towns. If you are looking to navigate your way through east London’s Shoreditch area, Urban Species is a great place to start. Owner Sarah and her son Hash, own and run the store located just off of Brick Lane, though they are just as much conduits for the creative community as they are simple shop owners.

Urban Species have their own lines of clothing and art, are DC Comics licensees, and are also an events company bringing together local artists, designers, dancers, musicians, even special effects make-up artists to produce exhibitions and club nights around town.

I recently met with Sarah to talk about the store and what’s on this year at Urban Species. Sarah tipped me off that we can expect to see a series of pop up shops being installed, the first of which is from the brand Moneypenny. Sarah is also one of the kindest and most welcoming people I’ve met in the area, which is why I would definitely suggest popping in if you get the chance and chatting with Sarah, Hash and the whole Urban Species gang for some insider tips on Shoreditch.

- Jessica Ainlay, Contributor

Today’s era of fast fads and quick trends in everything from fashion to food, means that companies are churning out products at unbelievable rates.  In this hyper-competitive marketplace, brand compete for our attention, but in doing so create a rich history of design that spans hundreds of years.

Robert Opie noticed that at the tender age of sixteen.  He was eating a British Munchies candy bar when the unique design of the wrapper caught his fancy.  Then it dawned on him.  He should never throw anything away.

Thank heavens. Today his collection is over 500,000 items and many of them are on display at the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising. They hark back to a simpler time in our collective consumer history…

Like the era when Heinz canned virtually anything…including Turtles:

Photo by danielweir.esq

Before wrigley’s decided that scary gnome-like men, weren’t as inviting as doublemint twins (can’t see why):

Photo by I Like

And when Kelloggs Rice Crispy’s were called “Sugar Ricicles.”

Photo by danielweir.esq

While many of the objects in the Museum are specifically British products and might not be recognized stateside, they do lend themselves to a fascinating study of consumer history.   The collection spans over 100 years and is a must see destination for any history lover, quirky facts aficionado, or marketeer.

Star war yogurt anyone? (they’ve got that too!)

Museum of Brands Packaging and Advertising
2 Colville Mews, off Lonsdale Road, Notting Hill, London, W11 2AR
Online at www.museumofbrands.com

Ok, so I LOVE Britain so much that if there’s a travel deal to be had to get me there cheapo, I’m gonna know about it…and why not pass on my gems of knowledge to you guys? And believe me this is a find! But get your skates on guys and gals ‘cause it ain’t going to stick around for long…

For a limited time (let’s say a week or two, who knows!) British Airways are offering these discounted prices on flights to the UK, so you can hop across the pond at an absolute steal. With prices to London starting from $229 (exc. Taxes and fees) and flights to three Scottish airports from $302, you are spoilt for choice with these buzzing cities. Check out these fab fares and start planning! FYI, keep your eyes peeled on here before you go, we may even have a few more hot tips to come to get you started. Excited much? I am!

And what’s the catch I hear you ask? Well travel must be between November 13^th ’09 and March 28th ’10 (excluding December 21^st-23^rd) and to take advantage of le crème de la crème of fares, travel must be on certain days. But that, dear friend, is it. Oh, and make sure you tell me of any hot treasures you may find. Hey, we wanna know all the jazz!

If  you’re keen to know more or just want a piece of British banter, ‘cause let’s face it, we love it, then hit me back – I’ll answer your burning questions and give you the scoop. What more could you ask for?

Now, take me to the land of Cadbury chocolate and Irn Bru (I can tell you what that is too!), mmm….

- Danielle McKinlay, contributing editor