Activating Phone in England, & Insalata Ricca type restaurant in England?

You can absolutely buy a UK SIM card in the UK. You can get them at the airport. You can get them in town at a place like Carphone Warehouse or from one of the carrier's stores (02, Vodafone, etc.). You can even get SIM cards sent to you at home before you travel. This is what I did. I was up and running not long after hitting the ground at LHR. Had my number, had money in my account, etc. (FWIW, I used Toggle)

Are you staying just in the UK or are you traveling to other countries in Europe? Do you want to use mobile data in your smart phone? Are you needing to make calls back to the USA? There are lot of different options out there, so chose one that best matches your intended usage.

Yes, you can buy SIM cards all over. But for wifi, you don't need one. My home cellphone is a non-GSM phone from Verizon (it will not even work in Europe as it is not the right technology). I use it constantly in Europe, though, for wifi. All you need is a hotspot (free or not - I used both on my trip in August).

Cheryl,

To begin with, it would help to have more information on your "more modern Smartphone", which U.S. network you're with and how you plan to use the phone whilst in the U.K. If your "new modern Smartphone" is SIM-locked, you won't be able to use it with locally purchased SIM cards, so that will be the first point to address.

TIM (Telecom Italia Mobile) does not operate a network in the U.K. so your choices will be Vodaphone, O2, T-Mobile, Orange, Three, Virgin, EE, Tesco or Talk Mobile (there may be a few others, but those are the main ones). I'd suggest stopping by the nearest Carphone Warehouse as they deal with most carriers, and would be able to assist in choosing the best network for your situation and help you get things set-up. I use O2 service during travels, and it's always worked well.

I've never seen any L'Insalata Ricca outlets in the U.K., so you'll probably have to choose another dining establishment. I've always enjoyed the food at Pret A Manger, and found it to be good quality, and I believe it's all natural without preservatives.

Happy travels!

There are Chop'd (http://chopd.co.uk/) and Tossed (http://tosseduk.com/). I like Chop'd, never tried Tossed, but they're both more fast food style than restaurants.

Thank you! This is all very helpful. I will hand the info over to my husband and let him deal with the phone thing!

Philip, Tossed (love their web design!) and ChopD look great! Can't wait to find them! Thanks so much!