Tijuana of the Northeast

The rising value of the pound against the plummeting value of the dollar means that New York is now the Tijuana of the Northeast, for the British, at least:

Sheila Riley came for Macy’s, evidenced by the pile of telltale red bags piled around her feet. Russell Whitehead and Robert Archibald made the trip for “Wicked.” Jeff Taylor wanted to propose.

Seb Sims’s goals were admittedly more prosaic and yet they pleased him. “I came to New York to go shopping and get drunk,” said Mr. Sims as he headed for a southbound No. 1 to “Greenwich.” (No, not Connecticut, but why embarrass him?)

I guess it’s not all that different from cashing in on cheap Canadian toothpaste in Montreal (at 30 percent off!), but still . . . shopping and getting drunk?

The Times, observer of all that curious in the world, notes several quirky things about our visitors from abroad:

Some random facts about British visitors, gleamed from several days of observing them:

¶They have an almost alarming interest in shoes, particularly sneakers (or, as they call them, trainers). “I got loads of Diesel trainers,” said Mr. Whitehead, an actor from London. “They are a quarter of the price here. I bought three pairs for $25 each.”

¶They drink such concoctions as dry vermouth with Sprite (called a martini and lemonade) and Stella Artois beer with a shot of Rose’s lime juice. “They also get really tickled about fancy cocktails,” said Sara Najjar, a bartender at the Hotel Metro, which is a veritable outpost of tourists from England and Scotland. “I guess because they can only get beers in their pubs over there. It’s just crazy!”

¶They flock to Macy’s as Americans might flock to Buckingham Palace, and at the department store they sate their appetite for hats, watches, handbags and coats. The store had more than 20,000 British shoppers last year, and company officials report they take advantage of the store’s 11 percent discount for international visitors more than those of any other nationality.

And Anglophiles beware — dry vermouth and Sprite aside, they may be cultured in an Old Europe kind of way, but they still understand and appreciate the occasional good old fashioned chain restaurant:

On Tuesday afternoon, Gerald and Moira McGinty, who live outside Glasgow, waited nervously for their son David and his friend, Liam Hanlon, to join them in the lobby for their car trip to the airport, which was arriving in minutes. Seems some last-minute (shoe) shopping was occurring on Eighth Street.

Among their bags was an electric guitar, bought for $1,400 rather than £2,000 in Scotland. They had their Tiffany key rings. They had their “Chicago” programs. And, sorry Jean-Georges, they had their memories of TGI Friday’s.

In the great community of nations, who among us does not love TGI Friday’s?

On behalf of all New York-area Bridge and Tunnel Club members, I proudly welcome the British to our fair city. Enjoy!