Mention Benjamin Franklin and two cities immediately come to mind -- Philadelphia, where he almost defined the word "citizenship," and Paris, where he was a US commissioner to France from 1776 to 1785.
Yet few people associate Franklin with London, where he lived for nearly twice the length of time he did in Paris. And although he did much for Philadelphia, the "City of Brotherly Love," he played an equally significant role in the founding of America while living in England.
Now Franklin's home away from home for most of 1757 to 1775 is open to the public for the first time -- the result of an eight-year, US$5.33 million conservation project.
Near Trafalgar Square, steps from the River Thames, it is Franklin's only remaining residence in the world and in many ways the first de facto US embassy. It was while living here that Franklin disputed the right of Parliament to tax the American colonies without representation and then leaked the famous Hutchinson letters from the Crown, which the British believed contributed to the Boston Tea Party.
Franklin left England, after living there for nearly 16 years, when Parliament publicly reprimanded him for his role in the Hutchinson affair and further diplomatic efforts seemed futile.
Franklin's house is not the only American historical site worth visiting in England. The former mother country is, in fact, dotted with both large and small tributes to American history and culture. No need to feel homesick here if you are American.
The Thomas Paine trail
Even though Thomas Paine was once considered a traitor who spurred the American colonies to revolt, his hometown, Thetford, has now devoted itself to celebrating the life and writings of one of the most influential leaders of the American and French Revolutions. Paine, who was perhaps best known in America for helping incite revolt with his pamphlet "Common Sense," lived in Thetford, where he began developing many of his political views, until the age of 19.
Visitors can walk the trail with the aid of a free Paine trail leaflet, the trail passes by Paine's birthplace, old school, church and the library in which the Thomas Paine Collection is housed.
A statue of Paine stands in the center of town, and a museum, which is undergoing a refurbishment, will reopen later this year with a short film on Paine's life along with a collection of artifacts. Also note the plaque on the Thomas Paine Hotel, placed there by the US airmen in World War II who flew in a B-17 named Tom Paine at the nearby Knettishall airfield. The plane bore a quote from Paine, "Tyranny like hell, is not easily conquered."
Thetford Tourism and Heritage Partnership, King's House, King Street, Thetford, Norfolk; www.explorethetford.co.uk. Thetford is about 90 minutes from London by car.
The Plymouth `Mayflower' visitors center
Climb the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, the spot where it is believed the Pilgrims left English soil in 1620 bound for America. A Victorian plaque and tooled metal handle with vignettes of the Pilgrims' voyage and landing at Plymouth Rock commemorates the 66-day journey from Barbican Sutton, the medieval village and port in Plymouth, to Cape Cod.
At the nearby Island House, a 16th-century building where some of the Pilgrim fathers are believed to have stayed, is a plaque with the names of the 102 Pilgrims who boarded the ship. The Plymouth Mayflower Visitors Center, has audio and visual exhibits that tell the story of the Mayflower and Plymouth harbor.
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