ssander

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
DAY 0 - MON MAY 11
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

This is our fifth visit to London in the past twelve years or so. We always stay at the same place - Cherry Court Hotel on Hugh Street, a couple of blocks south of Victoria Station. Many people might find the rooms too small, but we are comfortable there and Mrs. Patel, who runs the hotel, is a welcoming, wonderful person. The location is great for tube and buses. And the price can’t be beat.

Those of you who have followed some of my pre-trip posts know that Linda, my wife, developed plantar fasciitis running on our treadmill. It makes walking painful, so we were worried that the trip might be ruined. However, her podiatrist gave her cortisone shot, a strong anti-inflammatory drug, and a great exercise to do after sitting for a while — tracing the alphabet with her foot. These worked quite well, and we were not hindered very much, although we did walk more slowly than usual and took breaks more often. In addition, we tried to take the bus rather than the tube in situations where station transfers would require long walks.

Two days before our flight, I noticed that the plane was nowhere near full, and that numerous middle rows (of four seats) were empty. I switched out seats so that we each had an aisle seat in a center section, gambling that they would not assign anyone to the two seats between us. It worked. Linda can sleep OK sitting up, but I really needed to be able to lie down, so it was a great flight for me. I actually slept a little.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
DAY 1 - TUE MAY 12
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

We arrived at Heathrow about 15 minutes late, but it took about 20 minutes to get through control. We got a couple of sandwiches for breakfast and went to the tube station to load some cash and 7-day travel cards onto our Oyster cards. For some reason, the clerk used two separate transactions for each Oyster card. The second one was rejected by my credit card bank — apparently two identical charges within a minute or so triggered a fraud alert. Fortunately, we always carry multiple cards.

We took the tube to Victoria — thanks to the Fodorites who confirmed that the best transfer station between the Piccadilly and District lines was Hammersmith, where you just walk across the platform.
At Victoria, I picked up a couple of Clapham Jct to Victoria train tickets (~3 GBP) to use for the 2-for-1 deals if necessary.

We walked to the hotel and checked in — our rooms were ready — and unpacked.

The first order of business was to switch SIMs in our iPhones. Once again Fodorites had come through. We had two free SIMs mailed to us from [email protected] before we left the USA. We had also PayPaled her 20 GBP for two vouchers, for which she emailed the activation codes. We had then (also before leaving the USA) activated both SIMs online using the codes. It was all quite easy. [NOTE: our iPhones are paid for and thus unlocked…you cannot do this with locked phones.]

When we swapped out the SIMs in our phones, they immediately worked—with <strong>15 GBP</strong> on each. This was important because I had to call my credit card company and get the fraud hold removed. The call took about five minutes, and I think I only used about 8p. In addition, Giffgaff-to-Giffgaff calls are free, so Linda and I could call each other if necessary without charge. I highly recommend this method of using your phone in the UK.

We decided to go to St Paul’s, which we hadn’t been to in years, but it had closed early for a special event. So we had lunch at Le Pain Quotidien and walked across the Millenium Bridge…taking it pretty easy this first day on Linda’s foot.

We took the bus the National Gallery and checked out the Dutch masters. In front of the museum was an amazing street acrobat/juggler, whom we watched for a while. Then we went back to the hotel for a nap.

For dinner we had fish and chips at our local — the St. George Inn right on Hugh Street. It was so-so. We used to eat there several times in past trips, but either it has gone downhill or our tastes have changed. We are not foodies, but we (and by we, I mean Linda) prefer food that is a little healthier with more veggies and salads. (I’m actually doing my best lately to improve my diet, too.)

After dinner we took the bus to Piccadilly Circus and walked around a bit. There was a fantastic power trio band on the street. Then we walked to Charing Cross Rd and took the bus back to the hotel, exhausted and ready to make up for lost sleep.

[More to come]

ssander

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
DAY 2 - WED MAY 13
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Wow — the fire alarm went off this morning, but it was a false alarm.

The Cherry Court Hotel does not have a restaurant, but they provide a basket of breakfast goodies each day…two each of bananas, oranges, apples, juice, biscuits, etc.

The weather forecast had this one of the nicest days of the trip, so we decided to take a day trip to Oxford. We learned of free guided walks (just tips) would be provided by Footprints Tours.

https://www.footprints-tours.com/oxf...-walking-tour/

We thought that if Linda could keep up, great — if not, we would walk around by ourselves.

We first took the bus to Oxford street, where we thought we might stop in at the Wallace Collection before catching the train at Paddington, but when we got there we realized that (a) there wasn’t a lot of time and (b) we didn’t want to stress Linda’s foot too much before Oxford, so we proceeded to Paddington by bus. I bought our tickets on the machine (our card now is a chip-and-pin, but it didn’t ask for a pin) and waited for the train to leave.

Unfortunately we misread the board and went to the wrong platform, so we missed our train. Having a half hour to kill, we decided to eat lunch at the station rather than in Oxford — we had sandwiches. It really was no problem, because our tour wasn’t till 2 pm. We got to oxford with time to spare and grabbed some ice cream while waiting for the tour to start.

The walk was fantastic. Naturally I can’t guarantee that your guide will be as great as ours, but he took us all over the town and entertained us with great anecdotes and historical background info. He also gave us a 20% coupon for the restaurant Bill’s.

After the walk we went into the Science Museum for a while — a very interesting small museum that has, among other things, the blackboard (unerased) where Einstein presented his theory of relativity at a conference in Oxford.

Then we stopped in at Blackwell’s bookstore, a venerable old company that started as a tiny shop big enough for only two people (at least that is the story) and now is a huge chain. The store was gigantic, and we bought a story book for our grandson.

We went to Bill’s for dinner, a very nice place, and—with the coupon—very reasonable. They have set dinners for 10 GBP (two courses) before 6:45 pm. Linda had pea soup and sea bass. I had smoked fish spread & toast and chicken schnitzel. All were very tasty.

Then we took the train back. We picked up some milk at the Marks and Spencer in Victoria and snacked on nuts, chocolate and milk before bed.

Linda’s foot had held up really well in Oxford — we had no trouble keeping up with the walking tour.

[More to come]

evecolorado

Really enjoying your trip report. Clever idea to check the seating chart and change your seats to the middle section. Look forward to reading more.

bilboburgler

on for the ride

ssander

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
DAY 4 - FRI MAY 15
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Today we have planned two museums that we have never been to.

Took the tube to Bethnal Green for the V&A Museum of Childhood. People often speak of “hidden gems”…well, if you have ever (a) raised children or (b) been a child yourself, this is a hidden diamond. It is a museum dedicated to the history of childhood and toys. Exceptional information accompanying each item and, if you go there with kids, lots of play areas and activities. Linda and I loved seeing examples of toys we played with as kids and toys our own kids played with.

The puppet displays were particularly fascinating. I loved the cars and trains. There were two incredible sections. One traced three generations of currently alive Londoners through their clothes and toys with photos and quotes from them. Another traced the history of London housing and family life illustrated with doll houses made by people of the time that were representative of each era.

We spent several hours there.

We had lunch in the museum café. Then we then took a bus to Shoreditch High Street and continued on the Overground to Hoxton. (Our first ride on the Overground.)

There we went to the Geffrye Museum. This museum was related to the history of housing as well. There were displays showing construction, planning and lifestyles from the early 17th century up to the present. Individual rooms were furnished parlors for each of the more than a dozen different eras.

That finished out our afternoon, so we headed back for a rest before dinner. Dinner was in an Italian place in the mall adjacent to Victoria station. I think it was called Frankie and Bennie’s. I cannot recommend this place. They were all out of meatballs — at 6 pm in the evening. My plate of spaghetti bolognese had practically no sauce. I will admit that the waiter offered to get me another…but it took so long for him to notice that I declined. He did not bill us for the order, thankfully. I had eaten most of Lina’s, so we went back to Leon’s and she had another order of their tasty grilled chicken.

[More to come]

ssander

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
DAY 5 - SAT MAY 16
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Today we decided to try a full self-guided walk. The walk, “Passport to Pimlico”, was from the Time Out London Walks Vol. 2 book, and it was in the neighborhood near our hotel. The walk went from Pimlico Station to within a couple of block from our hotel and circled back to the station. We decided to do the second half—from Eccleston Square to the station—first and see how Linda’s foot held up.

It was an excellent walk. There was a street market going on in Tachbrook street. In one of the shops, a man was playing eastern music on his guitar—captured on video with my phone. We stopped for a short rest at the open area near the St James the Less church.

Approaching the station, we decided to take a break and do the second half of the walk after lunch. We took a bus to Hyde Park Corner.

It was a beautiful day. We sat in the Rose Garden, walked to the Serpentine lake, watched the bike riders. NOTE: Since biking does not hurt when you have plantar fasciitis, we had brought our helmets, in case walking was a problem. It turned out that we didn’t do any biking…but it looked like a great way to explore Hyde Park…maybe next trip.

We bussed back to our neighborhood and had lunch at the Willow Walk, a nearby pub—barbecue pork sandwiches and a couple of pints.

Next, we went down to Pimlico Station and did the other half of the walk. This included the beautiful St. George’s Square/Garden. Families were picnicking, kids were playing soccer—a wonderful place to be. The walk took us through the many streets lined with white stucco homes designed by Thomas Cubitt. If you wonder why so many London townhomes have that stucco look, he’s the guy…the leading builder of the middle 1800’s. FUN FACT: The reason so many row homes have those below-street entrances to the basement in front is that Cubitt built the homes so that the bottom floor opened ground-level in the back for service and mews (horse & wagon) access — and then built the street up to a higher level.

Returning to our hotel, we had a short rest, and then went to Nando’s for dinner. This is a Portuguese food chain — pretty good food at a reasonable price. We had a lightly-spicy chicken with cole slaw, potatoes and a side salad.

Then back to our hotel. NOTE: every night tended to end in our hotel room with a dessert of chocolate, nuts, and milk (which we would pick up at a local Sainsbury).

[More to come]

bilboburgler

Frankie and Benny's (a very mediocre chain) slightly worse than your other selection of Nandos (though they do know how to take highly processed chicken and flavour it well)

Cathinjoetown

I don't know Pimlico at all so the description of your walks were very interesting for me.

I went to a Frankie and Benny's in Bournemouth. As my dad used to say, I've been three times: first, last and only

Hooameye

I suffer from "policeman's heel" occasionally as well, find that the gel heel inserts help a lot, Wilkinson's or similar do a pack of 2 for a couple of quid.

northie

Enjoying readings. Interesting how we all know different areas . I know Soho quite well as that's where we stay

ssander

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
DAY 6 - SUN MAY 17
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

With Linda’s foot feeling pretty good, we decided to push the envelope today. Another Time Out walk — Mayfair — seemed like fun. Since it started at Portman Square, we paired it up with a visit to the Wallace Collection.

Last time we were at the Wallace collection it was under construction, and some of the rooms were closed. To me, the best part of the collection is the miniatures…tons of them in glass cases. They also have a great collection of armory and weapons…and of course, some great furniture and paintings.

We stopped in at Selfridge’s for lunch in their café…a couple of reubens and beet salad. The display windows are really interesting; a lot of work has gone into them.

Our walk started at Portman Square, a beautiful little park. Several folks were going through the gate into the square, so we followed them in. We walked through to the other side—then we realized we were locked in. This was one of those restricted square they have in London (like Eccleston Sq) — open, I guess, only to residents of the square. We had to ask someone with a key to let us out.

Our route proceeded to Marble Arch and Speaker’s Corner. It was a gorgeous day, and lots of folks were enjoying the park. We then walked to Grosvenor Sq, where we took a short break and enjoyed the sun. The route continued to Berkeley Sq — we were certain to check out the posh stores in the area, including a Rolls-Royce dealership right on the square. (You can buy one for £238,000 —or, if you want to skimp, as little as £185,000.)

We continued on to a hidden-away park…Mount Street Gardens…a veritable oasis of peace and quiet in the city. I’d love to have an apartment bordering it or a home near it, but probably can’t afford it. We checked out nearby realtor’s window display. There were homes available nearby, but the price was a little steep — one was £25,000,000 — yep that’s <strong>million</strong>. No wonder the Time Out book titles this walk “A Monopoly on Wealth.” Our walk ended on Park Lane from where we took the bus back to the hotel…with a stop at the ATM to continue amassing cash for our hotel bill.

After our usual rest, we went to a local Au Pan Quotidien and had chicken pies and a green salad. Then to bed.

[More to come]

janisj

Along for the ride (I was in London a week before you and <i>still</i> haven't tackled my TR )

Sounds like Linda is managing pretty well -- plantar fasciitis is a biatch for sure.

I've stayed in Pimlico and Victoria many times - once rented a gorgeous a 2 floor/top floor flat overlooking St George's Square. It is a lovely area.

lovs2travel

I am enjoying your report! Sounds like you had a lot of fun!

texasbookworm

Enjoying your enjoyment, which comes through loud and clear because of your clarity and attention to details.

DD and I will be in London in a week for 9 days--wahoo! I have our days planned, but you have given me some ideas for "maybe next time!" It's my 6th trip there in 10 years; as some trips have been leading students, I have returned to some sites each trip, so I still have a list of "want to see's." And it seems like there's never an end to things to add!

Thanks for sharing.

Ozgirl07

Enjoying your report ssander.
Looking forward to your report janisj.

ssander

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
DAY 7 - MON MAY 18
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Today we planned to visit two of our favorite places — the Museum of London and the British Library. There was a threat of rain today — it was sprinkling somewhat as we started out, so we took the tube to St Paul’s and then the bus to the Museum of London.

There is so much to see at this museum. Every section, from pre-historic times to the present, has something interesting. I love looking at the old maps to see how the city—and our hotel’s neighborhood— has changed over the years.

I’m a firm believer that when you visit a city, you should visit that city’s historical museum — if one exists. [We do this even at tiny places such as Sea Isle City, NJ, where we stay a week each summer…the photos, maps, and artifacts fascinate me.]

We had lunch at the museum café — Linda had a quiche and I had a sandwich.

By the time we exited, the rain had stopped, so we decided to take a third Time Out book walk. This one started at Aldwych and proceeded north through Holborn. It was somewhat disappointing—not much to see of interest to us…though I enjoyed walking up Lamb’s Conduit Street with its shops. Though we had not stopped at the Soane’s Museum in Lincoln’s Inn Fields (which the walk included) this trip, I do recommend it, if you have never been there. It’s a really quirky place with a large number of collections of items of any and all types.

The walk was to end at St Pancras, a block from the British Library, but about three-quarters of the way through, we decided to quit and take the bus there.

I think this may be the only place in London (with the exception, perhaps, of the Courtauld Gallery) that we have visited on every single trip. I always tell people that if they can only see one thing in London, it would be the Tower, but that isn’t something I would visit on every return trip…the Library is.

I hold in awe this collection of “the world’s knowledge” as their slogan goes. I don’t think I’m the only one in the room that audibly gasps at some of the items…ancient scrolls from major religions, medieval books with stunning illustrations, letters and informal jottings of famous authors and musicians…you name it. They also have one of the finest stamp collections I’ve ever seen, in hundreds of pull-out displays so you can view each individual page.

By now it was getting late. Linda noted that we had not gone to a play—something we always do. I had resisted it, because I felt it would involve fast walking. (We often wait till the last minute and show up at the theatre checking for unsold seats.) I had brought with me a short list, but, since it was a Monday, only two were playing that evening. My decision was based primarily on the fact that I knew exactly where the Gielgud Theatre was, so we dropped by about two hours before curtain time. Two seats were available downstairs pretty close to the stage, so we bought them, and headed out for dinner.

We walked to Princi’s on Wardour St, an Italian place, and had pizza and a salad. For a treat, we shared a cannoli— Linda with coffee and me with an expresso. Then walked down to Piccadilly Circus and back to the theatre to kill a little time.

The seats were great and the play was an absolute winner — <i>The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night-Time</i>. I will not tell you anything about it, except that it won seven Olivier Awards (the British version of the US Tony Awards)—and it deserved them. I am so glad Linda prodded me to go.

Then back to the hotel.

[More to come]

ssander

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ADDENDUM TO DAY 4 - MON MAY 15
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I forgot to mention that the Museum of Childhood had a special exhibition about Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, showing how the illustration of the character evolved over the year influenced by—and in turn influencing— current styles in children’s dress, as well as its various international incarnations. This exhibit continues through October. The history through doll houses exhibition runs through September 6.

ssander

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
DAY 8 - TUE MAY 19
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Our last day—we have to make the most of it. Going to visit two art museums and the V&A.

First, we went to the Tate Britain. Took the bus down Vauxhall Bridge Rd. I know I pressed the “stop” button, but, somehow the bus went right past the Pimlico Station and crossed the bridge to Vauxhall Station. (I think the stop was out of service due to construction.) We switched busses and proceeded back to the Tate.

This museum covers British painting. It’s probably not our favorite, but we hadn’t been there in a while, and I do like some of the works. It was made more interesting when we latched onto a guided group.

We then went to the Courtauld Gallery’s café for lunch—one of our “usual” places to eat when we visit London. Linda had soup and salad, and I had a smoked salmon sandwich. They have outdoor tables, but the sky looked like it might rain.

After that, we went into the Courtauld Gallery. This small museum is not as well-known as the big four (National, Portrait, Tate Britain and Tate Modern), but IMO it can hold its own with any of those. It has an amazing collection of Impressionist works, but its collection of early 20th c. fauvist, Blue Rider and Die Brücke works is as good as any I’ve seen.

Afterwards, we walked down to the river. We passed the abandoned Aldwych tube station. (I subsequently learned that this station served a spur of the Picadilly Line that was closed in 1994 for lack of use. It is still used as a film location from time to time.) As a rain sprinkle began, we took the tube back to Victoria and bought some chocolate as a gift…then headed out to the V&A.

This is another gigantic museum. We checked out the 19th century interior design section, the 20th century interior design section, the wonderful cookie tins, the women’s dresses through the ages, and the iron gratings and locks and keys. (This gives you an indication of the breadth of this museum—the room with the extensive collection of porcelain snuff boxes I wanted to see was closed for renovation.)

On the tube back towards Victoria, we decided to hop off one stop early at Sloane Square and walk around a bit — after all, it was our last day, and we didn’t want to waste any time. We walked down King’s Rd, looking at the shop windows.

After I bit I remembered that there was a recommended cheap eats place—The Stockpot—down the road a bit, that I had had on my list for years but had never been to. Continuing down the road, I found it, and we dropped in for dinner. Linda had chicken with mushroom sauce, and roasted potatoes and vegetables, which she really liked. I gave in to my urges and had a huge burger, which came with fries and a salad. All for under £20.

As we exited the restaurant, the sky became ominous. I had planned to walk back to an Amorino’s (which we had passed earlier) for gelato, but then it started to rain—with hail! We jumped on a bus and went back to Victoria. There was no rain there, and we walked to our hotel to pack for tomorrow’s flight home.

[More to come]

ssander

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
DAY 00 - WED MAY 20
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Up at 5 a.m. and out the door by 6. We took the tube to Heathrow without any problems. I accidentally left one of our liquids/gels bags in our carry-on, and it forced us to have our bags searched, but, other than that, we were through security with plenty of time to spare. (Ironically, I failed to notice that both of us had received Pre-Check status on our boarding passes, so we probably did need to remove the gels anyway.)

Despite a slight delay in boarding time, the plane took off on time at 10:15. Linda and I, once again, had an entire row of four seats to share, and we arrived early in Philadelphia.

A pleasant surprise awaited us there. They now have the self-service, automatic passport scanners (which also photograph you). This really speeded up the line (which wasn’t long to begin with), so getting through control took about five minutes.

Just as we exited the terminal, the parking lot shuttle arrived — we were home in record time. A perfect end to a great trip.

irishface

a wonderful report of what sounds like a jampacked well planned trip! thanks for sharing. I am just back from a trip to England and loved hearing about all that you saw in London. You were lucky on your trip back! My flight was jam-packed full and got through the rigamarole at Logan to see the bus to my neck of the woods pulling away from the platform--well it was only an hour till the next one!