Banks alerted, pounds converted, and our airplane diverted: Our London Trip Report

We bought a few supplies for breakfast and snacks--there were both a small Tesco and M&S close by. One day we made our way over to the Whole Foods Market in Knightsbridge, but left without purchasing, as we found their prices very high. We wanted a roast chicken, but I couldn’t bring myself to pay 8 pounds($16), when I buy them for $5 at home. We ended up eating our lunch and dinner meals out, and ate 3 times at The 4 Seasons Chinese Restaurant in Chinatown. They had fabulous crispy duck, service was quick and friendly, and prices moderate. With 2 starters, half a duck, another entree each time, rice, tea, bottled water, and wine, we usually paid about 40 pounds for the 2 of us.

Other meals were at Carluccio’s in Covent Garden, one of several locations in London, a pub meal our first night at Princess of Wales on Villier St, Trattoria Italiana Biagio, also on Villiers St, and barbecue at Garfinkels after the Sunday Matinee of “TheLion King”. None of the meals were fancy, but they were satisfying and modestly priced.

I won’t give a day-by-day blow, but we really enjoyed museums this trip: The British Museum, The National Gallery, The Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House, Apsley House, The Science Museum, the Natural History Museum, The King Tut Exhibit at the O2, and St. Paul’s Cathedral.

We made a trip to Borough Market on Saturday, buying some fruit and pastries, and while we were there, we ate a great breakfast of eggs, bacon, and potatoes from one of the stalls! The market is loaded with beautiful products, and was fun to visit. On our way out, we passed a little shop where the owner was cooking Paella in a huge pan. It looked so good, we took some home and had it for brunch on Sunday before heading off to our day’s adventures.

We made a trip to Harrod’s to buy some tea and biscuits to take home as gifts, then walked around a bit, glad that none of the “stuff” needed to go home with us. We ate lunch there in the New York style deli, which was very pricy, but just what DH was tasting.

We spent a fair amount of time in the early evenings strolling along the Thames, walking through the Parliament area, and up to Trafalgar Square, or walking to Chinatown for our repeat meals of roast duck. We had a great trip, and still have a collection of things to see and do for next time--Kew Gardens, Hampton Court Palace, the Wallace Collection, and Sir John Soames museum have moved to our “next time” list.

I really appreciate all the Fodorites who helped my planning with their ideas and suggestions. I hope I can repay the favor. Now, as always, we’ve settled on the next trip: Paris in October! I can’t wait!
Barb

Hello Barb from a fellow Atlantan! Thanks for posting a report of your trip; it sounds as though you had an excellent time.

I have a few questions: was the paper travel card difficult to use? How were the crowds at Borough Market on the Saturday that you were there? It really has been a fun part of our visits to London.

Borough Market got very busy as we were getting ready to leave. I don't remember what time we went, but it was early enough that the breakfast really hit the spot.

The paper travel cards were easy to use, you just inserted them in the turnstyle slot and they would come out for you to grab as you pass through.
We picked up a brochure listing over 100 savings opportunities using the travel card and the coupons. We used them at Apsley House, The Courtauld Gallery, and at the O2 for the King Tut exhibit. We went to the exhibit on a Monday, fairly early in the day, and did not experience a wait in line or any crowds. By the time we left, there was a line waiting for admission, and many people going up the escalators for the start of the exhibit. I was glad we didn't try to go on the week-end, and prices were less on Monday-Wednesday.

Good report Barb, thanks - it sounds like you had a really nice time.

I had to reread that bit about chicken, though - "I couldn’t bring myself to pay 8 pounds($16), when I buy them for $5 at home" - £8 seems cheap to me for a good chicken ! I paid £22 for 4 (admittedly very large) breasts at our farmers' market last Saturday !! (I know a whole bird would normally make more sense but this was for entertaining.)

Thanks for the nice report. Sounds like a fun trip.

Caroline, your post has me scared.

Great report, Barb (from yet another Hotlantan). And a great tip about eating before you board for evening TATL trips.

High marks to Delta for distributing snacks and drinks during the wait. It seems like a no-brainer, but isn't necessarily the sort of thing that an airline will do in this type of situation. Was this while you were in the airport?

Caroline, your post has me scared.>>>>

Don't be. Wholefoods is only patronised by ex pat yanks and yummy mummies. No sane person goes there.

Farmer's markets are expensive - a chicken at my local one is around £8. But for that you get a chicken that was free range, only fed with Harrod's chicken meal and died surrounded by it's family with it's affairs in order.

Your local supermaket will do you a cooked chicken for around £4.

Barb_in_Ga

Excellent report.

Is this the first time you have stayed at this particular flat and would you return? Is cash the only form of payment that the owner accepts? Still you worked that out o.k.

Glad you had a great time and already planning your next trip - Paris in October. You are very blessed.

Sandy

nice trip report. Thank you for sharing.

Therese--The Delta people brought out the snacks while we were waiting in the waiting area at JFK. They put crackers, pretzels, peanuts, granola bars, and Biscoff cookies, along with cans of soda and juice, and bottles of water. Everyone could take what they wanted.It was a nice touch, since the JFK shops were closed. It was also nice that we weren't immediately herded onto the new plane, only to wait the hour+ while bags and catering were transferred. At least once we boarded, we took off, and the meals were served shortly after. I put on my mask and slept, because my watch said 4AM, London time, and I did sleep through the meal service and for several hours during the flight, getting up a couple of times to walk to the toilet, then settling in again.

Caroline_Edinburgh--I live in Atlanta, where the 2 main local supermarket chains battle constantly for market share, and going for a piece of the pie also is Costco. Fabulous rotisserie chickens are available everyday for $3.99-$5.99. I usually buy at Costco, as they use a larger, plumper chicken. This is my 2 young grandson's favorite Sunday meal, so we do this frequently. We also buy uncooked large chicken breasts for $2.00/lb, so I would never be able to pay USD 44 for 4 breasts. Just my good fortune to live in an area where food is fresh, abundant and cheap!

CW- Caroline didn't shop at Whole Foods, that was Barb. Caroline, who lives in Edinburgh, said £8 sounds cheap to her. I'm headed to Edinburgh, and staying in Caroline's neighborhood, so I'm thinking we'll be living like my daughter and eating noodles for a week.

Barb, thanks for the report. I havge a question about your apt. Was it on a lower floor or is there and elevator.

I'd have a hard time paying 8 GBP for a chicken even if it did leave this world piped out with a kilted band! My $5.00 Costco chickens suit me just fine!

Great report, Barb. Brought us right back to some of our favorite spots and we envied you the convenince of your flat.

The price of chicken, however, made me think we'd have to visit London vicariously from now on. When we were there in April we bought rotisserie chicken in our local Sainsbury's for about 5 GBP and lived on it -- with side dishes --for two days. Maybe staying in Kensington is the London equivalent of visiting in New York and staying in Jersey.

At the risk of sounding poncey - £2.50 chickens are available in our supermarkets too, I just wouldn't want to eat them.

My $5.00 Costco chickens suit me just fine!>>>

There's a reason some chickens cost $5 and some cost £8...

You gets what you pays for.

You all have just never had a Costco chicken, they are totally yummy!

Barb - thanks for the report! Any complaints about that apartment at all?

Did your husband change his mind about getting £ from ATM in the future rather than changing money back home?

I know that I will be spending more but I do plan on getting currency before I depart. I realize it costs more and I realize it is "anti" Fodors, but I am traveling alone with my daughter. I was very stressed last time we went to Europe trying to get enough Euros from the ATM in order to pay for our apartment. I have a few places in the start of our trip that require cash payment - I am trying to pay for most of the accomadations in advance but some of the smaller, less expensive places that is not possible.

I believe I will order through AAA. I will also check with American Express.

Weighing in on the Costco chicken, since I had one for dinner last night. They are now $5.49 at my local (Seattle area) stores, up from $4.99. They are plump, expertly seasoned, taste great and usually provide two dinners and a lunch for my husband and myself.

I am surprised that pre-roasted birds are so pricey in the UK...in my experience there last year, most grocery items were pretty comparable to what we're accustomed to paying.

Like I say - there's chickens and then there's chickens.

On the chicken debate. This is a big news item in the UK at the moment. Supermarkets here will sell ridiculously cheap chicken. You can get two rotisserie chickens for £5 at many Asda's, Tesco's and Morrisons all over the UK. Cheap fresh chicken is also readily available.

The point of the debate is that to meet that price point they're raised in appalling conditions. The supermarkets counter by saying they are meeting consumer demand, although many consumers were, until recently, ignorant of the methods used to produce such cheap birds, and that they supply premium chickens at higher price points to satisfy consumers who'd rather opt for meat produced in a more ethical manner.

Its an ongoing debate and one which is changing buying patterns. After a recent series on the issue, on Channel 4, free range chicken sales shot up to the extent that supermarket shelves where cleared and many suppliers are starting to switch production to less intensive methods.

That high prices for chicken quoted above are invariably for free range or organic chicken supplied in city centre specialist outlets or local metro style stores and these are totally unrepresentative of the kind of prices the average Briton pays for food. The mass produced kind retails at not much more in UK supermarkets than those in the US. The likliehood of you being in the vicinity of those stores whilst in tourist districts is the problem. After all, if I'm in New York on holiday I'm really not likely to be searching out Costco for good deals on chicken.

Barb
I really enjoyed your report a lot! We love England and wish we had a bolt hole there.'
I too was fascinated about your chicken comment. It still seemed to me that 8 pounds for a chicken would be a lot cheaper than eating out! But each to their own, I guess.
Isn't it funny what grabs each of us in a persons trip report. Yours was so fun to read and very informative, so thank You

where I live we also have $4.99 rotisserie chickens -- but some shops also have $18 rotisserie chickens.

One is a battery raised chicken - especially from the mid-west, the others are "Rosie", "Rocky", "Rocky Jr" and other free range chickens http://www.petalumapoultry.com/

Sure we can get $5 birds -- but at farmers markets, Whole Foods and upscale markets they cost a LOT more than that.

Wow! I just came in from work and checked my post for replies. It seems I really hit on a subject of some interest with the roasted chicken!

jrecm-We decided that buying the chicken and a couple of sides to go along would run about 25 pounds, so we passed up on eating in, even though it would have been a little cheaper, and headed back to Chinatown. My stepson and his Chinese/Malaysian wife have taught us to appreciate a good roast duck, and even though we have a large Asian population here in Atlanta, and I have many favorite restaurants, I still haven't found one with really great roast duck.

I checked with my local Whole Foods Market, and the chickens there are $7.99, which still is very reasonable. Like a couple of other posters, I'll still buy the Costco chickens, because they are the best I've had anywhere.
Chicken farming is a huge business in the small towns just north of Atlanta, so maybe that makes some difference.

SandyBrit--We liked our flat very much, and would certainly stay there again. I will say that the furniture was not elegant--Ikea, probably, but we were glad for the location, and the kitchen and bath facilities were good.There was a washer/dryer in the kitchen, too. We were on the 4th floor, and there was a small lift. Wifi was included, but there was no cable tv, just a couple of local stations. Since I rarely watch, especially on vacation, it didn't really matter to me. I think DH would have liked access to more choices for sports and news.
We paid the deposit for the flat by Paypal, and might have been able to pay the balance that way if we paid in full before arriving. I just liked that we didn't have to shell out until we saw the place.

YK--I think my husband was willing to pay a little extra for the peace of mind that having the cash gave him, but I paid $1671 for the 800 pounds at Amex, and it would have cost $1558 through my credit union ATM. $113 is a lot of money. The main problem is our credit union limits us to $800 per DAY, not per transaction, so I would have had to use another account--Bank of America, and when I called them, they said that transaction fees and conversion fees would apply. So....
I would probably still have taken 4 or 5 hundred pounds, and gotten the rest on arrival.

Barb: "when I called them, they said that transaction fees and conversion fees would apply. " Another reason to ask here and forget about anything your bank says

Just for your future info -- BofA has no transaction fees if you use Barclay's Bank ATMs. And Barclay's are everywhere in London.

Barb, if I posted the question in the Lounge (since it's of less-than-dubious relevance here) would you be willing to give a few names of your favorite Asian restaurants? We're always on the lookout.

Also, the debate about origins and conditions of poultry and meat also rages on this side of the Atlantic. My oldest daughter has given thought to becoming vegetarian, but for the moment is going with humane/local source/sustainable considerations when she buys meat. I know other folks who are making similar decisions. To connect this to England, I've been roasting my own heritage fowl lately, using a recipe from www.deliaonline.com - I've enjoyed Delia's recipes (which I learned of from this forum!)

whoops, I just realized that I wrote something extremely imprecise (and probably misleading!)

Lately I've been roasting in my own oven heritage fowl that I've purchased, usually at Whole Foods (not fowl that I raise myself!!). I've been using a recipe I found online at deliaonline.com (Delia Smith is an English cook and television presenter).

HI Barb - my question is actually the following:

Do you think next time when you and your husband go to London (or other European countries), he'll still insist on changing some money in the US? Or has he realized how easy it is to get money from local ATMs that he'll use ATM from now on?

BTW, ditto what Janis said. Bank of America doesn't charge any extra if you use the ATMS from Barclays. I was just in London/UK 2 weeks ago and withdrew a couple of times from Barclays. I checked my bank statement, there was no fee, no conversion charge.

I think for our trip to Paris we won't even think about getting Euros in advance. We are renting an apartment that we've rented a couple of times before, and the French owner lives in the US, so we pay in dollars.

We've been to Paris 4 times before, most recently in spring 07, when we arrived at Gare du Nord from London on the Eurostar. We bought our coupons for our Carte Orange using credit card, and then used an ATM in the train station for cash.

This trip we're flying into CDG, but we will get cash after landing at the airport.
Barb

Bookmarking for future enjoyment.

It's been quite a while since we went to UK, but I like reading others experiences as ideas for what to do or possibly avoid.

We always took (AmExp) trav. checks as well as cash, no problems w/trav. cks anywhere. We've stayed in B&B's which we really enjoyed & picked up easy meals at Safeway or Marks&Spencer; pub meals were very good, very filling & well priced. Always a stop at Harrods - if for no other reason than wandering thru the Food Hall - Covent Garden, Neal Yard, Fortnum & Mason, museums.

While London makes a great vacation spot, there's a lot to see in the rest of the country, too, & frequently for less. We usually spent only 1-2 nights there to recuperate, then moved on, generally w/an open travel plan. The only definite is spending a few days w/family near L'pool. In between, we bought multi-use Brit. Heritage Passes & used them as a loose guide for 'where to go next.'

We rented cars for convenience but that may not happen next time. Besides, there are lots of busses & trains to get you where you want to go... and you don't have to cope with driving on the other side of the road or the roundabouts or...=)

When we were stationed in Germany & traveled to UK, it was nice not to worry about purchases as they'd be part of the household shipped back to US. It really can put a damper on the pleasures of bargains when you have to ship it yourself!

I am enjoying the posts about the London trip...but who would have thought that the casual mention of the price of a chicken in London would have elicited all these replies? Too funny for a travel site!