NATURLOVER

First a little background we ae from the states and this was my first trip abroad. My hubby had been to europe in the 70's as part of a school group. This was our 20th wedding anniversary year and I planned this trip for a year with help from all of you.

Hubby is really good about running to planes so I was going to make sure that didn't happen on this trip. Our plane was scheduled for take off at 6:20pm and as he was working a half day I kept calling him from noon on to see when he was getting home. We left for the airport and had some time to get a bite to eat and a drink. Made it to the borading area with about a half hour to wait to board. Well.... DH went off to get another drink and they started to board the plane. He was no where to be found and I had his passport and borading pass. I had him paged 3 times and then I got in line I was going to leave him behind. Well there he comes running down the concourse. I was so ticked at him.

The flight was long and I hardly got any sleep. DH the one who said "I can't sleep on a plane" slept a good portion of the trip.

We arrived and was herded to immigration which went very quickly. Got our bags and off we went to the Gatwick express to Victoria station. Once at Victoria we made our way to the hotel. We stayed at The Ruben's, If any of you have ever considered staying there DO SO this was a fantastic hotel. We were pampered from the moment we walked in the door. Our room was towards the back of the hotel and we didn't have much of a view but the room was lovely. Since our room wasn't ready yet we left our baggage and took off to see London.

We made our way to Buckingham and walked towards Parliment and Big Ben. Westminster had just opened so we went through. Jet lagged as I was I couldn't get over the beauty of the abbey. I oohed and awed at every turn. We spent the good part of 1-2 hours there. We went back to our hotel and I took a shower and we took a nap I set the alarm for a 2 hour nap. I know everyone said "Don't go to sleep" but I was exhausted. We got up and set off again.

We walked again from our hotel by Buckingham and then strolled through St. James park. Headed up White hall past the horseguards and towards Trafalger. We stopped at a little pub and had lunch. We wandered to the square and past the art museum. It had just closed so we walked to Picadilly Circus and wound ourselves back to the hotel.
We had a tour booked for the morning so we went to bed early.

Till next time..

janisj

Looking forward to the rest of your report.

I remember a couple of your threads when you were planning the trip. Did you ever get the sleeper train straightened out??

NATURLOVER

Janis, Yes I got that straightened out. The concierge at the hotel booked it for me (more on that later).

Day 2.
We had to get up early to catch a tour. This was with Golden tours and the guide that picked us up was a real hoot. His name was David and he really took a shine to DH. Unfortunately he was leading another tour on that day and we had a lady named Tish.

Tish had a real spark to her and she was always moving it was real fun watching her go. Our first stop was a picture stop for Westminster, since we had gone there the day before we stayed in the coach as it was doing the London thing and raining.

We then went across the Thames and go to see Parliment from the other side. What a spectacular view. Our next stop was the Horseguards. Rain or shine they are out and we saw them on guard ontop of some huge but georgeous horses. Having horses myself this made me a bit homesick to see them. DH got a picture of me standing by one and the horse started to try and nuzzle me but the rider wouldn't have anything to do with that it was cute. We went through the museum and then back on the coach to our next stop. It had quit raining by then and so the changing of the guard was on.

This had to be a sight to see, there were about 25 of us in our group and Tish set us up on The Mall at St. James's park where she told us that after the last soldier past us she would yell GO GO GO and we were to GO GO GO following her through St. James to the other side where Wellington barracks are to see the guard from that side.

Let me tell you that was a sight to behold I am sure. After that last soldier passed she yelled and we literally ran through St James to the other side. Then it was back on the bus and we went to Covent Garden area where we had a bite to eat at a cozy pub which I can't remember the name of it but the food was good either that or I was hungry from doing the 1K run.

Then off to St. Pauls. This is where I wish I would have listened to JanisJ and not done tours. St. Pauls is a sight to behold and I really wanted to climb up the dome to the wispering dome but alas next trip. We did get to go where most people can't we got behind the gates to the high altar and were able to see where the choir sits and the pipe organ. Everything about St. Pauls was beyond ezpectation. I have seen pictures and of course watched Princes Diana and Prince Charles marry there but seeing it in person gives you a lasting impression.

Then off to the Tower of London. This was another hurry up and get through as quick as you can due to our time constraints and again I will do it justice next time. Our first stop was the Crown Jewels. They are behind glass and there is a moving conveyor belt that moves you along. DH was there when they were in the basement and not behind glass. We walked around and saw the white tower the bloody tower but didn't get to go in as all the lines were long.


Have to run but will pick it up next time.

francophile03

Thanks for posting your trip report. It's good to know you had a nice visit to London! The Rubens is part of the Red Carnation Hotel chain and it's no surprise the service was excellent. We stayed at another Red Carnation property (The Montague On the Gardens) and like you found the service to be excellent (as was the hotel itself).

I am waiting to read about your visit to Edinburgh. Sadly we did not get that far although we did the Beatles thing in Liverpool and with another day or two we would've visited Edinburgh I'm sure.

noe847

Thanks for posting your trip report, NATURLOVER. You visited two of my favorite places! I'll look forward to reading the rest.

chcl

Naturlover, can you reiterate or post a link to what janis said about joining the St. Paul's tour? We'll be in London next month and one of the things in my list is a tour of St. Pauls. Thanks.

NATURLOVER

chcl. When I had started to plan this trip I wanted to see as much of London as I could due to the short amount of time we had, so I booked two tours online and had written about it here. JanisJ had told me that tour after tour would not have been her bag of tea and I wish I would have listened to her. When you get to London do the tours on your own that way you have as much or as little time to spend at each area you visit. If you go with a group like we did we didn't have enough time in each place to have explored like I normally would have.

Like I said next time it will be different.

Cont of day 2
Tower of London. As I mentioned we saw the crown Jewels and then wandered around. We had a little time to spare before we headed to the boat for a cruise on the Thames. We stumbled upon the Medieval Palace and went through that. It was really neat going up the circular stairway and through the tower. Really makes you think that your back in time. The Tower of London is so big we could have spent several hours there. We then caught up with the tour and took a cruise on the Thames from Tower of London to Parliment. Not sure how long of a trip it was but we saw Tower Bridge opening up for a large boat to pass. Once back in Westminster area we headed back to Victoria station where they dropped most of us off. We walked back to our hotel and I talked the the concierge about booking overnight tickets for the Caledonian sleeper for our trip to Edinburgh on monday evening. I tried from the states before I left to get these tickets booked but for some reason you aren't able to book and pay for them if you aren't in the UK. Getting us booked was very easy as all I had to do was give my credit card number.

Tickets booked we went out to find dinner. What is really nice is the restaruants have their menu's posted and we always checked them to see if there was something that both of us thought we could eat. We ended up I bellieve on Victoria street and found the Duke of York pub. We went upstairs for dining and I had the fish and chips. I have forgotten what DH had but it was very good.

After dinner we wandered back towards the hotel and on the corner opposite of the hotel there is a pub called Bag of Nails, which became a frequent stop for us for a pint.

Because we were taking yet another tour tomorrow we went back to the hotel fairly early. Tomorrow was Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath.

Day 3
This was the day I had been looking forward to for a long time. I have seen pictures of Stonehenge and am a sucker for a castle. Once again we were up early. Got the shuttle to the Golden tours office and got in line for the tour. But alas I didn't look at the sign close enough and was in the wrong line. We were showed the bus and got on only to have been taken off again because we had booked lunch with that particular tour.

This was a great disappointment because the tour guide was the same one we had seen yesterday and he really friendly and joked with us Americans. We found the correct bus and got on. The tour guide we had was well let me just put it this way horrible. On our way to Windsor she told us how to go through the castle and to be back at the bus at a certain time. When we got off the bus she herded us to the ticket booth but before we got there someone came running up from behind and told her that one of the ladies from our group colllapsed. Our guide took the group and got our tickets and then took off to help her. I am glad to report that she was ok but I was appalled at how she handled the situation. It worked out in our favor though because the other guide from Golden took over for her and he led us through the castle.

The doll's house was exceptional in the workmanship. It was amazing to know that everything worked. If one looked closely you could see a replica of the crown jewels behind a cage. The state aparment's were just fabulous. Dave the guide with the other group found DH and called him over when we were in the Grand Vestibule and showed him the pistol in which to shoot me with should he ever tire of me it was a gun that shot out heart shaped bullets. We had a good laugh at that. He also pointed out the solid gold tigers head and the famous lock that if the key was turned the wrong way there were 2 guns to shoot the person tampering with it. We saw where the fire took place and how lovingly it was restored. Once back outside we were greeted by a changing of the guards in one of the courtyards. Since we visited on a Sunday St. Georges chapel was closed to us, I really would have liked to gone through.

Since time was running we had to get back to the bus and so we hoofed it back. We weren't the last ones but close to it and we were followed by two girls. The guide had 3 more people to wait on but waited she did not she left those that missed the bus behind!!! Once again I was appaled. I know you have to keep a schedule but given the fact that there was a mishap before the tour started she should have been a little more forgiving. This put the fear in all of us to be at the bus 5 minutes before she says so we didn't miss the bus.


More later..

GreenDragon

Love the report - and remembering my own times at said sites. Keep on!

NATURLOVER

Sorry that I have to keep interupting between stops but either the phone rings or someone needs me..

Stonehenge was our next stop. Before that though we had luch at Stonehenge Inn. The food was good I opted for chicken pie that was very good. That is one thing that I learned the British feed you good. After a quick bite it was off to the stones. Once again the guide told us what to do while we were on the bus, she got our tickets and off we went. Let me just say this standing among the stones one feels a sort of amazement that such a thing could be built so many thousands of years old. I had to stop DH and have him just stand there. We circled the stones and DH took pics while I listened to the audio tour. The weather cooperated and it poured while we were there!! And I mean pour I could hear the dogs bark and the cats purr. We were soaked by the time we got back to the bus. Glad to say everyone made it to the bus on time and then off to Bath.

Along the way we saw Jane Seymours estate and a circular building that we found out was a jail cell for one that the prisoner stayed in for only one night before being moved to a bigger prison. I wish I could have gotten a pic of it. We also saw a thatched roof cottage. As we approached Bath once again the tour guide told us what we would see at the Roman Baths. The roman baths are quite a sight to see, once again I was in awe. The architecture
amazed me for the time period. The carvings were something else and the GREEN water. There were a few surprises, I loved the circular bath this was a cold water bath to cleanse and refresh after the steam rooms, the curses written on pewter or lead by people that had something done wrong to them. The pump room is in a dining area that seemed to me to be very posh. I didn't drink the water but some that did said it was very minerally. We had about 30 minutes after we were finished at the baths to browse at some of the shops but mother nature had other plans. When we came down from the pump room the skies let loose and it rained like I have never seen it. Sheets of rain from the heavens. Lightening and thunder. We managed to get undercover at a pub and tasted the wares. Once back on the bus we headed back to London. Traffic was bad but made it back in time to grab a bite to eat. We ended up at of all places an Italian eatery. Hungry as we both were it didn't matter at this point. Food was adequate and we ended up at Bag of Nails for a nightcap and ended up meeting some very nice folks from just south of Edinburgh. We ended up talking with them for some time.

That is something else that amazed me was how friendly people were in London. If I needed to ask directions someone always helped.

scotlib

Following your story, NATURLOVER, and wondering what happened to the people left behind at Windosr?? You ever find out?

Looking forward to next installment. Cheers!