Well, we have a little more then 2 weeks before the 4 of us leave for London. I have 2 questions. 1. We need a car service from the airport. Should I contact www.justairports.com or is there a better (cheaper) one? 2. Where is Golders Green, how to we get there from Trafalgar Sq. and is the Jewish Museum anywhere near there? Okay heres our itinery (subject to change) Tuesday-Arrival a.m., hop on/hop off bus. Get off at Harrods for food court and check out shops in that area. Early dinner and to bed.
Wednesday-Train to Oxford to pick up rental car for drive thru Cotswolds. Stop to see Blenheim Palace and sleep in Broadway (we have reservations at the Olive Branch).
Thursday-Spend day in Cotswolds, return car and train back to London
Friday-(morning), British Museum, (early afternoon), National Gallery, (late afternoon) walk the Mall to Buckingham Palace. Theatre
Saturday-Portobello Flea Market, Regent Street, Bond St., Picadilly, you get it, shopping day. Evening at Covent Garden for dinner and walking around, people watching.
Sunday-Golders Green for jewish deli breakfast, Jewish Museum,(early afternoon) Hyde Park Speakers Corner, (mid afternoon) Kew Gardens, pub dinner (somewhere fun?)
Monday-(morning), Tower of London, (early afternoon), St. Pauls and then What? Millenium Bridge to Tate Modern or London Eye? (late afternoon), High Tea, Theatre.
Tuesday-Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey(take tour). Rest of afternoon for last minute shopping or site seeing. Goodbye dinner at somewhere famous (and good)
Thats it, any comments are appreciated. I didn't mention too many meals because we figure we'll eat a good breakfast at the hotel and nibble for lunch and depending on if we're going to Theatre we'll eat before or after. We know we want to eat 1 great meal, go to a famous (and good) pub and have High Tea. Thanks in advance.

Hi
I haven't been to the Golders Green area Jewish Museum, but in London in among the wonderful Christopher Wren churches, is the Bevis Mark synagogue. Historic building, and very pretty inside. Walkable from King's Cross or Euston stations as I recall.

Do you want a High Tea (which is more of meal, more like what Americans might call 'supper') or do you want an Afternoon Tea? I think Harrods, or maybe it's Fortnums, offers both types of menus.

Looks like a full week. The only real problem I see right off the bat is on Sunday - I don't think you will have enough time to see Kew Gardens. That's at least a 1/2 day trip by the time you factor in transporation. Anc coming from Golders Green (which is north of central London) it will be quite a trip.

There is a tube stop for Golders Green on the Northern line. It's in zone 3 so you would need to make sure purchase an extension ticket if you only have a zone 1 or 1&2 travelcard.

There's 2 types of afternoon teas you can go for (High Tea is a rather antiquainted term that will draw a 100 post debate about what we English think it consists of).

You can either stop for a cup of tea and a cake, for which Elaine's suggestions would suit you, or you can go for the full hog at a grand hotel (the only places that really do this sort of thing any more). If you do a search here, you will find endless debates about the best place to go for this - you'll probably need to book, and you won't need dinner afterwards (well, perhaps a late light supper).

You say you want one great dinner. Do you have a budget in mind? Some of the best restaurants have waiting lists, so you MAY be too late to book, but there's plenty of choice. I strongly recommend you pick up a food guide (for restaurants and pubs with great food) when you get here - Hardens guide to London Restaurants is a good choice.

Hi zwho - you must be getting excited!
I think your sched looks pretty full but mostly doable. I was in London about 3 weeks ago (check out my trip report)and was reminded that things often take much longer to accomplish than one plans for. Here are some of my observations.
We went to Portobello on Friday. It's much less busy than Saturday but still has most of the market going. Just a suggestion. Saturday it gets so busy you can barely move. Also on Oxford St., Regent St., etc it will be super busy (it is almost any day). Just be prepared... my sister really found the crowds overwhelming.
Kew is hard to do in half a day so try to head there as early as you can.
I think you DO NOT want "High Tea". That's a hot, working-class meal. You likely want "Afternoon Tea".
Keep in mind that in many cases it takes a while to walk from tube stations to sites. It's a bit of a walk, for example, from the tube station to the Tate Modern; but you can walk over the Millenium Bridge once you're at the museum. It's also quite a walk from the station to the Tate Britain.
Golder's Green tube stop is on the Northern Line (Edgeware), one beyond Hampstead. Trafalgar Square is right across from the Charing Cross station, which is also on the Northern line.
I used justairports.com to go from my hotel to Heathrow and it was fine, and certainly the cheapest car service.
I hope you like the Olive Branch, and know you will find the Cotswolds beautiful.

Golders Green is a fair journey out. The Jewish Museum is on two sites: Camden Town is on the way to GG: Finchley involves a short drive or a messy tube ride back to Camden Town (to which access is limited on Sundays) then back out again.

Unless you're going to meet someone, GG really should be cut out. It's not that Jewish these days, and the Judaica in the centre, together with the museums, I'd have thought would be far more interesting. Apart from Bevis Marks (and DO go and see it), the area round Brick Lane (now Bangladeshi, and Huguenot before it was Jewish) is fascinating

We were very pleased with JustAIrports. It's even cheaper if you use cash instead of credit.

Personally I wouldn't try walking from Kings Cross or Euston to Bevis Marks, it's practically at the Tower. It's a pity www.19princeletstreet.org.uk/ won't be open.