Now that my husband is retired and I work from my computer wherever it is, we have the flexibility (if not always the funds) to travel more: US road trips, getaways for 2 weeks rather than 1, etc., but hadn't been to Europe for about 9 years. Then American Airlines tempted us with one of those Internet special fares ($365 plus taxes and fees, which brought the cost to $1030 for the two of us, from Chicago). We decided to go from Wednesday to Wednesday, the maximum time for the fare, and had a wide choice of times and seats. We stuck with a 5 PM departure, as was the routine when we went to Europe more routinely, but I wonder if a morning departure would have been better? Anyhow, that put us in Kensington at our hotel around 11:30 AM, and we were luckily able to get into a room within an hour or so.

About the hotel: we used Priceline and got the Copthorne Tara for $91. We opted to take an offered upgrade for 35 pounds/night for a club level room, which gave us a queen size bed and a view over London from the 11th floor, breakfast, free internet, wine or beer in the evening, plus a few more things. I would LIKE to be one of those people who says they don't really care about their hotel room, but alas I am not, and felt the extra money was worth it. We were very comfortable for our 6-night stay, with a good bed and nice bedding, a good shower, heated towel bar, nice service, a kettle and small fridge, etc. And the hotel really is very near the Kensington High Street tube station.

A word about Kensington: yes, it is nice, and near several museums, Kensington Palace, etc., but I think I would prefer someplace a little livelier and more central for any succeeding trips. Anyhow, we got our one-week pass loaded onto an Oyster, which got us several discounts and unparalleled convenience when traveling.

What we saw: well, pretty much the top ten sights, including Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, British Museum, V&A, Trafalgar Square, the Tate, Kensington Palace, etc. On a tip from a fellow patron at the cocktail hour in our hotel (Nigel, a London taxi driver there with his wife Jackie for a minibreak), we used the hop-on and off boat on the Thames (5 pounds each with our tube pass discounts) when visiting the Tower. We got some unique views from the river and also helped the wear and tear on our feet. Also, we got the discounts for seniors at the attractions, and were carded only at Kensington Place.

We had tickets on 3 of our 5 nights: for a Baroque concert at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, an opera at the English National Opera, and two minor Harold Pinter works at Comedy Theater. All were fabulous experiences, easily reached on the tube, and had nearby restaurants that could serve up tasty meals in a flash.

About the food: we found it vastly improved from our last trip to London about 18 years ago! We enjoyed a variety of things, including sushi and Chinese fare, as well as a couple of cream teas, lunch at The Orangerie in Kensington Palace and at the nice restaurant at the Tate, and traditional English fare at Maggie Jones's in Kensington (recommended by folks on this board, and when else will I be having wood pidgeon?) It was painful to be paying in dollars, but if you read just the numbers on the menu without the currency designation, prices seemed pretty comparable to US cities.

We had nice, uncrowded flights each way, with enough extra seats to stretch out if you are the lucky type who can sleep on planes. We used a preordered car to and from LHR (another tip from this board). All in all, a wonderful trip!

Great trip report! Thanks for posting. Sounded like a lovely week in London. London is a city that I can revisit and revisit and never get tired off.

Agree with you the great cuisine in London. And also agree with you about the prices - just assume the £ is the $ and not worry about it!

I have flown the day flight now twice to London (once from JFK, once from BOS) and I definitely prefer that over the night flight. I can just go right to bed on arrival and wake up refreshed the next morning. I can never sleep well on the plane, and arriving in Europe the next morning jet-lagged means a completely wasted day for me.

I enjoyed reading your report! Sounds like a very successful trip!

Thanks for posting this report, marilynl. You two really made the most of your time, with a variety of sights, sounds, and tastes.

My husband and I just decided to go to London for a glorified long weekend in April - Wednesday to Monday - and we're both excited to go back to a city that we really love. I'm making a few notes from your report!

Enjoyed your report. Sounds like the hotel upgrade was well worth it. Did you use justairports for your car transfer?

Yes, we did, for the airport pickup, and it was very smooth. The hotel arranged the return, and I'm not sure who they used. The fee was slightly higher but it WAS a nicer car.

I forgot to say what nice weather we had: 50s and sunny the whole week! Lots of green grass and flowers added to the spring-like weather.

VERY nice post! I would have taken the upgrade too! What kind of car did you have from justairports? We are going this week with 5 adults and I requested a a larger car. I always wanted to try a morning departure, but alas, no go from Atlanta.

Marilyn:


Great compact report! You have proven convincingly that a concise, meaningful one-week trip report can be written within 100 lines or less...extrapolating to less than 300 lines for a three week. Thank you, Marilyn!

We were to leave for Portugal and the UK in three weeks, but have had to postpone until April 4...your tips on London are much appreciated, as it has been several years since we've visited the city.

Stu T.

Thank you, tower and Judyrem. Regarding the car: as it was just the two of us, we just asked for the saloon car. The driver was waiting with our name on a sign near the Hertz desk, as advised. Walked to the parking for the car, which turned out to be a minivan.