Back from London!
Jul 26th, 2007, 09:22 AM
#3
here it is: Author: kelkel
Date: 07/26/2007, 07:57 am
I was worried about security prior to leaving with the terrorist attempts and I thank those of you that encouraged me to go to London, regardless! My compliments to the British authorities....I felt quite safe in London! 7-4-07 to 7-7-07.
Day 1: JFK to London Heathrow: Our flight was cancelled due to a suspicious package at British Air terminal 4. Was rerouted on American Airlines. We stayed at the Marriott Maide Vale outside of the city and it was very nice! Large room, air, and very clean! Only thing...we couldn't turn on our lights in the bathroom and entry hall. We went to the facilities in the dark several times until we realized that we had to place our door keycard into a slot in the room to activate the lights! Haha! The first evening we attended the Sound of Music at the Palladium. It brought me to tears several times with the singing. I highly recommend this show, it was beautiful! We rode the tube alot and it is so convenient! Our girls rode for free which is quite nice. There were several tube closures at different times for security alerts but, the alternate routes were always made known.
Day 2: We took the open top bus tour of the city and this is a great way to get oriented to the sights! FYI...they are usually 2 hours in length however, plan for longer. Ours actually took over 3 hours to do the entire route because of traffic and people hopping off and on. I never realized how compact the city actually is! Afterwards, we went to Kensington Palace to see the exhibit of Diana's gowns and the last portraits that were taken of her. This was quite moving. The palace is beautiful...understandable why Diana made this her residence. We ate at a local pub for fish and chips. FYI...don't assume that all restaurants take Visa/MC and always have enough pounds in your pocket to pay for the bill. We almost had a major issue!!Ask your server if they accept credit cards.
DAY 3:Got up early and was one of the first in line for the Tower of London. We were the first to see the Crown Jewels and we actually took a second stroll through them as nobody was there. I do think that the terrorist situation kept the tourist number down as the Tower really did not get mobbed as I heard it usually does. We stayed for 4 hours. Make sure you do the audio tour and a Beefeater tour. We visited the Buckingham Palace..the Queen was in that day. The Imperial War Museum is unbelievable! We visited the Holocaust exhibit and I felt that it had more than the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. Quite moving and upsetting. We didn't have enough time here as there was a great D-Day exhibit. We then went to the British Museum to see the Egyptian exhibit and it was great. Again, a fabulous museum with too little time.
The only disappointing thing for us was the price to visit this great city. Be prepared...it is expensive due to the deflating US dollar.
(I added paragraphs to make it a little easier to read)
Date: 07/26/2007, 07:57 am
I was worried about security prior to leaving with the terrorist attempts and I thank those of you that encouraged me to go to London, regardless! My compliments to the British authorities....I felt quite safe in London! 7-4-07 to 7-7-07.
Day 1: JFK to London Heathrow: Our flight was cancelled due to a suspicious package at British Air terminal 4. Was rerouted on American Airlines. We stayed at the Marriott Maide Vale outside of the city and it was very nice! Large room, air, and very clean! Only thing...we couldn't turn on our lights in the bathroom and entry hall. We went to the facilities in the dark several times until we realized that we had to place our door keycard into a slot in the room to activate the lights! Haha! The first evening we attended the Sound of Music at the Palladium. It brought me to tears several times with the singing. I highly recommend this show, it was beautiful! We rode the tube alot and it is so convenient! Our girls rode for free which is quite nice. There were several tube closures at different times for security alerts but, the alternate routes were always made known.
Day 2: We took the open top bus tour of the city and this is a great way to get oriented to the sights! FYI...they are usually 2 hours in length however, plan for longer. Ours actually took over 3 hours to do the entire route because of traffic and people hopping off and on. I never realized how compact the city actually is! Afterwards, we went to Kensington Palace to see the exhibit of Diana's gowns and the last portraits that were taken of her. This was quite moving. The palace is beautiful...understandable why Diana made this her residence. We ate at a local pub for fish and chips. FYI...don't assume that all restaurants take Visa/MC and always have enough pounds in your pocket to pay for the bill. We almost had a major issue!!Ask your server if they accept credit cards.
DAY 3:Got up early and was one of the first in line for the Tower of London. We were the first to see the Crown Jewels and we actually took a second stroll through them as nobody was there. I do think that the terrorist situation kept the tourist number down as the Tower really did not get mobbed as I heard it usually does. We stayed for 4 hours. Make sure you do the audio tour and a Beefeater tour. We visited the Buckingham Palace..the Queen was in that day. The Imperial War Museum is unbelievable! We visited the Holocaust exhibit and I felt that it had more than the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. Quite moving and upsetting. We didn't have enough time here as there was a great D-Day exhibit. We then went to the British Museum to see the Egyptian exhibit and it was great. Again, a fabulous museum with too little time.
The only disappointing thing for us was the price to visit this great city. Be prepared...it is expensive due to the deflating US dollar.
(I added paragraphs to make it a little easier to read)
Jul 26th, 2007, 09:30 AM
#4
Join Date: Nov 2003
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Our kids keep asking me when we're going to London, but it seems like everywhere else on our "list" is less expensive. They may have to do London on their own nickel (or pound) when they are older.
