Brugge & London trip report (w/kids!)
Mar 28th, 2004, 08:16 PM
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Brugge & London trip report (w/kids!)
My wife and I, along with our two daughters aged 7 and 3+, just returned from our two week vacation to London and Brugge; our second trip to London but the first time to Belgium. Here's what we thought:
*Getting there was ultra-cheap (thank you $100 each way November sale!), and staying there was fairly inexpensive as well. But the day to day expenses were probably double what we would spend in California.
*We flew Virgin Atlantic, a good airline made better on the flight back thanks to V
ORT, their video on demand service. Just a handful of their planes are configured with it; if you get lucky, you'll love it.
*Make sure your European cellphone is unlocked before leaving the states. Ours wasn't, and because it was an off brand, it took some work and extra time to have it unlocked in London.
*Having said that, Virgin Mobile is the best thing! £10 for a SIM card that includes £5 of calls. Our only phone, it worked like a charm, and now we have a British mobile number for future trips.
*We did the serviced apartment thing instead of hotels. Our clean, spartan house in Brugge cost €30 a night and our gorgeous flat in central London was £500 for the week. Both had full kitchens and the all-important washing machine. With kids, why would anyone stay in a hotel?
*Thank you Fodorites for your 2 for 1 hints in conjuction with British Rail. We used it at Tower of London and Kew Gardens, which saved us about £20. And they never wanted to see our rail ticket.
*Eurostar was great. Clean, fast, uncrowded carriages, good on-board picnic (thank you Upper Crust and the local pattiserie in Brugge!), easy connection at Brussels Midi.
*I wouldn't want to be employed in the tourist industry in Europe this summer. Not only is the exchange rate abysmal for Americans, because of the Madrid bombing there is a very real fear of more Al Qaida terror in Western Europe later this year. It didn't stop us from travelling, but most Americans are more risk averse than us.
*Don't bother going to Kew Gardens in March. It's still winter in London. Wait til mid-April; you'll have more spring to your step.
*Grocery shopping in London is fun! We were a three-minute walk from Marks and Spencer and had a blast trying all the interesting entrees to bring home for dinner. We only ate out a couple of times (dinner at Wagamama was $75 for the four of us; the girls shared an entree, no dessert) but the variety and quality of food we found didn't make this a problem.
*Speaking of food, go to Borough Market, near London Bridge tube. It's where Jamie Oliver does a lot of his shopping. We had lunch there and bought groceries (including wonderful streaky bacon from the butcher with the hand-cranked slicer and the boar's head on the wall). A great experience. Friday and Saturday.
*Museums/galleries and kids do mix, as long as you know how to make it fun. Go to the information desk at any museum, and ask them for a "family trail guide" which takes one tiny portion of a museum and makes it kid-friendly with "I-Spy"-like activities. Best trail guides were at Tate Modern and the V&A (yes, we saw the Weather Project, and we're so glad we did!)
*Brugge in the winter is wonderful! Very few tourists and (the best thing) hardly any Americans! Just a brilliant city. Great food: cheese, bread, chocolate (Dumon). Even the canal boat trip wasn't too cold. The people were exceedingly friendly and of course they all speak perfect English. But see my ATM post so you don't run short of €€€s.
*Brugge highlights: shopping (Krokodil for upscale kids games, Folieke for Belgian kids clothes), climbing the Belfry then eating fries (w/curry mayo) from the stand at the bottom, the beer and chocolate, and the "cafe culture" attitude that makes Brugge such an appealing place to hang out. And of course, all the wonderful medieval architecture.
*Why does the Northern Line get such a bad rep? We traveled on nearly all tube lines, and without exception, NL trains were clean, fairly new, frequent and uncrowded. And I don't even want to talk about the District Line.
*I used to think Terminal 3 at Heathrow was just disgusting. The arrivals hall is still a lousy first impression to a large industrialized country, but the departures area, especially the duty free shopping lounge, is quite nice, but with a long haul to our gate (42?).
*Lastly, don't even hesitate to take your kids out of school if they're young. Our oldest is in first grade, and not only will the fond memories be far more lasting than anything she would have learned in school, she was able to complete homework during our trip so the school didn't miss out on any attendance money from the state.
Just a great trip--no regrets.
*Getting there was ultra-cheap (thank you $100 each way November sale!), and staying there was fairly inexpensive as well. But the day to day expenses were probably double what we would spend in California.
*We flew Virgin Atlantic, a good airline made better on the flight back thanks to V
ORT, their video on demand service. Just a handful of their planes are configured with it; if you get lucky, you'll love it.*Make sure your European cellphone is unlocked before leaving the states. Ours wasn't, and because it was an off brand, it took some work and extra time to have it unlocked in London.
*Having said that, Virgin Mobile is the best thing! £10 for a SIM card that includes £5 of calls. Our only phone, it worked like a charm, and now we have a British mobile number for future trips.
*We did the serviced apartment thing instead of hotels. Our clean, spartan house in Brugge cost €30 a night and our gorgeous flat in central London was £500 for the week. Both had full kitchens and the all-important washing machine. With kids, why would anyone stay in a hotel?
*Thank you Fodorites for your 2 for 1 hints in conjuction with British Rail. We used it at Tower of London and Kew Gardens, which saved us about £20. And they never wanted to see our rail ticket.
*Eurostar was great. Clean, fast, uncrowded carriages, good on-board picnic (thank you Upper Crust and the local pattiserie in Brugge!), easy connection at Brussels Midi.
*I wouldn't want to be employed in the tourist industry in Europe this summer. Not only is the exchange rate abysmal for Americans, because of the Madrid bombing there is a very real fear of more Al Qaida terror in Western Europe later this year. It didn't stop us from travelling, but most Americans are more risk averse than us.
*Don't bother going to Kew Gardens in March. It's still winter in London. Wait til mid-April; you'll have more spring to your step.
*Grocery shopping in London is fun! We were a three-minute walk from Marks and Spencer and had a blast trying all the interesting entrees to bring home for dinner. We only ate out a couple of times (dinner at Wagamama was $75 for the four of us; the girls shared an entree, no dessert) but the variety and quality of food we found didn't make this a problem.
*Speaking of food, go to Borough Market, near London Bridge tube. It's where Jamie Oliver does a lot of his shopping. We had lunch there and bought groceries (including wonderful streaky bacon from the butcher with the hand-cranked slicer and the boar's head on the wall). A great experience. Friday and Saturday.
*Museums/galleries and kids do mix, as long as you know how to make it fun. Go to the information desk at any museum, and ask them for a "family trail guide" which takes one tiny portion of a museum and makes it kid-friendly with "I-Spy"-like activities. Best trail guides were at Tate Modern and the V&A (yes, we saw the Weather Project, and we're so glad we did!)
*Brugge in the winter is wonderful! Very few tourists and (the best thing) hardly any Americans! Just a brilliant city. Great food: cheese, bread, chocolate (Dumon). Even the canal boat trip wasn't too cold. The people were exceedingly friendly and of course they all speak perfect English. But see my ATM post so you don't run short of €€€s.
*Brugge highlights: shopping (Krokodil for upscale kids games, Folieke for Belgian kids clothes), climbing the Belfry then eating fries (w/curry mayo) from the stand at the bottom, the beer and chocolate, and the "cafe culture" attitude that makes Brugge such an appealing place to hang out. And of course, all the wonderful medieval architecture.
*Why does the Northern Line get such a bad rep? We traveled on nearly all tube lines, and without exception, NL trains were clean, fairly new, frequent and uncrowded. And I don't even want to talk about the District Line.
*I used to think Terminal 3 at Heathrow was just disgusting. The arrivals hall is still a lousy first impression to a large industrialized country, but the departures area, especially the duty free shopping lounge, is quite nice, but with a long haul to our gate (42?).
*Lastly, don't even hesitate to take your kids out of school if they're young. Our oldest is in first grade, and not only will the fond memories be far more lasting than anything she would have learned in school, she was able to complete homework during our trip so the school didn't miss out on any attendance money from the state.
Just a great trip--no regrets.
Mar 28th, 2004, 08:36 PM
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really nice report alameda dan. What flat/agency did you use in London? I keep a file of reasonably priced flats. Over the last couple of years, some have raised their rates above what I call "reasonable", so I'm always looking for new ones.
Apr 1st, 2004, 06:38 AM
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Here are a few - but there are many other good agencies in London. These are all very resonably priced for location/apartment sizes:
E&E Apartments (no website but they do have e-mail) [email protected] ph. 011-44-171-828-0453 Reasonably priced studio, 1 and 2 bedroom flats in Pimlico and Victoria. Near the Thames, Tate Britain, Chelsea and Victoria Station. 3-night min. £440 - £700+ per week
Hamlet (UK) Ltd. www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~hamlet_uk/ Ph 011-44-181-883-0024 1 and 2 bedroom flats at St Katherine?s Dock next to the Tower of London. £550 - £700 per week
London School of Economics www.lce.ac.uk/vacations Low cost B&B and self-catering accommodations in university residence halls from mid-June thru September. Phone 011-44-171-955-7575 to request a brochure.
Scala House www.scala-house.co.uk Phone 011-44-171-580-6644. Apartment bldg with 2-bedroom flats near Tottenham Court Rd and Oxford Street in central London. 2 night minimum £665 and up per week
? Price Apartments www.priceapts.co.uk
Studios thru 4-bedroom flats throughout London. £360 and up
Chelsea Cloisters www.chelsea-cloisters.co.uk Phone 011-44-171-403-7760
Full service studios near Harrods from £480 per week. Larger flats up to £1000
E&E Apartments (no website but they do have e-mail) [email protected] ph. 011-44-171-828-0453 Reasonably priced studio, 1 and 2 bedroom flats in Pimlico and Victoria. Near the Thames, Tate Britain, Chelsea and Victoria Station. 3-night min. £440 - £700+ per week
Hamlet (UK) Ltd. www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~hamlet_uk/ Ph 011-44-181-883-0024 1 and 2 bedroom flats at St Katherine?s Dock next to the Tower of London. £550 - £700 per week
London School of Economics www.lce.ac.uk/vacations Low cost B&B and self-catering accommodations in university residence halls from mid-June thru September. Phone 011-44-171-955-7575 to request a brochure.
Scala House www.scala-house.co.uk Phone 011-44-171-580-6644. Apartment bldg with 2-bedroom flats near Tottenham Court Rd and Oxford Street in central London. 2 night minimum £665 and up per week
? Price Apartments www.priceapts.co.uk
Studios thru 4-bedroom flats throughout London. £360 and up
Chelsea Cloisters www.chelsea-cloisters.co.uk Phone 011-44-171-403-7760
Full service studios near Harrods from £480 per week. Larger flats up to £1000
Apr 2nd, 2004, 03:11 PM
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We found our 2 br rental flat in London thru Vacation Rentals By Owner. The address is www.vrbo.com/31242. It is located in Fitzrovia, a short walk from Goodge St Tube on a short, fairly quiet street. The listed rate is £750/wk but we paid a bit less due to our off-season travel. Highly recommended. Our previous stay in 2001 was thru Go Native but they are handling only corporate rentals at this time.
Apr 20th, 2004, 10:44 PM
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Bump to show a link to my vacation photos. Go to http://www.thisamazinglife.com/photo..._holiday_2004/ to see them.
