La Tour Eiffel & Tower of London - trip recap

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Oct 19th, 2002, 05:53 PM

Annette Rosario

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La Tour Eiffel & Tower of London - trip recap

PART 1 OF 3 Recently returned from a whirlwind trip (mother/daughter) to London & Paris. 3 1/2 days London; 1 day Paris. (Air/hotel package from Expedia). Note: prices quoted are per person. Our observations: London: Virgin Atlantic: would rate the service above average; friendly, attentive flight attendants; however, seats were rather uncomfortable, kind of "tight" (we're not 'big' women). Locals we met: on the whole, very friendly people, good sense of humor. London Eye: £9.50 (well worth it, spectacular views; we went in the early afternoon, no line, we had purchased our tickets earlier that day at a vendor near our hotel) Tower of London: £11.50. Very interesting; animated tour guide Yeoman Warder (Beefeater). Crown Jewels: you catch a film of the reigning Queen's coronation, before heading to view the Crown Jewels---where you'll view the displays while on the moving walkway. Yes, expect crowds, but the line progressed fairly rapidly.

Oct 19th, 2002, 05:55 PM

Annette

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PART 2 OF 3 Westminster Abbey: £6 (very impressive, though a bit overwhelming as we visited on our last day & were quite rushed). Tourbus: The Big Bus Company: £16 (all day bus ride-hop on/off, live English commentary, included the cruise on the Thames, which we opted against b/c it was too cold and we were -once again- short on time). Theater: Blood Brothers, a musical (rather tragic). The lead (female) had a very powerful voice; we definitely enjoyed the show. Purchased tix at THE Leicester Square ticket booth (£21.25), near a yogurt place called Rendezvous. We did notice many other places claiming to sell discounted tix as well. Food Lunches were generally at Pret A Manger (sandwich spots located all over town), reasonably priced. Apprx £5-£6. Dinner: found an Italian restaurant in Leicester Sq area we were very pleased with - Cafe Pasta. (Had dinner here 2 nights). Fresh, well seasoned food; wait staff very friendly (Jefferson and Roberto, 2 Brazilian waiters). Cost: between £20-£22. Weather: mid 50's; first day, crisp clear weather; thereafter cloudy, with rain showers/drizzles. Hotel: Pembridge Palace, Bayswater Wouldn't stay here again. Our issues: our phone was out of order (twice), the bathroom (while it was clean and somewhat spacious by European standards), had a faulty shower fixture: had difficulty shutting the faucet off completely & called the concierge's desk every night & every morning after showering, to have someone come to our room to shut it off. Also, bath mats weren't changed on a daily basis. The hotel is located in an ethnic area (Muslim/Pakistani/Indian) Buffet style breakfast was included in our package: satisfied with selection & freshness of food. The hotel is conveniently located, near many shops/restaurants; walking distance to Kensington Gardens. Underground (tube)stations: Bayswater, and Queensway. Transportation: Tube: Carnet of 10 Zone 1 single tix: £11.50 - a good deal, considering an individual tix costs £1.60 (Valid 12 mos) Car service (to/from Heathrow). Used Eddie Manning's car service: £39 (TOTAL, not per person here). I would recommend his company: affable, informative drivers. Info: [email protected] 07970 761 505 from USA: 011 44 7970 761 505 http://www.limo.co.uk

Oct 19th, 2002, 05:56 PM

Annette

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PART 3 OF 3 Paris: Travelled Economy class (EUROSTAR), weekend return £70 (Saturday). Note rates are more expensive if booking online from the U.S., I called directly to secure the cheaper rate. Comfortable seats, convenient way to go London-Paris-London. Trip apprx 3hrs 10min. Staff at Eurostar: professional, courteous, helpful. Eurostar: www.eurostar.co.uk/ tel: 011.44.8705.186.186 Lunch at Hippopatumus (the food was good, not spectacular). Weather mild, sunny (60s). Metro very crowded. Took the elevator to the 1st level of La Tour Eiffel (waited about 30mins on line). ?3.75 Shopped around 15th arrondisement. Stopped at a patisserie (had delicious fromage/framboise tarte). Can't recall the name of the place (sorry). Headed to the Champs Elysees for some pics and more shopping. Returned to Gare du Nord at 8:10 for our 8:43 train (which we missed our train). Long story short: we were there on time, but I failed to realize that the board indicated 1er Etage (1st Floor) meant UPSTAIRS. Like an idiot I noticed this too late, hence we missed our train. Spent the night at a nearby hotel (New Hotel); double room ?89, breakfast an extra ?5 per person. (Though we were both initially upset we'd missed our train, we got over it pretty quickly, and laughed afterwards. Besides, having to spend the night in Paris wasn't exactly punishment

) (The folks at Eurostar were extremely accommodating, we didn't pay extra though we'd missed our train the night before. I'm convinced it didn't hurt that a friend of mine accompanied us to the customer service desk to explain the problem, in his impeccable French). We had a thoroughly enjoyable (albeit exhausting) trip. My mom now has the "Euro bug" and is eager to get back. For me, seems I can't get enough of Europe (especially Paris).

Oct 19th, 2002, 05:58 PM

Annette

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NOTE: don't know why my Paris prices show up as ? (I tried the Euro ? sign).

Oct 20th, 2002, 10:03 AM

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Sounds like you had alot of fun on your whirlwind trip! What did you buy?

Oct 20th, 2002, 10:46 AM

Renee

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What were your general impressions of the 15th...plenty of nice places to shop and eat? I will be staying there and wanted to get more opinions about it.

Oct 20th, 2002, 06:24 PM

Annette

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In London I bought a 3/4 length winter coat (street vendor); foot scrub/foot soak (from Boots pharmacy-definitely something different than what I normally get at Bath & Body works, the Body Shop, or H20); a "funky" top at "New Look" on Oxford Street; a pencil corduroy skirt at "MK One" in Bayswater; eye cream, face mask & hair conditioner at Lush (Heathrow). In Paris bought a sweater at a shop on Champs Elysees (can't remember the name of the store). Perfume and Clarins products at Parfumerie Marionnaud (15th - Rue du Commerce). Renee- we were only at the 15th for about 2hrs, but I recall many clothing & shoe shops (along Rue du Commerce).