Here are my London responses:

You can get seating charts for theatres and recommendations for good and bad seats at theatremonkey.com.

I guess I'm in the minority, but my girls and I always have a lot of fun poking around at Boots.

I think that newsagents sell postcard stamps - you'll find them in the tube stations. They also sell phone cards.

Be aware that mailing packages from the UK is beastly expensive. I'd buy nonbreakable or lightweight souvenirs and check them in baggage (bring a small lightweight duffle bag folded in your suitcase).

Definitely the 7 day travelcard loaded on an Oyster pass - with that Heathrow extension.

Nearly all the wonderful museums are free (but of course they request a donation). Westminster, St. Paul's (tower), the Eye, Madame Tussauds, the Tower of London are not free (and not cheap).

Previews are just before the official opening when the critics come and review the show. In a way, it's time to smooth out any last minute issues. Good idea, esp. if you want to see Wicked. Do it. ;)

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Any recommendation near Ronnie Scott's for dinner? I've heard the area is kind of youthful clubby,
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andrew edmunds is good and nearby (10-15 min walk). booking ahead is a must. the restaurant is not at all clubby or youthful. but yes, this area does have a lot of very bad pubs frequented by loutish youths.

Well, I have Wicked and Billy Elliot tickets! Whoooo!

The Victoria Palace Theatre where Billy Elliot is playing is walking distance from my hotel. Sitting in the Grand Circle unfortunately, but I'm on the middle aisle, so hopefully it will have more leg room. Theatre Monkey says it might.

Ronnie Scott's was supposed to have online booking available, but it looks like I'm going to have to call. Trying to see Stacey Kent, who, because she's playing there, I've listened to quite a bit lately and really like.

Went out today to get travel bottles for shampoo and stuff like that. Had a chat with the girl at the check out who is going to Africa next month. Everyone is travelling.

Thanks again to everyone!

I'm fascinated by all these retail experts who tell us there's nothing in a Boots they can't find in a Walgreens of CVS.

Are there more than a handful of either chain's branches selling even the tinest proportion of Boots No 7 toiletries and cosmetics? Or any at all selling Botanics, Detox or Time Dimensions?

It's no accident that our women have the world's best complexions and that they almost ALL choose their basic skincare from Boots' private label products.

It is, however, tricky to buy more than emergency products from the Heathrow Boots branches available to arriving passengers. Go to a decent-sized branch in town (store locator at boots.co.uk) for the full cosmetic and skincare range.

"It's no accident that our women have the world's best complexions and that they almost ALL choose their basic skincare from Boots' private label products."

Some British women have beautiful complexions; some have terrible complexions and most have average. No better than I've seen elsewhere in Europe. Sun exposure and cigarette smoking do plenty of harm to those British complexious that bucket loads of Boots products won't fix. And British women do love those beach holidays, tanning salons and nicotine.

As for all women with beautiful complexions shopping at Boots, again, how silly. Our nearest Space NK does booming business with British women.

I've used some of those lines mentioned above and found that some worked great and some I tossed after the first couple of uses. Among those we tossed were the "Takeaways" travel size hair products.

i do not wish to offend here...but if one wishes to use evaluation of a nation's compexions as an indicator of where to purchase toiletries (a scientifically problematic pursuit, indeed), i would suggest france over england (the OP is also travelling to paris). french women age very well as compared to her cousins north of the channel. btilke cites ciggies and sun...my first thought was drink and rough living but this is debatable and probably in questionable taste anyway....i will end this strand of debate here and let the OP and the rest of us make up our own minds.

as for boots itself, each consumer has his or her own thoughts. the store is really nothing special and it is clearly struggling with its business model. they have the worst dentists in the country so they are inept as providing healthcare (ughhh, nhs surgeries are next).

they sell prams but can't decide if they want to go high end or low end...and they don't have anyone available to talk about the £600 prams (lashed to the floor so trying them is not possible) so they should not bother trying to sell them and should just aim at the low end. poor business model.

boots suffers from many of the same problems as M&S....the "they just do" business model. the idea that britons just buy their _____ at the store and that's the way it always has been and always will be. the problem is that they increasingly don't. young people don't care about boots any more than they care about m&s. tesco, sainsbury, etc are eating boots lunch when it comes to selling low to mid-range personal care products. specialty retailers that offer a more interesting and fun shopping experience like lush, body shop etc have stepped in to take the mid to higher end.

just about every store sells store brand products (boots, cvs, morrisons, superdrug, walgreens, asda, etc). most products are made by just a few suppliers and most store brands are lower priced copies of the proprietary brands - with the packaging of the store brands closely resembling the famous brands. boots was no exception to this.

a while ago boots decided to market their store brand not as lower priced copies but as a distinct boots brand with a more unified look across the whole range rather than each individual product made to resemble the market leading product from the famous brands. same products just a different marketing strategy.

this is why boots brand products enjoy a greater status than store brand copies of famous brands that are offered in stores such as morrisons, cvs, walgreens etc. as btilke says, some are good, some are bad...but overall, they are nothing special, just regular store brand products marketed in a different way. probably a good marketing decision but not enough to rescue boots from its perpetual decline.

it's heresy to say but boots and m&s are nothing special.

My apologies, I guess maybe I should have been clearer. I'm a 40 year old, straight, single, male who has no interest in cosmetics. Maybe the questions about musicals threw people off. I guess I should have asked about pubs and football.

I am finding the discussion about complexion and nationality very interesting though. So, please, continue. :-))

Another question. I arrive in Paris at Gare du Nord. My hotel is the Hilton Arc de Triomphe located between the Arc and Parc Monceau. Closest metro station is Courcelles.

Am I OK taking the metro from La Chapelle to Courcelles or better to take a taxi? A couple bags to tote. How does one get to the La Chapelle station from Gare du Nord? Is it a walk outside or can I get there inside the station or through the metro underground? Is there a better way?

Thanks again! This site is awesome!

bookmark

From the gare du Nord to La Chapelle metro is a walk of a couple of hundred yards. The metro map implies there's some sort of dedicated walkway from the gare du Nord, but I don't remember seeing it.

Line 2 is elevated at this point. I can't remember if there's a lift at la Chapelle, but if not, there's a deal of stairs to climb. The same applies if you take line 4 to change at Barbes- Rochechouart. Come to that, it's a bit of a hike from Metro Courcelles to the hotel, which is much nearer Bvd. Haussmann.

But it looks to me as though Bus 43 direct from the Gare du Nord would get you a within a few hundred yards of the hotel without having to change lines or climb stairs. Compare the map for the hotel's address at www.pagesjaunes.fr with the bus map at www.ratp.info/orienter/cv/cartebus.php (just click on the gare du Nord for the route to be highlighted).

Thanks Patrick!

Is there any problems with baggage on a bus? Close quarters?

I would favor the bus, too. Not 0nly is Métro La Chapelle about a half mile from Gare du Nord (there is a rear entrance to the RER platform, but I don't know where it comes out), but climbing up and down is unavoidable.

There is room for luggage on the floor adjacent to the rear doors of RATP buses. During commuting hours, this space may not be available.

Here is where to get on the N° 43 at Gare du Nord:

http://www.ratp.info/picts/plans/pdf.../gare_nord.pdf

And where to alight at Haussman-Courcelles:

http://www.ratp.info/orienter/f_plan...mp;partenaire=

museums in london are free

son't buyt cosmetics unless you have to - head for oxford st or harrods and ask for samples of your favorites from the counter. They have them hidden but will usually find some for you.

The body shop also gives samples if you ask.

if you want things like shampoo go to a supermarket (tesco / sainsbury / waitrose in london) and buy their own brands £0.40 for a huge bottle.

We tend to use the post office rather than fed ex.

Tate modern is a great idea. Enjoy yourself

Thank you sashh.

I've gone back and forth and have finally decided a few things. Contrary to popular opinion, I am going to buy toiletries in London, so I can avoid taking them. I'm trying to get my baggage down to one check and one carry. Something had to go.

I also got $50 in Pounds and $50 in Euros before the trip. First trip out of the country, travel and time anxiety, I just wanted one less thing to worry about. Once I become a seasoned world traveller, maybe I'll stop doing that. I just want to get from LHR to my hotel in the daze I'm likely to be in from jet lag and excitement.

Have all hotels confirmed, though Priceline did screw up the name on one of the reservations, which I had corrected when I confirmed. Glad I took the time to do that.

I had an interesting conversation with my boss yesterday. About 6 months ago when I started planning this trip, I had read an article about people taking a year and living in a different country. The article mostly focused on a family that moved from the US to Italy to live and work for a year. They called it a "cultural sabatical." Anyway, I thought that might be fun, but I wasn't sure about a whole year. I have dogs and wouldn't want to upset their lives or be without them.

I work for a mega-corp with offices all over the globe. I asked my boss if he'd be OK with my going to Paris for a month, and just working from the Paris office. Paris was just an example, I'm not sure that I'd want to go there, but who knows. This trip is a bit of a scouting trip. He was almost giddy about that idea. Secretly I think he wants to go to Italy. So much so that he's told anyone who would listen about the idea.

Fast forward to yesterday. My boss' wife wants them to go to Columbia for 6 weeks so they can adopt another child. Her justification for going for 6 weeks, was because he agreed that I could go to Paris for a month. I had to appologize to him for putting the idea in her head. :-)

So along with visiting Paris, I may actually HAVE to give it some thought about going for a month. I can work anywhere as long as I can connect to the Internet. My previous boss just moved to London, so there is that option too. And I know a few people in Hong Kong. Anyway.

Thanks again to everyone! I think I'm ready to go and have a much better plan.

Lifestyle sabbatical. My mistake.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12666060/site/newsweek/