Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - London

Intro
I thought I’d provide a little bit of background before posting the report. I find it interesting to know a little about the posters as it put the reports in context. So here goes.

The reason for the trip was I had a meeting in London on Tuesday. We had a points ticket that needed to be booked by November 5th, or the points would be lost. (We had a flight booked last New Year which we had to cancel within 21 days of departure. This meant we weren’t able to have the miles credited back to the account – rather had to use them on another itinerary within one year of making the original booking). Therefore, concluded that wombat8 (W8) would come along for the ride and I’d extend the trip slightly.

We both know London reasonably well, having lived there for several years in the late ‘70s. My work also takes me to London several times a year. We wanted to use the short time to see some new things and increase our knowledge of some places we had been to previously.

Saturday – Departure
Early evening flight to London with an 18:20 departure. I usually prefer a later departure as it is easier to sleep on the flight – but this was the flight with the flat beds and it would also give us more time on the ground given that the trip was to be such a short one.

After everyone was on board and door shut, pilot said that we would be pushing back but not taking off for 40 minutes or so – apparently the head winds were so strong that if we took off on time we’d get to London before the legal 06:00 landing time (I assume that the pilot took into account the apparently mandatory 15 mins flying around Heathrow).

Once we took off, the flight was just as I like them – uneventful with good service. To while away some of the time I watched “Indiana and the Zimmerframe” – well okay “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”. Even with the fast forward button I couldn’t get through the whole movie. I was left with the feeling that the movie was one huge improv. “No need with a script this time Harrison, just make it up as you go along and we’ll back-fill the story.” W8 watched the whole movie and informed me that the crystal blows up at the end (sorry I guess I should have given a warning of the plot spoiler there!)

 Sunday – Brompton Cemetery, V&A and organ recital
 Settling in
Flight landed on time at Terminal 3. Heathrow was still relatively quiet as we de-planed for the long march to immigration. The line was pretty short when we got there and the line at the fast track even shorter. We had to wait about 10 mins for the bag to arrive. I can do carry-on only and sometimes choose to do so. I am not, however, a carry-on Nazi as I work on the principle that sometimes you might as well just check a bag. I had work clobber with me, including papers and laptop and W8 wanted to try out the Asus EEEPC in the UK (BBC iplayer in particular). We also had the video cam and a couple of digital SLRs – so a checked bag it was. I am a plastic cable tie fan and happily pack electronics in checked luggage.

We had planned on just a short stop at the arrivals lounge for a shower and cup of coffee but we had forgotten about the Grand Prix in Shanghai. What with Hamilton’s apparent meltdown in Japan, we were keen to see how he would do in this one. So we decided to watch the first couple of laps before heading into town. Hamilton had a good start from pole and, when left, he seemed to be doing all the right things to secure a win. (We later found out that he did win and so now, even if Masa wins in Brazil, Hamilton only needs to be in top five to get the championship – hopefully he will do it this time.)

Feeling refreshed by the shower and somewhat rejuvenated by the coffee we headed though the HSBC rabbit warren to the tube station. I used to find those ads interesting – “scary/reassuring”, “love/loathe”, “perfect/imperfect” etc – but in light of the financial markets these days, and the banks in particular, I mentally re-write them “greedy/incompetent”, “thief/banker” – you get the general idea.

Take the tube to Hammersmith to change for the district to Westminster – noticing the doors opening on both the left and right side of the train (sorry couldn’t resist that one!).

Journey to Westminster took a little under an hour and we take the elevator to the ticket floor office – which means we only have a few stairs exiting in front of the Big Ben Clocktower looking resplendent in the sun. It is a little after nine as we cross Westminster Bridge. Her Majesty’s finest are stopping cars on the bridge – we cannot work out the common element in the stopped vehicles – a panel van, a car with Belgium plates and a mini.

A short walk across the bridge leads us to our hotel for the three nights in London - the County Hall Marriott. We have the first night on points and the second two nights covered by my meeting. I like CHM very much and have stayed there about 10 times in the last year or so, so my following comments are clearly biased. Good to approach the hotel on a Sunday morning because the bridge was not knee deep in tourists. The hotel is in the old County Hall of London which was the headquarters of the London County Council and later the Greater London Council – which means that the hotel has a lot of character, with high ceilings and plenty of space, even in the corridors. Some hotels feel cramped but CHM has never felt that way to me. The location on the South Bank is wonderful as it is easy walking distance to the West End and has wonderful views of the Houses of Parliament. The renovations are finally finished and we could use the Westminster Bridge Rd entrance. The grass on the wedding cake tiered roundabout is almost back – but, I think, won’t be back to its former glory until next spring.

We went to check in and there seemed to be a problem with our reservation. We had a reservation for the first night (the points reservation that I made myself), but nothing for the following two nights. The reservation was at the Marriott Marble Arch (mental note to self, when someone else makes the reservation for you check that they have made it at the right hotel). “No problem”, she said, “Let me see what I can do.” She cancelled the Marble Arch reservation and gave me a room at CHM, honouring the corporate rate (which I know had been sold out because a colleague had been unable to get that rate at CHM the week before). Not surprisingly, a room was not available but, confident that we did at least now have a reservation for three nights in the same hotel, we dropped off the bags after rummaging through the suitcase to get out the cameras and notes for the day (mental note to self, pack this stuff in carryon – or make it more accessible).

The police had lost their interest in cars when we crossed the bridge again. A Japanese film crew was far more interesting. Not exactly sure what the issue was (difficult to pick up all the details when you are trying not to appear nosy), but we did hear one of the plods telling the person on other end of his radio that “The camera was trained on any sensitive parts.”

Dismissing the images of “sensitive parts” we walked up Whitehall to Trafalgar Square. The construction on Whitehall continues – widening the pavements. It seems to have been going on for years but perhaps I am exaggerating. When it is finished the pavements will be wider but there will also be more bollards/barriers – a sign of the times which I suppose will eventually just blend into the landscape, in the same way that it now seems normal for Downing Street to be cordoned off. Having said that, the sight of three policemen in bullet proof vests and one cop carrying what seemed to be a sub-machine gun has not yet achieved “normal status” in my eyes – for which I am grateful.

After walking around Trafalgar Square and getting rid of some of the cobwebs, we went to meet a friend who moved to London a couple of years ago. She lives near Westminster Cathedral, so we jumped on a bus and were there in a few minutes. I had forgotten what a strange building Westminster Cathedral is – part Hagia Sophia/part St Pancras – a combination that does not work for me.

 Brompton Cemetery
Walked up to Victoria and caught the #211 bus on Buckingham Palace Road headed to Hammersmith. We were reasonably certain we knew which stop we needed but thought we would double check when we were close. The driver had not heard of Brompton Cemetery and, more worryingly, had his eyes closed when I asked him – wouldn’t have mattered so much but the bus was not stopped! A fellow passenger confirmed the next stop was the right one and we gladly left the bus and off it went – who knows whether the driver had his eye open all the way.

We entered Brompton Cemetery on the south side. It is one of the Victorian Magnificent Seven (the others are Kensal Green, West Norwood, Highgate, Nunhead, Abney Park and Tower Hamlets). This would be my third of the seven. Brompton struck me as quite an urban cemetery – probably because it has a formal layout with a central boulevard.

I like cemeteries, except for war cemeteries which are just too sad. Having said that, some of the graves that caught our eye were military. The grave of General Alexander Anderson had a block with a dozen canon balls on it. Some of the canon balls had place names engraved on them – presumably places where the General saw service – unfortunately one of the canon balls was missing – a souvenir for someone no doubt.

We had noticed a sign at the beginning of the cemetery saying something about filming but had given it little attention. In the middle of the cemetery there was a strange statue of a winged animal that would fit in to a Ghostbusters movie set. I asked what was going on and heard that “Alimentary Productions” would be filing there the following week. We all looked blank and the man said that there was a clue in the title of production company – as I was racking my brain for movies to do with the digestive system the man repeated “Elementary Productions” ah Baker Street as opposed to Harley Street. The movie with Jude Law and Robert Downey Junior – unfortunately we were several days too early. Still it was interesting to see the set and perhaps we’ll recognize it if we ever see “Holmes”.

The northern side of the cemetery seems more affluent – or at least the tombs more impressive, so we were glad out careful planning had dictated a start in the south (well perhaps it did have more to do with the location of the pub we had chosen). Near the northern gate is the Brigs mausoleum with a wonderful verdigris door.

I love the symbols used in the graveyards and vow to find a book that provides more detail as my current knowledge is somewhat limited – wreaths being circular are a symbol of eternal life, broken columns meaning that life was cut short, an urn with a shroud the head of the family?

There are numerous grey squirrels in the cemetery who are well versed in the universal sign language for “Hey, you, got any nuts?” Unfortunately we did not and they were not well pleased – so if you are going to Brompton Cemetery be sure to take some nuts along with you.

Leaving the cemetery by the north gate we exited onto Fulham Road, turned right, walked over the bridge and took the first left onto Seagrave Road and found the Atlas. It was relatively empty, so we had no difficulty getting a prime spot to enjoy a pint of London Pride for W8, a pint of a guest ale (sorry I have forgotten which one ) for me and a glass of wine for our friend. A pleasant pub that hasn’t been unnecessarily tarted up.

Victoria and Albert Museum
Next stop was the V&A so caught the #11 bus in front of West Brompton tube. The plan for the V&A was to be disciplined, focus on a few galleries and not go into cultural overload. A sound plan that lasted for about 10 minutes until a gallery that was not on the plan looked particularly interesting – oh well, flexibility is important as well.

We meandered through the galleries – firstly spending time in the Gilbert Bayes Sculpture gallery. In addition to some wonderful sculpture there are some interesting videos showing how the sculptures were made.

The next gallery that we spent much time in was the one with the stained glass and sacred silver. It reasonably sunny outside and so the light through the stained glass was wonderful.

The final galleries that we spent time in were those with the Constables and Turners – I can’t even remember exactly where they were now. The Constable “sketches” are incredible as they are oils and a good size. There was a study of an elm tree that was superb – you could almost smell the moss on the tree.

Completely overwhelmed after a couple of hours we staggered through the gift shop and onto the “quiet” of Brompton Road. Even with the traffic whipping by it was not such an assault on the senses. For me, part of the reason that the V&A is intense is the variety – not just the art, but sculpture, and silver, and stained glass and jewellery etc etc.

We decided that it would be good to walk off the excess and so walked through the high price real estate of Belgravia and into Westminster, arriving at Westminster Abbey at 17:20.

Westminster Abbey Organ Recital
The gates in front of the main entrance were closed when we got there and we were told that they would open at 17:30. While we waited we saw several of the Lord Mayor’s cars come out of the abbey. The 15:30 evensong was attended by the Lord Mayor of Westminster and the Mayors of the London Boroughs – we didn’t see balmy Boris ride off on his bike – I guess the City of London is not a borough.

The gates opened on time and there was a bit of a scramble to get into the Abbey for the best seats. The recital was excellent – Robert Quinney the “sub-organist” was playing. Great title – “sub-organist’. The three pieces were varied starting with a piece of Bach, followed by a couple of Vaughan Williams pieces. The second piece was from the fifth symphony which has been arranged for the organ – quite sublime – even if lack of sleep was beginning to catch up with us and caused W8 to nod off a bit.

Evening
Heading back to the County Hall we stopped off at St Stephen’s Tavern for a bite to eat but nothing on the menu took our fancy and we went back to the hotel arriving just after 19:00.

Picked up the key to the room and was pleased to see that we had room 208 – while it is a long walk from the elevators it is a very large room with a king size bed and a separate sitting area with a sofa and a couple of chairs. The view is over Jubilee Garden with a good view of the Eye – i.e. you can see out to the eye but it is not directly in front of the window – a problem with some of the Thames View rooms.

Dropped off the bags and freshened up before deciding noodles would hit the spot before turning. Went to Aji which is on the corner of Westminster Bridge Rd and Belvedere Rd. The place is purportedly based on noodle bars in Tokyo. It is a no fuss minimalist type of place with wide tables and benches seating two, four, six etc. A TV plays manga - a rather disconcerting Japanese style cartoon featuring an androgynous person with a dog(?) fighting crime and riding a motor bike around the place – while still conveying the image of a school girl with large sock around her ankles – all very strange.

Still serve is quick and food hits the spot – I choose the noodle soup option (you choose the type of noodle, the broth, the meat and three toppings) soba, miso, chicken, tofu, beansprouts and greens. W8 goes for the spicy beef yakisoba (too tired by now to make a choice I wonder). Both were tasty and portions were more than enough. We paid the bill of £15 and headed back to the room, stopping off for some diet tonic route.

With the feeling that we’d had a good first day on the ground we got back to the room. Watched the second episode of Stephen Fry in America while having a night cap gin and tonic (no limes!). Stephen Fry, the “national treasure”, tours the US in a black cab – apparently visiting each of the 50 states. We’d watched the first episode on iplayer and were interested to see the second. I liked the fact that Fry said “So I wanted to make an American series which was not about how amusingly un-ironic and ignorant Americans are, nor about religious nuts and gun-toting militiamen, but one which tried to penetrate everyday American life at many levels and across the whole United States.”

His enthusiasm for the country was obvious – it was wonderful to see him “sample” bourbon in Kentucky – huge samples it seemed and we watched the national icon gradually get sloshed. Unfortunately his take on Florida was less kind.

And finally to bed – the wonderful Marriott bed that is one of the reasons I frequent CHM.

All in all a great first day, unfortunately the forecast for tomorrow is neither “fresh” nor “brisk” but “cloudy with scattered showers” (aka rain) so fall asleep with the knowledge that the planned day of Greenwich needs to be re-written with some of the back-up plans.