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Stragic, I will be in London in a couple of weeks with my kids and they all want to go to Kings Cross as that is where part of the Harry Potter movie was filmed. Would you feel safe going during the day? Thanks so much for all the other information on your trip. We can't wait.

Stragic, Absolutely I am enjoying your trip report. Four of us are going in the middle of March, 2 of us (my husband and I) for the first time. We will only be there for a week and any information is helpful. I know we won't be able to see everything, but your experiences as well as others is valuable in deciding just what to place on our must do list. Keep the info coming...I am enjoying it all, especially the personal things!

To trainman: I'm sure you and your family will be fine at King's Cross during the day time (or even night time for that matter). We felt that outside KC/SP station was more run down than the other parts of London we had seen. In December they were doing a lot of construction in that area too. Plus, there were A LOT of people since it is a major station (we're not used to the big city) and on top of all that we were hungry and confused about which way to walk to get to the British Library. So overall, that is why I think we had such a negative/unsafe feeling. Nothing happened to us or anyone around us that we noticed. Just a feeling-which it never hurts to pay attention to in order to be on the safe side. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)-originally I had wanted to see Les Miserables, however, when we reached the theatre the matinee had just ended and it was Sunday=only matinees. So, the next best thing was the CWWSA. The theatre has a student rate of 14 pounds/person for the stalls which is cheaper than the rate at the LS discount ticket booth. They did ask to see our university IDs and we had to pay cash. Since we had used nearly all our pounds the night before at dinner (in order to get rid of them!) we had to go to the ATM to get cash-bummer! The play was ABSOLUTELY worth it though. GREAT SEATS! Close enough to see but far enough away so as not to become a real part of the show...you'll know what I mean when you go :) It was one actor's birthday so the audience sang "Happy Birthday" to him-what fun! We're such budget travelers though and may be a tad uncouth but rather than paying for the drinks at the theatre during intermission we drank our own juice pouches and no one cared. After the play, we went back to the hotel to pack :( We had a 10:05 flight in the morning so we knew we'd have to be up early to catch the Gatwick Express and check in at the airport.

What follows is my advice and observations regarding London (Restaurants will be covered after this): -In big Tube/train stations (Victoria, Waterloo) buy snacks at the Whitlestop grocery store. They have potato chips, sandwiches, candy, soda and anything else you might need. The Cherry Court Hotel did not provide shampoo so we bought a small 2 in 1 English brand that when we use at home now reminds us of the trip. Coke is much cheaper to drink when you buy it at the Whistlestop rather than at restaurants. -Ask for tap water at restaurants if you want water to drink. I hate the confusion of all the bottled waters so by saying tap water they always knew what I meant. -Pack light! For 7 days/nights we each brought ONE school size backpack (and my boyfriend's bag had the video and still camara equipment in it!) Actually, we brought too many sweaters because we thought it was going to be cold. Logic told us that since Paris was freezing at this time last year and we were going further north than Paris, it would be SUPER cold in London. But it wasn't! My boyfriend said he wished he had brought more T-shirts! The point? You really never know what the weather will be like until you get there. Have a balance of light and heavy clothing-BUT PACK IT IN ONE CARRY ON BAG! -Only bring carry ons. This saves time in checking in, getting out, and no worries about lost luggage. Actually, when we arrived back in the states at Dallas/Ft. Worth we were the first people to go through immigration/customs (?) and no one was behind us because they were all waiting on their bags. The man asked us, "Do you have any bags?" and I said yes-pointing to the backpack that was clearly strapped to my back. Guess they don't see many international travelers going it so lightly. -Drink LOTS of water! Every morning while having breakfast in the room I would make sure we drank several glasses of water. We felt so much better on this trip compared to our Paris trip because this time we were hydrated! -The down side of this is that I had to pee every 15 minutes! However, it was worth it because I felt so much better-I felt ALIVE compared to Paris! -Observation-London water tastes much better to me than Paris water. -English trashcans in public restrooms are funny looking-long, narrow, rectangular. -Meuseum restroom soap smells really good-apples-yum! -London IMHO lacks the European feel that Paris has. This isn't a bad thing-just different. -London was very easy to get around because we knew the language! We were never afraid to ask a question.

stragic, Thanks for the report! I just got back last Wednesday and also posted a trip report (yours is funnier). And, although I am older than you (33) I share many of the same thoughts/experiences: Tower of London was fabulous with the beefeater tour; Shakespeare's Abridged was hilarious; we briefly walked by Buck Palace just to say we saw it etc... Another point of interest for those who may want to see the Magna Carta. There are 4 copies left - the best preserved one is in Salisbury Cathedral in Salisbury (obviously, I guess). We saw that copy and didn't go to the British Library. But, we didn't drink tap water. Fizzy water for us! (I drink club soda at home). Glad you had fun. I loved it there.

Stragic, Thanks for the info on Kings Cross. And thanks for the great trip report! It sounds like you had a great time. I think I'll show my wife your packing advice, although I know she will still insist on packing WAY too much.

Stragic: Wonderful report! I can't wait for my visit! Also, I have to know . . . what exactly IS the castle in the cup? Thanks! =0) Jennie

Thoroughly enjoying your trip report! We're going in May - also planning to stay at Cherry Court. Since you stayed at a low-cost hotel, I'm anxiously awaiting your restaurant reviews - we will definitely be on a tight budget! kathy

Trainman, just a note about taking your son to see where "track 9 1/2" would be at Kings Cross: Tracks 9 and 10 are not in the main building. You'll go into the station and, staying to your left, walk past the tracks (toward the comfort station). Take the far doors outside on your left and you'll see a smaller building to the right. Tracks 9 and 10 are in that little building.

To Jennie-The Castle in the Cup or German Castle Cup is, according to DK Eyewitness Travel Guide on London, "a castellated, turreted copper gilt extravaganza." It is from the 15th century and is basically an intricate piece of metalwork with a castle sitting on top of a cup. The funny thing about it was when I saw it in the guidebook I was like, "I don't want to see that or go to the Victoria and Albert." But then my boyfriend looked at the book...and the only thing he thought looked cool was THE CASTLE IN THE CUP!-What a geek :) Restaurants- Deep Pan Pizza Company-We ate here twice. Once for lunch, a bargain all you can eat buffet for 5.45 pounds/person. Sodas are 1.60 pounds. The pizza was not that great but it was ALL you can eat which is what we were about on this trip. We rarely ate in Paris so we gorged on this trip! The other time we ate here was for dessert. The largest dish of ice cream and candy EVER! There is one in Leicester Square area and another on the third floor of Victoria Train Station. McDonald's-we ate here twice because it was on the third floor of Victoria Train Station so it was really easy to grab a bite...and it was a great deal since they have a 99 pence menu. Note...at this McDonald's they do not give you free refills on soda-as we were used to-they only give free refills on tea. Garfunkel's-a local chain restaurant. We went to the one in Leicester Square. Good food but expensive for us at 31.70 pounds for lunch=about $50.00. We did get two desserts though! It's so funny because we NEVER buy dessert at restaurants in the US and then we buy TWO at one place in London! ***Mabels Tavern*** This place is EXCELLENT! It is located on the walk to the British Library. It is basically across the street from the British Library. From King's Cross/St. Pancras Station walk down Euston Road toward the library, you will pass Judd Street on your left. The next street on your left, Mabledon Place, is where you want to turn. You can see Mabels Tavern from the road. What a lucky find! We were hungry and about to have a fight about where to eat when it seemed the heavens parted and illuminated Mabels Tavern :) We got two meals (great chicken and fish and chips), one beer to split, some potato wedges, and a piece of chocolate cake-skip the cake as it is nothing special for 17.20 pounds! This was a great deal for such great food! Plus, the interior was very traditional English in design so it had a great atmosphere. Had to ask about seating ourselves first and how all that worked. Seat yourself and then order and pay at the bar. Pizzaria in Harrod's-really good pizza but really expensive at $24.50 (US) for a large and one coke. Other places we ate were just for quick bites. Inside Victoria Train Station: Upper Crust-great sandwiches but a little expensive for what you get at around 3.50 pounds each. Souper Douper-great creamy potato soup again a bit expensive for what you actually get. In the Natural History Museum the snackbar...cheese and tomato sandwich-not so good. Jacket potato with chili con carne so good we almost bought another one after we finished the first! The Cherry Court Hotel gives you enough breakfast: 1 orange, 1 tangerine, 1 banana, 2 apples, 2 cereal bars, 1 package of 3 cookies and 2 juice pouches every day so that you will not get hungry for awhile. We always took the cookies and juice for a snack during the day (sounds like we're 5 years old!) The BBQ Kettle Chips at the Whistlestop are a great snack.

Just a note on the airline we took: British Airways. The only other airline we've flown internationally on is American Airlines so that is what I am basing this comparison on. Seat size and leg room-although AA is reported to have more room in coach my boyfriend and I found the seats and leg room equally as accomadating on BA-and we're not small people. I'm 5'7 and of average weight and my boyfriend is 6'2/290 pounds. BA was just as comfortable as AA in our opinion. food-we don't request special meals and again I'd have to say the food was very similar but AA edging out BA with better snacks. However, BA has free alcohol so food and drinks are pretty much a toss up. service-when we had to call to request seats on BA we did not have to wait long and the representative was nice. This compares to waiting on the phone to speak to an AA rep. for at least 30 minutes. I'm sure this varies for everyone and every airline but this was our experience. flight attendants-we thought AA edged out BA but this too will vary. When we were experiencing EXTREME turbulance over the Midwest returning to DFW the BA flight attendant actually told me this was "the worst turbulance and the longest turbulance I've ever experienced." I DO NOT need to hear that when I'm nervous and literally have my barf bag (which airlines like to so kindly call a "trash bag") out on my lap!

MelJ, Thanks for the info on Kings Cross.

ttt-because I just learned what that means! :)