Just returned from a week in London and thought I would file a quick trip report in the hopes of potentially helping others as others have helped me... To preface, this was my second trip (last was in 1993) and my husband's first, we are more history than art buffs, and we're not big foodies.

Day 1 - Arrived at Heathrow at 9 a.m.; took Underground to Russel Square; checked in to Thanet Hotel (room ready on arrival and they gave us a triple instead of the double we booked!); walked to Aldwych and got on a hop-on-hop-off tour bus for a double-decker, open top tour of the city. got off in Trafalgar Square; 25 minute walk back to hotel; dinner at local Indian place in Bloomsbury.

Day 2 - Enjoyed full English breakfast; got back on big bus tour (tickets are for 24 hours) for a few stops; Westminster Abbey (got audio tour); Houses of Parliament; walked down Whitechapel to #10 Downing Street, Horseguards; visited Cabinet War Rooms (excellent!); Buckingham Palace; walked through St. James Park, Admiralty Arch, to Leicester Square; checked out TKTS ticket booth availability; had tea and scones at Rendezvous cafe; walked back to hotel; London Walks Jack the Ripper walking tour (good, but mobbed with people); post-walk pizza at ASK in Bloomsbury

Day 3 - Got theater tix at TKTS; tube to Notting Hill Gate for Portabello Road market; tasty pub lunch (steak and ale pie); walked through Kensington; visited Science Museum (good for kids, but not so much for just us); tube to hotel; walked to theater to see "Stones in His Pockets" (cute and funny); walked around Covent Garden (crazy on Saturday night); to hotel.

Day 4 - British Museum (Highlights audio tour, but I'd recommend the eyeOpener tours); another tasty pub lunch while watching rugby with the locals; shopping in Covent Garden (yummy Lush bath stuff); tea at local cafe... dinner at another local Indian place.

Day 5 - Tower of London (love those Yeoman tours); lunch at the Museum of London cafe, then tour of museum (a new favorite - go at the start of your trip, wonderful place!); tube to Bond Street for Oxford Street shopping; walked to more shopping on Regent Street; tea at Fortnum and Mason; walked to TKTS booth at 6:30 to see if anything left for that night - got 3rd row tickets to "The Woman in Black"; enjoyed the show!; walked about the Leicester Square/Covent Garden area; ate some bad Mexican (we new better, but we were tired and hungry).

Day 6 - Second trip to British Museum; tube to Notting Hill Gate; walk through Kensington Gardens; nice lunch at The Orangery; walked across park to Hyde Park, then south to Knightsbridge; visited Harrods; cream tea at Richoux across the street; tube to Waterloo to try and watch the sun set over the Thames; walked across Hungerford Bridge and then back again - great views of sparkling city skylines; tube back to hotel; dinner at Porter's in Covent Garden (simple, yummy, affordable, nice staff); stopped for our favorite foodstuffs at the market on the way home; pack for home

Day 7 - Flight back home...

Post any questions if you like and, if I can, I will answer!

And now for some observations and reflections... all are just my humble opinion... London is so wonderful, with so many things, you must accept that you cannot do it all and make time to really enjoy some. Relax and have tea when you can. Its a little cheesy, but you need a break to sit back and enjoy your day. Invest in a pair of good walking shoes (they have very fashionable ones). I cannot stress this more - they will be invaluable. You won't have a good time if your feet constantly ache. See a play at least once - so many well-done choices at good prices. Take a walking tour. Take at least one small side trip from London (we did not and I regret), say Windsor Castle or Hampton Court Palace or even a day in Bath. Visit the Museum of London at the start of your trip. It was wonderful and puts the city's rich history into context. Take a bus - either tour or regular, at least once. You get a much better sense of the city. Don't agonize over your hotel choice. If you really plan to see the city, you will spend very little time in your room - and most of it will be sleeping! As long as it is comfortable and safe and well-located for your interests, you can save a lot of angst by just picking one with good reviews.

Having not been in 10 years, many things suprised me... there are Starbucks on every corner. I found this VERY disconcerting, but if you love your coffee this may be a good thing. Many tourist attractions take credit cards, but few would take pounds sterling travelers checks. Even tube tickets can be bought with credit cards. Many good things (Liberty scarves and bags, Harrods stuff, Fortnum and Mason stuff, Thomas Pink shirts) can be bought at Heathrow duty free (i.e., without the 17.5% VAT), think about this when you are shopping. If you are going to make more than 3 one-way trips on the tube per day, get a day travelcard (but make sure it doesn't get bent); if you'll be there for several days using the tube a lot, look into longer day passes (up to 1 week) - it will save you money and time. London is expensive, you know this when you go, but you will not truly appreciate this until you come home and add up how much you spent. But its worth it!

Jenabelle, I'm going to London for the first time next week, enjoyed your report immensely. Thank you!

Great report. Where did you have tea at Fortnum and Mason? I heard there are several restaurants there. Could it substitute for dinner? Was it worth doing again or did you find someplace better?

Jenabelle:
Tell me, what Mexican restaurant was this? Texas Embassy?

We had tea at the downstairs place in F&M, right off the street as the upstairs one was already done serving tea when we arrived. Downstairs is more like a casual place (but nice), some people around us were eating dinner as it was about 5. Upstairs looked nicer and serves the full afternoon tea. I was not terribly impressed with the scones or clotted cream (I had pretty high expectations) that I had, but my husband had a lovely lemon meringue pie. The tea was also quite good (brewed loose and served with strainers). I liked the scones/cream better at Richoux, which is a French type cafe - a chain I think. But they serve scones warm, which is how I personally like them. I think the Orangery would be a great spot for tea. Its a very lovely setting. I had a cheese scone with my lunch and it was quite good. Plus the staff was very nice. And then you can go for a walk in the park! I wished we had gone to a full afternoon tea at one of the renowned hotels, we just didn't want to spare the time and pounds.

As for Mexican - it was a place right on Leicester Square - Chiquitos or something like that. We wanted appetizers and a lively atmosphere. The place was lively but the food bad and the service horrible. We found out that there was a party of 25 in another room and the staff blamed everything on them (slow service, slow food). We did not expect it to be good, it was just what we were looking for at that hour (11 p.m.)

Hope you all have great trips!