In general, or just when you're around?

Both - especially the latter.

ooops not the British Museum. We went to the National Gallery.

BTW: Forgot to mention that I'm loving the report. We'll be staying nearby, at the corner of Petty France and Palmer Street, so any and all details about what's around in that neighborhood is of great interest to me.

On the hat issue--if you folks saw my hairline, you'd understand the need for something to cover my scalp when the sun is out. If I went the bowler route, I'm afraid that I'd also have to buy the suit and umbrella, and this might make me an easy mark on latter stages of the trip, in Scotland. Of course, I guess the Tam O'Shanter and kilt is de rigeur north of the border, rigth?

Thanks for the report, wolverine. I'm looking forward to hearing more!

>>Of course, I guess the Tam O'Shanter and kilt is de rigeur north of the border<<

Only if you get the kind of hat that comes complete with ginger wig attached...

Good report and good light hearted banter - keep it up it is fun as well as interesting

If you wear a kilt you can pack lighter because you won't have to wear underwear.

a hat suitable for scotland:

http://www.sillyjokes.co.uk/dress-up/wigs/seeu.html

Thanks for posting this report as it has been very enjoyable to read.

Day 3

Today we went to St. Pauls. It was absoutly beautiful. We climbed up to the wispering gallery. There was an event happening in the afternoon and they had a choir and musicians playing. It sounded lovely we just sat and enjoyed that for awhile.

We stopped at The Red Herring Pub on Wood St. for lunch. 3 meals and a round of drinks 30.00 pounds. The food was very good.

Next the Museum Of London. Only one quarter was open due to work being done. The work will be going on for quite awhile so if you will be traveling soon and you planned on visiting you may want to skip it.

We went to The Comedy Store (in piccadilly)this evening. It was 37.00 pounds for 2. We had an excellent time. I would recommend it. Mainly locals not alot of tourists. The show was great and really funny.

Maybe one of these would work? Or are only brain specialists allowed to wear these?

http://tinyurl.com/2x3qwt

Day 4

Portobello Road Market: I found a couple of good deals here but it seemed a little over priced to me. The veggie and fruit section was really the best part. It was quite crowded and the police were handing out fliers to be on the alert for pickpockets.

British Museum: It was crowded also as it was a Bank Holiday. We just saw the highlights. There were a lot of tour groups so it was hard to get close to a lot of the pieces. This is another museum that you could spend all day in.

We stopped at a little cafe-The Bon Bonniere on Woodstock St. It cost 25.10 pounds for 3 lunches plus drinks. The food was quite good.

We walked along Bond and Regent Streets window shopping. This was much better than walking through our American malls.

We stopped for dinner on our way back to our Hotel. We stopped at the Buckingham Arms Pub on Petty France in the Westminster area. 2 Meals plus drinks 11.80 pounds. The food,staff and atmosphere were great. We met a nice older couple from Australia. We talked to them for 2 hours. They were on a 9 week holiday through the United Kingdom. They were very nice and we really enjoyed the conversation.

We have had excellent weather and lovely adventures so far. London is a wonderful city. Tomorrow we are going to Hampton Court Palace.

Funny how this cap issue is so over the top ... I see lots of locals in UK wearing caps all the time. So get the h..l over it. Remember, if you do not want to look like a tourist wear all black (including the underwear), never wear a cap, and for gods sake never speak as your twangy 'mericun accent will blow your cover. Might be best to hide you pearly whites as well, so never smile either.

wolverine, I am continuing to enjoy your trip report. Did you plan where to eat ahead of time or just stop where you fancied? It sounds like you found lots of reasonably priced but tasty places.

I too was surprised to see reasonable cost for meals. We are going in July and your report about crowds and costs is very helpful to me.

thereyet

ttt

Good report...

May I ask what codes you used from Fodors to get the reduced rate on the Gatwick Express, or where to find the codes.

For the questions about food we mostly stopped in pubs & little mom/pop type places that looked busy and was mostly full of locals..we didnt on purpose go to any fancy places because of the cost..alot of times we just walked around and found the cheaper cafe or pub...The Gatwick Express code was posted before we left so we pre-ordered 4 one way tickets online and just printed out the confirmation..do a search to see if the offer is still available