My hubby and I flew from Chicago to Heathrow on American. I though the leg room was pretty good for coach (until I saw business and 1st class!). They did cut the flight time down by 1 hour which was great (it was longer on the way back). The food and service was very good. We were unable to sleep on the plane which made for a LONG day on our first day in London (I?d do an Ambian on the next overseas flight for sure!). I was able to secure a room at the Thistle Bloomsbury through Priceline for $85/night which was a bargain compared to the cost quoted to me on their web site. The room was in one of the turrets and was quite large with a nice bathroom, including a bathrobe and toiletries daily. The towels were HUGE! It was very quiet as far as street noise and the service was quite good. Breakfast was not included in our room since we got it through Priceline. There were several good breakfast places to eat nearby, but we found we liked stopping at Sainsbury?s (spelling?) which was right across from the Holborn tube stop (approx. 5 blocks away from the hotel). They had excellent pastries!! We also picked up pop, crisps, biscuits, beer, etc. there.

The first day we hopped on the tube at Heathrow for approx. an hour ride to Holborn where we managed to find the hotel in our jet lagged haze, but the room was not ready. We dropped our luggage off and headed for Camden Town Market. The tube seemed to breakdown daily as it had at this point, so we had to take a roundabout way of getting there, but we made it. Most stations had people on duty to help in case you needed assistance finding a stop, etc, but we managed on our own with no problems whatsoever. Camden Town Market was not a place I?d go back to, but fun to people watch! Didn?t buy a thing besides something to eat. However, it kept us awake! It was very interesting to see all the different hair styles, piercing, etc. After only a couple hours, we headed back to check in at the hotel and grab a bite to eat as we were really tired by then. Needless to say, we were in bed by 8:30 p.m. that night!

The next day we headed to the London Tower where we had a guided tour by a Beefeater which was very interesting. We saw the crown jewels as well. It was a little less than I expected all around, I think. I?d recommend it, though. We then walked over to the Tower Bridge which was COOL! We saw David Blaine who was suspended in a plexiglass box above the river. He was at his half way point the day we stopped. He sat up, waved, and gave the thumbs up. No one was throwing rotten produce that day, however a man was fined the next day in court for a whopping 1,000 pounds I believe for messing with his water supply line. I can?t say I?m a fan of David Blaine, but was sort of neat to see him with all the hype he was getting for doing the whole thing and for being a phoney.

Second segment: We also took in Buckingham Palace, however the changing of the guards is only every other day in the fall, so we missed that, however caught a bit of the changing of the horse guards which was pretty cool. We were also able to get pictures with the guards and horses which turned out very nice. From there, we walked on to Trafalgar Square. The lions were so cool. People were climbing up on them to pose for pictures. We ran into a man who had a trained hawk whose job it was to chase away all the pigeons. This was very interesting since we had seen a documentary several months before our trip on this very bird! He was glad to give us a demonstration of his abilities.

As we were walking down the street we stumbled upon a church (St. Matthew in the Fields?) where you could do brass rubbings in the basement. This was actually kind of cool. My hubby didn?t want to do it, but I finally convinced him and we did it together. I framed our masterpieces when we got home and hung them on the wall. It was a nice way to create something we can look back at years from now and know we did it together on our first trip to London. It was like ₤3.50 pounds each to do the rubbing, but more for larger pieces. Most pieces were medieval in nature (knights, some animals, angels, etc.) They supplied all the paper, chalk, etc. The church itself was very interesting, too. They also had other art pieces and finished brass rubbings for purchase.

Another late afternoon after several blocks of walking, we found St. Paul?s Cathedral. It is being cleaned right now and is covered with scaffolding and tarps, so we had a hard time finding it. By the time we got there it was 5 p.m. or so, but the doors were open, so we went it. They were having a daily church service, which was wonderful. The choir began to sing and I got goose bumps! Neither of us is religious at all, but we certainly enjoyed the experience. I?d HIGHLY recommend attending a service if you have the time as it was wonderful. The church is gorgeous.

Another day we took in Westminster Abby which is a definite recommendation. If you can, purchase the guide book in the gift shop before you take the self guided tour. I bought mine afterwards. It gives lots of info that would?ve made the tour more meaningful. I had no idea it was so huge or that there were actual people buried within it. There is also an old church right next door, but the name escapes me. It is open for people to walk through as well and is very interesting. The same day we also took in Parliament and Big Ben. What a site! I had been waiting practically all my life to see Big Ben in person and it didn?t disappoint me one bit! I will never forget that sound. We also stopped back one night and took pictures, which I would suggest doing. There were tours of Parliament during the time we were there, but we did not tour it as we had so much to do in such little time. The London Eye was something to see as well. I never realized how BIG it was. We also saw a documentary on the construction of the Eye, so seeing it in person was extra special for us. It was quiet expensive to take a ride, though, so we did not, but I kind of wished we would?ve. I think it would?ve been a great place for taking pictures.

Third segment: We also took in several museums: Natural History, V & A (in the evening?not crowded!!), Art Museum, British Museum, etc. All were excellent! You actually need a whole day in each to really see everything in each museum. We picked out what we thought we?d most like to see and went from there. LOTS of walking, so wear comfy shoes! I personally liked the Natural History and British Museums best of all. All were free to get in.

The whole time we were to be in London the weather called for rain, however it only ended up raining for a total of one hour during which time we went to the Cabinet War Rooms. This was excellent and a place no one should miss. Definitely take the free audio tour as it was very informative. This I believe was approx. ₤7 and well worth it.

One day we grabbed some lunch for take away (Pret a Manger had excellent sandwiches and wonderful crisps!) and headed to Hyde Park which was pretty neat. The geese and ducks were so tame. I wished I?d saved a crumb or two for them, but I was too hungry from all the walking! I did get a couple pictures with them. The squirrels would also eat out of your hand. There were dogs galore here, too. They were not supposed to ?worry? the birds or animals, but some did, anyway since they were let off leash to run. We had to laugh at one greyhound who actually jumped a tall fence to chase a squirrel who barely got away! I hated to see it, but it was funny! I was surprised at the amount of dogs we saw. I won?t forget when I saw six dogs all waiting outside a post office for their owners. Some were tied up, but others just sat patiently waiting. This seemed to be a common practice.

The food we had was good, but expensive. Pub food and some take away places were a bit cheaper, though. We really had hoped to eat more traditional English foods, but we had a hard time finding any placed that served them. We did eat at one place twice which was near the British Museum which served excellent Shepard?s Pie. The places mainly seemed to serve Italian, Chinese, or Indian foods. I did have the best lasagna I?ve ever eaten while on this trip! I can?t complain about anything we had to eat, though. The pub food was also good. My hubby tried I think every kind of beer (maybe twice)!! The pastries were excellent as well!

Fourth segment: We found the Underground to be very simple to use. It was quite clean and appeared to be very safe. It is similar to that of the Metro in Washington DC, but on a much larger scale. We even managed with all our luggage. It?s definitely the cheap and easy way to get around. I?d recommend a 7 day pass. The entertainment in the Underground was wonderful! I thought to myself ?why are these people playing, singing, etc. down here?? Some of those people were very good and I couldn?t understand why they weren?t in a symphony, etc. I later found out from a local person that many are actually music students trying to earn extra money to pay for their tuition.

One night we decided to head down to Piccadilly Circus where we did some shopping and happened upon the movie premiere for Sean Connery?s new film. We got to see Sean and the other stars of the movie. This was pretty neat. After that, we strolled down the street and over a few blocks, ending up in Soho which was kind of a shocker for me. We passed one store front (if you?d call it that) where a young lady, scantily clothed sat with the red light on her (literally) advertising her services. As I had never seen anything like this, I was shocked. Needless to say, we turned around and headed back to more familiar territory for dinner that night!

Overall, the trip was wonderful. I?d never hesitate to go back. We?d hoped to take the train to Paris for the day, but there was just so much to see and do in London that it didn?t happen. I know we?ll be back as we?d like to see Bath and the country side of England as well. I?d also like to visit Scotland and Ireland. Oh, the list is so long and you can only stretch your vacation so far! In the meantime, we have fond memories of our trip to London!

If I can be of any help to anyone planning a trip, please don?t hesitate to e-mail me ([email protected]) or post, although I don?t check the postings as often. I?d be glad to help in any way I can as people are always so helpful to me when I?m planning our trips. Happy and safe travels!

Tia

Tia - glad to hear you had a great time in London. I really enjoy reading reports about people's travels to London - I live here.

I thought comparing our Tube system to the Washington DC metro was very complimentary. I think the DC metro is great, I am less sure about our Tube - it's excellent in some ways but it's hampered by its age and years of underfunding.

Tia - can you give any names of restaurants or pubs where you had good food? It sounds like you found some winners! Thanks!

Great report, thanks!

The brass rubbings are done in the crypt of St. Martin's in the Fields, near the National Gallery, and they also have a respectable cafeteria in the crypt.

You're right about the name of the church. I should've written these things down as my memory is going, I guess! It was a fun thing to do. There were TONS of people eating in the cafe when we were there and it was mid afternoon, too. I honestly don't remember the names of the places we ate. Most of them were in the Bloomsbury area as that's where our hotel was and we seemed to end up there for dinner most nights. One I remember is across from the British Museum called Munchkins which had excellent Shepard's pie. There is another Italian place maybe two blocks away that had the best Lasagna ever! Basically, we looked at the menus which were nearly always posted outside until we found a place that sounded good to us. We also ate in a Greek restaurant, but I forget which neighborhood it was in. It was also excellent! Hope this helps a bit.

Tia

Tia, IMHO that's one of the most fun things about traveling, is discoveries like choosing a restaurant by wandering up and down the street, looking at menus. And never really registering what the name of the place IS, much less remembering it for posterity!

Tia, we're leaving in a few days for our first trip to London -- hope ours is as wonderful as yours. Your experiences sound very much like the ones we have planned.
Thanks for sharing.

May I comment on three points you make ?

We saw the crown jewels as well. It was a little less than I expected all around.
I agree. The Tower, with beefeater s tour, is good, though expensive, but the Crown jewels are flashy and vulgar, and the only things from before 1660 are six teaspoons. Edinburgh, Budapest and Vienna show much better crown jewels.

Evensong at St Pauls. I agree. The site http://www.stpauls.co.uk/page.aspx?t...yKKG2H3FKMkrPG has times of services, including Evensong, for the week. You can hear Evensong also in the spacious fourteenth century Southwark Cathedral, at the far end of London Bridge, page http://www.dswark.org/cathedral/worship.htm, and in Westminster Abbey, page http://www.westminster-abbey.org/.

We really had hoped to eat more traditional English foods, but we had a hard time finding any placed that served them. The pub food was also good.
I agree. That is why I keep on disc a file about pub meals in London that I happily copy by e-mail to those who ask

[email protected]

Ben, is that the same list you posted under the heading "For Chat Noir: Lonrfon Pubs list?"

Keith

Keith:

I don t make it easy, do I ? The pub meals list is my own choice of pubs with meals. The work I did with Chat Noir is a collation of pub choices by readers of this forum.

Ben Haines, London

We got our credit card bill over the weekend! WOW!!!! How those pounds add up! The admission to the London Tower alone was 44 USD! Yikes! It was fun, but expensive. I have to admit, though, our trip was worth every penny!

Tia