Hillary

Hi, <BR> <BR>Thanks for all of your good tips on my trip next week but I need some more help. Here is my schedule. I arrive at Heathrow at 9 am Thursday morning for 4 nights in London. We are staying in Mayfair for those 4 nights and then it's off to Paris. Like I had said before It's our 1st time in both places. <BR> <BR>I think I already made my first mistake by booking tickets for the Lion King on that first night which is a Thursday. I don't know how we will keep our heads up and if we do what about the next day. <BR> <BR>So basically we need our hands held. How about it? What should we do on the first day that we get there? We have a 3 hour tour included with our trip in each place. We can take it any day we want to. I guess I'm interested in keeping the walking to a minimum, we don't want to run from one end of the world to the other just to find out that we could have seen certain sights on other days. We are mostly concerned about this is London because there is so much to see. Maybe we should be just as concerned about Paris but we don't get that feeling. <BR> <BR>Heeeeeeeeeeeelp!!!!!!!!!!! <BR> <BR>Thanks again, <BR> <BR>Hillary

elvira

Let's work with what you've got: <BR>You will not stay awake for the play unless you get some sleep, so we're going to break all my rules here.... <BR>After checking in to your hotel, take a nice walk in the neighborhood and find lunch about 11:30. Go back to your hotel and nap until it's time to get ready for the theatre. Leave enough time to get a light supper somewhere. After the theatre, go back to your hotel and take a -PM pill (like Tylenol or Excedrin) and get into bed, even if you're wide awake. <BR>Schedule the 3 hour tour (now I'm singing the theme from Gilligan's Island) for Friday. I'm assuming it's a coach tour, so if you're tired, you can stay on the bus? Treat Friday like it's your first day, don't nap, take it easy, make it an early night. You should be good to go from there. <BR> <BR>Best advice for both cities is to find a map, either on line or hard copy, geared for sightseeing with the various spots neatly highlighted. Arrange your sightseeing so you visit things in the same 'hood (in Paris, visit les Invalides and the Eiffel Tower, not les Invalides and Sacre Coeur, if you catch my drift). <BR>The most important thing is to relax and enjoy; don't worry if you don't "see" everything (hey, Oldhand had to visit Paris THREE times before we got her to the Eiffel Tower). Thank goodness both those cities will still be there over the next several years, so you can always go back and visit the things you missed.

Thyra

I agree with Elvira! A couple of little tips to add, before you leave pick a site or activity or two that you really, really care about. Like, gotta sit in a sidewalk cafe, or see the Tower of London and concentrate on doing just those things, and allow some time for letting the magic of each city take you where it will. Hopefully your 3 hour tours will be good introductory tours that give you a nice overview of each city, and help you get a general sense of where everything is. You will have a wonderful trip and as Elvira stated you will return. PS. Take vitamins and wash your hands alot. <BR>Bon Voyage

Alisa

Hi, <BR> <BR>If your intro tour is a bus tour then I would do it on the first day. You can see all the sights and perhaps get off the bus at a stop or two to wander a bit and have lunch. Then you can get the "lay of the land" and go back to the hotel and relax before the theater. Pick up some sandwiches or treats to eat in your room before the show so you you won't feel rushed . <BR>Then sleep in the next morning!

Hillary

To nap or not to nap. To kill yourself running around or to just take it easy. Who knows. In ten days I'll let you know what I know. Thanks for the advice. <BR> <BR>Hillary

Wm Mauceri

I agree with everything said. Does your trip originate from the East Coast (i.e. are you flying into New York or Boston or wherever from the West Coast or the Midwest)? London is only 5 hours ahead of New York, but the trip is still taxing. Get plenty of rest the week before you depart. Try not to stress, try not to think too much about all the stuff you have to accomplish - there is so much flu and going around and the last thing you want is to become ill! Drink lots of water on the plane (remember, when you arrive in London it will be 9 am but your body will still think it's 4 am), eat lightly, try to nap if you can, and take it easy the first day, even if the sun is shining. London is great, Paris is WONDERFUL (the sites, the food, the people). Enjoy yourself.

Diane

I booked our plane tickets for a 9:40 pm departure (from the east coast) to make it easier to sleep on the plane. Then I took an excedrin PM with the first drink they served us. I think I was asleep by midnight. It would have been a pretty good sleep if BA hadn't turned on all the lights to serve breakfast two hours before arrival time! <BR> <BR>Since you're going to a play the first night, I vote for a nap. Try to get out in the sun (hope London weather cooperates) to reset your internal clock. <BR>Bon voyage!

Don

We get up at 5 AM 2 days before leaving, then go to bed that night at 8 PM and get up at 4 AM then go to bed at 7 the night before and get up at 3 AM (that is 9 AM London time). We then have a drink on the plane, eat and go to sleep by 7 PM and get up at 5-7 AM London time. Use melatonin-it works!

Elizabeth

Hillary, your hotel will have maps with the sightseeing highlights, but you should definitely purchase a Time Out at Heathrow. I was lucky enough that the Time Out for the week I was in London had a special pull-out section which was all about Paris, which was our next stop! Anyway, I agree with Elvira, ESPECIALLY about not stressing about seeing everything this trip. Believe me, you won't want to leave and you'll be scheming to get back as soon as you're on the plane home! In Paris, if you like sculpture, definitely check out the Muse' Rodin, it's near the Eiffel Tower and housed in his home. The Thinker is there, as well as The Kiss, which was moved from the Tate. Everything you see will be incredibly beautiful, London and Paris are both "open museums." Have a great time - take some antihistimes (pollution in London gave me a head cold), and carry a perfumed hankerchief for travel on the tube and metro! You'll see what I mean!

Hillary

Elizabeth, <BR> <BR>That is the funniest thing I've ever heard. That someone would warn you that the trains stink so badly that you need breathing aids. I've read that kind of thing on this site before but when I read what you wrote I was cracking up. I had to write back. Thanks for the hot tip. I can't wait for to experience it myself( ha ha ). <BR> <BR>Hillary <BR>