I will be in LONDON March 12 - 16 with two teenagers ( 17 and 18). I have LOTS of questions. I do have the RICK STEVES travel guide - love it!!!

1) what is dress for the theater? we want to see a show - basically any show - would LOVE Phantom but not sure if thats in the budget - but mary Poppins - chicago - anything.
Planning to get tickets at the tkts booth day of show to get good deal but not sure what to wear. at this time we wouldnt know which theater.

2) have been told to NOT wear white tennis shoes or anything with writing on it - i am assuming as not to stand out as American. is this true and if so anything else??

3) tea time - is it at a certain time each day?

4) Ceremony of the keys - i finally tracked down International response coupons - living in small town wasnt easy but gotten in hand. when writing to request tickets - to whom do i address the letter and envelope?? sir? madame?
i want to request them asap

how hard is it to get the tickets??

5) is it possilbe to get close enough to a "guard" to try to make him laugh???? i know goofy but...

6) Oyster card - zone 1 and 2 - if i get a 7 day when i arrive at Heathrow can i use it soley or will i need single day to get to hotel and another single day to get back to airport??

7) My daughter and her friend what to got to a "club" while in London - is there a age restriction to get in? ( 17 and 18)

Thanks in advance!!

if you do a search here with those words in title ( ceremony of keys, etc.) you should find lots of threads addressing the same questions.

as for clothing. wear what is comfortable for you. it is hard not to look like tourist anyway no matter what you wear.

the theater could be dressy casual. i have seen all types of garb.

1) no dress rules for the theatre. A ffew people might dress up for evening performances, but most wont, and definitely not for matinees. You'll see plenty of people dressed very casually. Just be clean and you'll do!

2) Why do you care if people think you are American. You'll stand out as a tourist anyway. Wear whatever you like, I've never understood these warnings against white trainers (as we call them) you'll see plenty of Brits in them.

3) tea time - is it at a certain time each day? You mean afternoon tea? ~No set time but usually between about 3-5pm ish. It's not a normal British meal or activity, more of a tourist or 'treat' thing, so if you want one just see what time they do them at the place you want to go. If you mean cups of tea - anytime is tea time and we drink loads of the stuff!

4) No idea

5) is it possilbe to get close enough to a "guard" to try to make him laugh...at Buckingham palace? Not sure - I know I've been near mounted ones but I think the standing ones might be inside the gates. In any case, leave the poor laddie alone!

6) Heathrow is not in Zone 1 or 2 so you'll need an additional ticket.

7) Well, 18 is the legal entry age for normal club nights but many clubs set their own entry age higher than that. Even most pubs in the city have set their own min age 21 rule.

They'll do best to google up one of the booming under18s' club nights and have the older one try to get in (no alchohol served).

We were actually pretty shocked by the attire for theatre. Extremely casual and some people weren't even clean as suggested by the above post. We sat next to people who must have had sushi in their purses. It stunk like fish the whole show. Plus it is perfectly fine to eat food and crinkle papers during the show.

Made me miss Broadway.

gruezi

Thankfully, you can't get near enough to the guards at Buckingham Palace to try to make them laugh.

The mounted soldiers at Horse Guards on Whitehall are, or were the last time I was there, close enough to touch the horse or act like an a--.

If you don't want to call attention to yourself by wearing white shoes, perhaps not best to act foolish in front of the guards although I am sure they are used to it.

What a great trip for you and your teens! My take on some questions:
1) Was surprised how casual many were for theatre in London - especially if you see a matinee, but even for night shows. Having said that I still think it is nice to dress a step above jeans, or at least nicer jeans with nicer shirt.

2) The white tennis shoes thing - your teens can get away with almost anything. They will look like teenagers everywhere - i.e. lots of jeans and yes, sports shoes. But the more fashioable shoe is the darker sports shoe - not a true running shoe (big, white, clunky). Call me vain, but I DO NOT want to look like I am running around Disneyland when I am in Europe - and I wouldn't wear big white running shoes in NYC either. Of course, if that is all you own that is comfortable for a whole day out, then go for it, because of course it is better to be comfortable than miserable.

You don't have to worry about "standing out as an American" - I generally find that the local Londoners don't look twice at me and my family because there are TONS of tourists, business people, etc. of all nationalities. Again, think NYC.

7) Last time my daughter (who was 17 at the time) was there she had to show ID at some of the "dance clubs" and so was not allowed as they were 18 and up (haven't heard of 21 clubs). They were able to go to pubs no problem.