My husband and I returned from our 2nd trip to London yesterday, and jet lag has set in on both us us! So, I might as well share some of my trip. Needless to say--it was GREAT!

First of all, thank you to all of you who share such valuable information on this board. I read so many posts before I left and they made such a difference in my trip.

I learned about Ray Skinner from this board--thanks! My husband made arrangements on Ray's website (London-Transfers.com) for our pick-up and returns to/from Gatwick. Ray himself picked us up at Gatwick--what a nice man! He was easy to talk with on the trip to our hotel and pointed out lots of great sites along the way.

My only complaint about his service is our return to Gatwick. We made arrangements with Ray to pick us up at 6:30 a.m. on June 20 for our return. He mentioned that it might not be him but would be one of his "guys" instead. I assumed this meant someone who works directly under him. We were somewhat surprised and confused when Friday morning came and the front desk called us at 6:10 to say someone was there waiting on us. My husband asked if it was Ray Skinner--the hotel worker asked the driver but the driver did not say he was with Ray. We went down to check this out and asked the driver ourselves if he was with Ray. He had no idea who Ray was. He said he was with "Olympia Car Service." The hotel worker pointed out this was a mini-cab. We were concerned at this point, wondering how he had gotten our name and time/date for pick-up. The driver called his boss to ask about this (and we were about to call Ray's number). Olympia told the driver that Ray had hired them to take the pick-up b/c he was unavailable. We double checked the rate we were given by Ray with this driver (it was the same--59 pounds), and then went with him. We apolgized for the confusion, but we just weren't sure what was going on at first (and we had heard so many negative things about mini-cabs). Luckily, everything turned out well--good driver and we made it to Gatwick with no problems. I would have preferred that someone from Ray's office call us ahead of the pick-up to let us know which company/person was coming to pick us up. Is Ray actually a mini-cab company himself? I guess I just wasn't clear on how this worked.

I'll start a new post!

Part 2:

I will try to hit some of the highlights from this trip. Please forgive me if some of the information is out of order at this point--I'm a little sleepy! Please feel free to ask questions.

We arrived at Gatwick via American Airlines (from Little Rock, then Dallas) on June 10 in the morning. Our hotel was the Marriott Maida Vale (zone 2), and we got it through priceline.com for $80/night. We were very pleased with this hotel! The room was ready when we checked in. It was actually an American sized room, with king sized bed, refrigerator, nice bathroom, and AIR CONDITIONING! It ended up being quite warm while we were in London (70's and 80's), so we were happy to have the AC.

We dropped our things off in the room and went to our nearest tube stop (Kilburn Park--5 minute walk from hotel) to buy our 7 day travel card (19 pounds per person--pictures no longer needed). Then we got on the tube and stopped at Baker Street. We ate at the Globe Tavern (or Pub). I had a meat and ale pie (very good) and my husband had a steak sandwich with chips (good also). We also had diet coke with ICE!! Yippee! We ate lunch at a few pubs while in London and were pleased with the food itself and the prices. After eating that first day, we jumped on a city bus to take our own tour of London. What a great way to see the city--sitting in the front seat of a double decker bus!

Some of things we did and saw while in London included the Globe Theater, walking across the Millenium bridge, London Eye, Kensington Palace, Harrods, Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Greenwich (Maritime Museum exhibit on Elizabeth I and a walk up to the Royal Observatory), National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Trafalger Square, Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, St. James' Park, Regent's Park,and Primrose Hill. We also took the train to Windsor Castle.

I absolutely LOVE the parks in London! It's amazing how beautiful the trees, shurbs, flowers, etc. are and even more amazing how quiet it is inside the parks. I always feel like I'm in the middle of a fairy tale as I walk through them, with all the gorgeous plants, water-ways, birds, lovley smells, etc. Regent's Park is our favorite, and we went here twice to picnic. It did not get dark until around 9:30 each night, so we had lots of time for walking around parks, enjoying the views and taking pictures. We also walked to the top of Primrose Hill--what a view of London. I'm so glad we did this b/c it's not on the usual list of touristy things to do, but it was worth it. As I mentioned, the view is amazing! This was the last thing we did on our last evening in London and it was the perfect way to end our trip.

Part 3:

(Please forgive me for being long-winded in these posts--I get excited talking about London!)

The parks in London are my favorite thing (I think!) but I also really enjoyed seeing the Palaces--Windsor, Hampton Court, and Kensington. Each is beautiful in it's own right, with the gorgeous art work, painted ceilings, exquisite furnishings, etc. And, of course, the grounds are amazing! The British certainly know how to garden, don't they?

My husband and I both enjoyed being in Windsor and seeing the town. It was so quaint and just what I used to think of regarding English towns. I actually wish we had spent more time seeing towns and villages outside of London--next trip, right? We did walk over the brige and visit Eaton briefly before catching our train back to London. While at the castle, we saw most everthing that is typically open but the chapel was closed the day we were there. Again, the rooms and grounds of the castle are beautiful and the history inside that place is fascinating. We also saw the changing of the guard while there--very exciting and much more accessible than the one at Buckingham Palace (which we have not seen).

We ate lunch in Windsor at the Drury Inn. I had a cream tea with the most delicious scones and clotted cream. WOW! I really would have preferred to just eat the clotted cream straight out of the bowl. That stuff is amazing! My husband had cottage pie, which he enjoyed greatly. We spent time walking and shopping around Windsor itself before returning to London.

On another day, we took the tube and train to Hampton Court Palace and did the tour there. Again, beautiful grounds, fascinating history inside those walls, gorgeous rooms and furnishings. I think the grounds here were my favorite of the 3 palaces we saw. I'd give anthing to have a garden like the Privy Garden!!

I will admit that part of the reason we enjoyed these 2 palaces so much (aside from the obvious) was because we got out of London-proper. Sometimes, the noise and crowds of the city, along with the heat on some days, really got to us, and these places provided well needed breaks.

Glad you had a great time in London. I had wanted to go to Primrose Hill for years and finally got there last year, great view, but remember don't turn around until you get to the top! for a fantastic view.

Part 4:

Greenwich: We took a boat ride on the Thames to get to Greenwich. Because we had travel cards, we got a discount on our round-trip ticket to Greenwich and back (from Westminster Pier). We sat on the top of the boat and listened and looked as one of the crew pointed out interesting sights along the river. Some of London's modern buildings are very strange looking (to me, at least), but it was fun to see it all. Traveling by river boat is a pleasant way to see many London sights, and it's also quiet and peaceful. This is assuming you've got gorgeous weather--which we did. During our 10 day trip, it rained only once and for only a short time. The temps were in the 70's on most days and it was just about perfect each day!

In Greenwich, we ate at the Travalger Tavern--again, good food! We walked around the area a little bit and made our way to the National Maritime Museum to see the Elizabeth I exhibit. It was very interesting. After that, we walked up the biggest hill I've ever seen in my life to get to the Royal Observatory. It was already closed, so we could not staddle the time line. We did get pictures, however, and enjoyed the view below. Later, we walked back down to catch our boat back to Westminster Pier. This was another favorite day for us b/c it was beautiful, quiet, peaceful, etc. We intended to walk under the Thames on the footpath to the Isle of Dogs, but ran out of time since we needed to catch the last boat. Something to do next time...

Part 5:

Food in London:

We found the food to be ok at most places, but we really enjoyed all the baked goods we picked up at places like Marks and Spencer food hall and Harrods food hall. We often got bread, pasteries, etc. to keep in our hotel room for snacks, breakfast, etc.

There were a few Italian chains that we thought had good food and good value: ASK, Pizza Express, and Bella Pasta. We actually found a coupon in the Evening Standard for Bella Pasta for a 2 for 1 dinner deal. We bought 2 papers and ate at 2 different Bella Pasta's. The food was good and with the 2 for 1 deal, the price was even better.

The ASK restaurant (on Baker Street near Regent's Park) had a "take away" pizza special for 4 pounds, 95. We picked up a pizza and garlic bread one day and had a picnic in Regent's Park. This is yet another of my favorite activities in London!

Service in the restaurants is different from the States. It tends to be slower and the servers don't usually return to check on you. They also don't ask you if you'd like refills. My husband and I learned to "ration" our drinks since we knew it was hard to get refills and you had to pay for them. We also couldn't help but notice that lots of Londoners tend to be "sippers" with their drinks while eating, while in the States, we tend to drink a lot with our food and need frequent refills (we-meaning my husband and myself). We also noticed that we often had to ask for the check, rather than the server stopping by to see if we were ready to leave. It was nice that no one really rushes you to give up your table once you're done eating, but at times, it was somewhat difficult to catch the server's attention when we were ready to leave. This is not a criticism on my part--just something I noticed that was different.

Part 6:

Other observations about London:

Most people probably know this, but just in case--there are many places in London that do NOT have air conditioning. It was usually not a big problem for us b/c we were outside a lot, but it did get quite stuffy in some indoor places and on the transportation.

The Tube is hot and stuffy once the weather gets warmer in London. Although it was quite pleasant in London, with tempertures in the 70's on most days, the tube itself was much warmer. It was even hotter when it was packed with people, and the buses were also this way. We tried to avoid the tube in the late afternoons, early evenings, b/c of this.

The tube and buses are very overcrowded! Even in the evenings (after 7 and 8 p.m. until nearly 10) we found many buses extremely crowded and the roads stayed congested with traffic. The tube is, of course, busiest during rush hour (in the mornings between 7-9; in afternoons between 5 and 7??). The tube is still the fastest way to get around London, however. There were times when we did not want to get on it b/c of the heat, but we knew we needed to get somewhere faster than the bus could possibly take us.

While on our trip, there was a story in the paper about buses being overcrowded b/c of the congestion charge the mayor has started in the city and b/c of the lower bus fares. Apparently, more people are attempting NOT to drive to work, but there are not enough buses to handle the extra bus riders. I can agree with that! Transportation issues are of major importance in London (as I'm sure they always will be). I can only imagine what it must be like for Londoners to depend on the tube and bus to get them to work--and to find many buses too full to get on or buses and tubes running behind quite often. As a tourist, I could wait for another bus or tube to come along and was over-all pleased with the service. If I lived there, however, I think I'd be stressed out.

One other thing I worried about before leaving for my trip was clothing! I took several pairs of capri pants, several t-shirts in white and other colors and three cardigan sweaters (with 3/4 length sleeves). Then I just mixed and matched. This turned out to work very well, b/c it was sometimes a little chilly in the mornings and often windy during the day. However, I could take the cardigan off when it was too hot for it. I packed a rain coat but never needed it. I also packed a denim jacket but rarely needed it. The one evening it got really cool, of course I had left the jacket in the hotel room! We did wash clothes one morning in the middle of our trip.

For shoes, I wore a pair of Born sandals or a pair of Joseph Sibel clogs (with a back strap that could be moved to the front if I didn't want to use it). I used the back strap on the clogs the entire time b/c that kept them on my feet and they were the best shoes! I also found my sandals to be very comfortable and up to all the walking. I had learned the hard way back in March (in New York City) that clogs/mules (without backs!) are not the right shoes to wear for lots of walking. They will kill the balls of your feet. For a month of two before we left, I took turns walking on my treadmill with my JS shoes and my sandals to break them in well before we left. That did the trick! I had no blisters while in London!!

Overall, the trip was terrific and I'm so glad for the chance to have gone. My husband and I both love to travel and hope to be off somewhere soon--once we have saved up the $$ of course! Thanks for letting me share my trip with you.

Nice trip report! I felt refreshed just reading about the parks. It sounds as if you had a good vacation (getaway), as well as "sight-seeing" trip.

I orginally posted this over the weekend and thought I'd send it up again.

I am still curious about Ray Skinner's service--is he actually considered to be like the "mini-cabs" in London or not? In part 1 of my trip report, I discuss why I'm curious about this. If anyone has any in-sight, I'd be glad to hear it.

Thanks again to everyone who gives such valuable information about London!

Not sure what exactly your question about Ray's service means, but you can learn a lot about it at his web site: www.london-transfers.com

We've used Ray's service a lot and as far as we're concerned he's running a pickup drop off service. You could e-mail him and ask him for particulars tho, that would be the easiest way to get an answer to you question I would think. Normally Ray picks us up himself, but we have ridden with a couple of his "guys" too and never had any problems. They have always identified themselves as picking us up for Ray Skinner's service. Perhaps he ran into a problem getting someone for you and "subcontracted" your pickup to someone else (just a guess .. I have no idea). I'd ask him tho if it bothers you. Sounds like some signals got crossed here.

(Incidentally, I'm glad you enjoyed your ride with Ray, he is quite the character!!).

Mini-cabs are not a bad thing, I don't know where you got that impression from. They are a flourishing business in London. They do not cruise the streets like black cabs, instead you have to call for one.

Glad you had a good trip, it sounds like you enjoyed yourself.

Wonderful trip reportand glad you had a great time. Thanks very much.

Thats was a great report, I was just in London also and feel the same about many things such as the air conditioning and crowded hot underground cars. I also though it was funny what you said about drink refills. If you guzzle a lot of coke it could add up. I often found myself buying a can of coke after I left a restaurant. You are also correct about service. They just do not hang over you when you are eating. Forget someone coming by with a frosty pitcher of ice cold water.

I think everyone traveling to London will appreciate your report.

Thanks for all the nice replies! I think Lori might be right--Ray may have had to subcontract our particular ride that day. As I stated in the orginal report, the guy who picked us up had NO idea who Ray Skinner was--and that's where the confusion and worry came into play. I'm glad he called his boss, who then said Ray had contracted with them (Olympia car service). I just wish we would have gotten a call from Ray's business ahead of time to let us know someone from Olympia would pick us up.

Regarding my concern over mini-cabs: I had read several comments, guidebook suggestions, etc. that were rather negative towards mini-cabs saying that these mini-cabs often did not have insurance and were not certified (not sure if that's the correct word) through the city as the London black cabs are. Then, while we were over there, a man was run over and killed by a mini-cab driver after they got into a fight over 3 pounds in change! So, I was just a little concerned.

Richardab--my husband and I are still talking about the "refill problem"! The night we got home, we went to a Mexican restaurant and were so excited when the waitress kept refilling our glasses (with no charge!). I also got to enjoy REAL ice tea that first night home, which was nice.

Part of traveling is really learning about other people and places and being able to live with and laugh about the differences! Plus, you get some great stories out of it.

Lori might have better insight into this than I do (we used Ray based on her recommendation last year), but Ray's "business" is probably just a one or two-man operation. Ray himself did not meet us at the airport when we arrived but he did take us back to the airport when we left London. He is definitely one-of-a-kind! One of the highlights of our trip was meeting Ray!

Really great reports, Lee.

Re Mini-cabs. There are good companies and bad "cowboy" ones. I use mini cabs every so often - normally to get back to the airport. I usually ask the folks in my flat rental agency or other locals for a recommendation. Most mini cabs are safe and economical - but I would not use one that just posts flyers on bulletin boards or residence halls.

Thanks, Janis
I really didn't even know how to find mini-cabs. I had just read so many negative things about them that I did not plan to use them. I did not realize that you actually had to call for them rather than their being out on the road to hail like a cab. I'm so glad that the one Ray booked for us turned out to be a good one.

I forgot to mention this in my report about our mini-cab driver, but he actually did something very impressive. On our way to Gatwick, we got in a traffic jam. He commented that we should not be stuck in traffic on that particular road at 6:40 in the morning. The next thing we know, he's doing a U-turn and driving around some other roads to get around the jam. We actually passed back by the road with the traffic jam and it had gotten even larger! I was SO happy not to be stuck in that mess. My husband told me later that our driver earned his tip money right there!

Ok, I know I'm writing too much so I'll stop--I just love talking about London!! Thanks for letting me share.