janis:

Thanks for the quick response.

Sandy

Great report!
~kat

I just rented from Nova in May..Avignon TGV Europcar. I only returned it with half a tank of gas. I have to admit that I am very intimidated by french gas stations. I was lucky I was only charged for the actual amount to refill the tank full. I missed the fuel deposit part.

I want to thank you for the fabulous trip report. I enjoyed it very much.
I am off to Paris, London and the Cotswolds in October with my friend who has never been to Europe. I am sending him all the really good trip reports and he is so excited.

Your account of turning in your Woods rental car at the Holiday Inn near Heathrow brought back horrific memories of our experiences in March. We arrived in the vicinity of Heathrow just before morning rush-hour traffic, and saw the Holiday Inn looming to one side. We made several passes at trying to find the right exit from the roundabouts, each time shooting off in the wrong direction, having to go for miles without a chance to turn around. It was such a nightmare. We ended up missing our flight home because of this. We have driven in several European countries and had few problems navigating before. Next time, we'll use a company that has a return location at the airport.

enewell: Unfortunately all of the heathrow agencies cars are off-airport. The most convenient ones use hotels as drop off points. Some are much worse with their depots quite a distance from the terminals.

The big problem in our cases w/ the Hilton is that it may be visible from the M4 but it is reachable from the A4. All they had to say was "off the A4" and I would not have had any problem.

Now {sheepish font on} a small confession. After we got to the Hilton I realized I had actually been there once many years ago to pick up a car, and if I had remembered the Bath Road all would have been well. {embarassed sheepish font off}

skaterfly and ggnga: Thanks so much for the kind words.

janis - what a wonderful trip report - I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, thanks for sharing in such detail. Do you have any photos you can post?

All the best bbib

bbib: I've never posted photos on-line but folks keep asking me to. Is there a site you recommend that is easy for both posting and viewing?

My pix are all prints but I sometimes scan them into jpeg to illustrate some of my travel talks/classes.

Sorry Janis - I have no idea how you would go about posting photos other than on a home page - but I have never done that either.

What travel talks/classes do you give? How exciting!

It is really fun.

I teach travel and packing classes at local community colleges.

And I give various talks and travelogues about England, Scotland, London, the UK in general and the Gardens of the British Isles at local libraries and service clubs.

I probably should post this as a new thread - but I'll try here first: to follow on bbib's message, any recommendations for good (easy to post and easy to view) sites for posting pictures on-line

what a great report. my family is finally planning a trip to london after a few false starts. we were thinking of spending some time in the cotswalds. your descriptions of the places in kent will make us rethink this. which do you recommend? we are going in may or june next year.

janis -- some of the popular sites for posting pictures are Webshots, ophoto and pbase. We use Webshots and like it. It is very easy to use. If you'd like to see what it looks like to viewers, here's a link to our site:

http://community.webshots.com/user/go_family

Enjoyed your trip report, by the way. And thanks for all your advice on Scotland. You'll see the results from our just-ended trip in the above link.

ms_go: I just found your trip report. GREAT! I'm glad you enjoyed scotland so much -- maybe next time you'll have some better weather. Thanks for the info - I'll check your photos and look into the sites you mention.

Tom: Spring is a great time for either Kent or the Cotswolds. You can't really go wrong whichever you choose. That is early enough that the Cotswolds villages won't be overrun w/ tourists like they are in teh summer.

How long are you planning for the trip? if it is 2 weeks or more you could have time for both -- 6 or 7 days in London, 3 or 4 days in Kent/E. Sussex and 3 or 4 days in the Cotswolds.

thank you janis. we were thinking of 14 days but you gave us some things to think about. we'll have to sit down with some tour books and make some decisions. i know we will be asking a lot more questions in the coming months.

Enjoyed your report very much, especially about visiting gardens in Kent-brought back so many delightful memories.

A few odds and ends:

The zone-1 weekly travel card is up to £17 - but is still the best bargain going, except maybe for the GBHP.

It used to be that when you bought time at one of the EasyEverything internet cafes, the log-on was good at all their London locations. No more - now they are only good at individual branches. so be sure to sign up at the one most convenient to where you are staying.

The TKTS booth in Leicester Square now has a tourist info/accomodations window with MUCH shorter queues than at the major train stations. So if you are on a budget or arrive in London w/o a place to stay go to Leicester Sq instead of standing in long lines at Victoria station.

At Dover castle the climbs can be really steep so if you have mobility problems be sure to use the free tram. the WWII tunnels are at the bottom of the cliffs and the castle is at the top. Walk down, tram up -- much easier.

I know there were a few others -- still looking for that elusive notebook . . . . .

Janis- Great trip report. I will be visiting London in about 3 weeks and appreciate the helpful details. Where do you teach travel and packing classes? It looks like you are from Northern California?

Thanks Aleashia. My classes and travel talks are mostly in the Scaramento area.

janis, one more question for now. you seem to be a big fan of the heritage pass. my 66 year old mother might be with us. would she benefit from this pass? i ask because i have friends who have gone to england and ireland and they say senior citizens get discounts to most places. and how about our soon to be 17 year old daughter? do kids need a pass too?

Janis.

As always, you are a gold mine of information about my favorite city. I am glad to hear they they now have a TI office at the TKTS booth. Perfect place for it.

Heat wave in San Diego. The cool fall days in London await. Chomping at the bit!

Bob