Thyra

Hello all, please note, if you are one of those people who detests "trip reports" then this may not be a post for you. Here are some brief notes. We flew LAX to Heathrow, direct on Virgin Atlantic ($350.00 pp RT) overnight flight, uneventful (the best kind) Virgin is a great airline. Arrived in the afternoon, and took a cab to our hotel, which was located in a nice location in South Kensington, with close Tube access and near Hyde Park. Rooms were booked with Hotels.com for $119 per night (dollars not Pounds)at The Regency Hotel (100 Queensgate). I was initially apprehensive about Hotels.com, but I think we got a nice deal in a 4 star hotel for a very good rate! Regency hotel was nice, small gym and spa, b-fest buffet, friendly staff and good size ensuite.. (only complaint was the really hard mattress, but what can you do, some people might love that!). We spent the first day visiting Hampton court, and it was nearly empty, had the "Haunted Gallery" to ourselves for quite sometime, and we were able to visit with the guard/guides for long periods of time and question them about the history of specific works of art and of the lovely restored gardens. I am something of an amateur historian and knowing a little of Tudor history really made Hampton court special to me. Afterwards our friends, who live near Hampton Court took us to their favorite pub and out to dinner for some spectacular Indian food.. the likes of which you simply can't get in L.A! We gorged ourselves on Nan bread, tikka and pints of beer.. oh it felt good to be back in the UK again. We had made the very last train back to Kensington (note.. the Underground in London, is at present undergoing a lot of work due to the horrible accident last month I believe, you need to keep up on which stops are closed etc). Next day we rested but went out early for a pre-theatre dinner, I had reserved at a restaurant called Live Bait which serves sea food and is conveniently located near the Old Vic, where we had tickets for Sir Derek Jacobi in the Tempest.. if you get a chance to see this it is really worth it! To see great language spoken by a truly GREAT actor.. I bought our theatre tickets online through Ticketmaster UK.. dinner was delightful a Valentine's special for 30 GBP pp fixed price, included champagne, appetizer, salad, main course, dessert and coffee... the restaurant was empty when we arrived but filled up really fast.. I was glad I had booked ahead, they do a lively pre and post theatre business. Next day we went to pick up our theatre tickets in Haymarket for yet another play.. Breath of Life starring the incomparible actressess Maggie Smith and Judy Dench.. I was glad I booked these early.. show has been sold out for weeks... Judy Dench was good but Maggie Smith literally BLEW my mind! She was stellar.. what a thrill to see those wonderful veteran ladies of the stage. That was the end of a really long day, as we had also participated in the giant peace demonstration.. which we were happy to be a part of.. it was an interesting group of millions.. many parents with children and seniors, very peaceful and historic.. It was a personal decision to participate. .. and we would have done so had we been at home as well. Flame away.. those who will.. Anyway, the next day it was on to Paris.

Thyra

Paris: Another uneventful trip on the Channel Tunnel.. arrived at Gare du Nord and took a taxi to my new favorite Paris hote.. the LouisII located near Boulevard St. Germain and two blocks from the Luxembourg gardens.. the hotel was a little more then I usually spend in Paris being $182.00 EUR per night, but it was our big splurge and well worth it as I had requested an attic room, and we were rewarded with a Gigantic room, with exposed 16th century beams and TWO bathrooms.. one at each end of the room.. staff was very VERY nice and the mattress was nice and SOFT.. could have stayed at this hotel for weeks... b-fest was your simple French b-fest with coissants to die for and bread... The first night we simply wandered through the local neighborhood... ate 2 crepes.. at 2 separate local vendors.. should be noted that we didn't see a drop of rain in any location that we travlled to in 11 days, but it was REALLY cold.. and there is just something about standing on a freezing Paris street corner eating chocolate crepes.. so that the steaming chocolate drips down your fingers... HEAVEN.. the next day my husband was slightly under the weather and opted to stay in... it was Monday.. Musee d'Orsay is closed on MOndays FYI.. which is my favorite Paris museum,,, I decided to try and tackle the Louvre by myself.. which I have always found intimidating... it being just so enormous... I took a solo stroll through the Luxembourg gardens.. and then to the Louvre.. (I am studying French currently and made it a point to only speak in French.. though this is the first trip that I have done so) I know I must have sucked, but I enjoyed the challenge... After going though the pyramid... I got a map and decided to just pick 1 or 2 collections that interested me rather then tackle the whole thing..I ended up on the history of the Louvre and the Italian Renaissance (had to see the Mona Lisa just HAD to)... the history of the Louvre was fascinating to me, because at least, I tend to forget that the Louvre is an historic building in its own right.. all of the printed info is in French... and I didn't get any of the recorded guides... so it took me about 15 minutes each to read the information pannels.. I think I got the jist of it... but you never know.... Again, the museum crowd seemed relatively light, and I had the historical Louvre all to myself.. (if you don't really like history, then maybe your time would be better spent at the collections..) Then I was upstairs to the Mona Lisa..must admit when I finally to to her.. my eyes did tear up a bit.. I don't even know why.. so many of the other paintings are so much more esthetically to my taste.. but to actually gaze with your own eyes on that most famous face.. does take your breath away... well that was enough for me.. I went back to get a coffee and a book... then back to the Louis II stopping OF COURSE for more crepes on the way... I will post more later..

Surfergirl

Excellent report so far! I'm sure you're not happy to be back in L.A., although it just started raining and has that English feel!<BR><BR>And, oh yes, two bathrooms in a hotel is a wonderful pleasure! We have that at the Aiglon, where we stay in the Montparnasse area. No offense to men, but when you're traveling with one, 2 come in handy!<BR><BR>Do you know what the anticipated run for Breath of Life? We plan to visit friends in London this summer, and I'd love to see it.

janis

Surfer Girl: Breath of Life ends this weekend (March 1)

Thyra

OK.. next stop Monsdale Head, near Bakewell in the Peak district of England. I have never been to the Peak District, which is a large national park, full of wonderful places to hike and stroll. I found our Hotel, Castle Cliffe, online through the Peak District web site. .. First of all, we returned to the UK via the channel tunnel then picked up our rental car from Thrifty rental cars at Heathrow. I shopped around quite a bit to get a price that was inclusive of VAT and collision damage waiver insurance. The price was 68.48 GBP for 5 days, unlimited mileage. However, you should note that they do charge your credit card for 500 GBP for a deposit, which I was not expecting.. well that would have been fine, but the gentleman who rang up the transaction, made a mistake and charged it 3 times.. though he voided the charges... well, luckily, before we left we got a T-Mobile cell phone that is good for international calling.. and I decided to call the Visa company about this to be sure that the charges were reversed.. BE aware! Though they were voided, sometimes it takes up to a WEEK for those charges to be reversed (of course they are CHARGED right away) thank heaven I called the company.. we had thousands of dollars orbiting on our visa.. effectively wiping it out! It was about 30 minutes on the cell phone (also just note that you need a non-800 number even when using an overseas cell phone) luckily it did get straitened out in the end and we were able to carry on. Also you should be aware that we had to take a shuttle bus from LHR to the Sheriton where the Thrifty office is. It's nice because you can tube up there and totally avoid London traffic, especially good as they are not charging drivers a &quot;congestion charge&quot; to enter the city. Well after a long drive north, we managed to find Monsal head.. it was very dark and windy and clear when we drove up through the country.. the wind was really howling like something out of Wuthering Heights.. I had called ahead to let them know we'd be in after mid-night and the proprietess offered to leave sandwiches out for us if we wanted it..very very nice lady!

bettyk

Thyra, the only comment I have about your participation in the peace demonstration is I hope you thanked your lucky stars that you aren't in Iraq where such demonstrations against the government would be punishable by DEATH! I also hope you said a prayer for all of the Iraqi people that have been slaughtered by Saddam Hussein.

Thyra

Hello Bettyk, thanks for your post. Just FYI, I say prayers constantly for all people killed unjustly by ANY government anywhere, so yes thank you. I feel I did the right thing, and would do so again. Thank you for your opinion. I know we will both sleep well tonight. Ok.. any more flamers???

Grasshopper

Perhaps my question is trivial given the direction this has taken but, do you recall the name of the favored pub near Hampton Court?

Thyra

Yes Grasshopper, it was the Bell. I am sure it is one of Many Many Bells, but this one is just wonderful... I will try to get an address for you.

janis

Thyra - I think you owe bettyk an apology. She most certainly did not flame you. Her post was as measured in tone as your own. If someone cannot make a polite response (as opposed to some real hot heads) w/o being accused of flaming. . . . <BR><BR>Too bad some people think their opinion is the only one that matters or has weight.

HuisClos

Thyra,<BR>I am enjoying your report. Please continue!<BR><BR>As an aside, one of the things I loved about living in Europe was there seemed to be a much more open discussion of political beliefs between 2 people of opposing views, without persistent diatribe by one or the other. People welcome differences. I think it's very refreshing that Thyra is brave enough to discuss on-line what she did in London (after all, this is a trip report), knowing that some might alter the purpose of this thread. Good going, Thyra!