TRIP REPORT: Mother-Daughter Spring Break in London
Mar 31st, 2005 | 11:03 AM
#1
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TRIP REPORT: Mother-Daughter Spring Break in London
WARNING: this isn't the trip report on "how to have a great time and not spend a fortune," although we did have a great time!
This trip was a birthday surprise for my Anglophile daughter, who just turned 13. I used AA frequent flyer miles to get the tickets last July and kept the whole scheme a secret until her birthday a few weeks before we left. (Using London Underground giftwrap, I wrapped up the e-ticket itinerary, some theater tickets and a handful of London souvenirs, packing it all into a Harrod's shopping bag that I ordered online.) Initial reaction: "What’s Gatwick?" Delayed reaction: “Omigod!!!!!” Anyway... Here’s the (sort of) quick and dirty lowdown. If anyone wants to know more about particular restaurants, shops, etc..., I'm happy to provide details.
TRAVEL BASICS: American Airlines from Portland, Oregon to London Gatwick via D/FW on Boeing 777. Took Gatwick Express to Victoria and then taxi to hotel. Spent 7 days and nights, split between two hotels. On return, took taxi to Heathrow (mob scene, advise getting there extra early), and then AA to PDX via Chicago (excruciating 4.5 hour layover). One of our bags got sent to Denver, but we got it back the next day.
WEATHER: Fantastic! Other than one rainy morning, we had very pleasant days for walking and seeing sights -- some sunny, others overcast. I really regretted not taking my light leather jacket, because my coat was more than I needed most of the time. I didn’t need the hat, scarves and gloves I brought either.
HOTELS: For the first 4 days, we stayed at Millennium Hotel Mayfair on Grosvenor Square (a Priceline bargain for $105/night, but breakfast not included). The last 3 days, we stayed at Covent Garden Hotel (282 lbs./night, fabulous breakfast included). This was no bargain, but we thoroughly enjoyed the splurge. Averaged across the 7 nights, I rationalized that the cost was not too bad (especially since the plane tickets were essentially free). We absolutely loved this place.
This trip was a birthday surprise for my Anglophile daughter, who just turned 13. I used AA frequent flyer miles to get the tickets last July and kept the whole scheme a secret until her birthday a few weeks before we left. (Using London Underground giftwrap, I wrapped up the e-ticket itinerary, some theater tickets and a handful of London souvenirs, packing it all into a Harrod's shopping bag that I ordered online.) Initial reaction: "What’s Gatwick?" Delayed reaction: “Omigod!!!!!” Anyway... Here’s the (sort of) quick and dirty lowdown. If anyone wants to know more about particular restaurants, shops, etc..., I'm happy to provide details.
TRAVEL BASICS: American Airlines from Portland, Oregon to London Gatwick via D/FW on Boeing 777. Took Gatwick Express to Victoria and then taxi to hotel. Spent 7 days and nights, split between two hotels. On return, took taxi to Heathrow (mob scene, advise getting there extra early), and then AA to PDX via Chicago (excruciating 4.5 hour layover). One of our bags got sent to Denver, but we got it back the next day.
WEATHER: Fantastic! Other than one rainy morning, we had very pleasant days for walking and seeing sights -- some sunny, others overcast. I really regretted not taking my light leather jacket, because my coat was more than I needed most of the time. I didn’t need the hat, scarves and gloves I brought either.
HOTELS: For the first 4 days, we stayed at Millennium Hotel Mayfair on Grosvenor Square (a Priceline bargain for $105/night, but breakfast not included). The last 3 days, we stayed at Covent Garden Hotel (282 lbs./night, fabulous breakfast included). This was no bargain, but we thoroughly enjoyed the splurge. Averaged across the 7 nights, I rationalized that the cost was not too bad (especially since the plane tickets were essentially free). We absolutely loved this place.
Mar 31st, 2005 | 11:09 AM
#2
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Mother-Daughter Spring Break in London Continued:
FOOD: Best meals were at Rules and at Brasserie Max, the Covent Garden Hotel restaurant. The Ivy was good too. Quo Vadis wasn't. Enjoyed in-room dining from Brian Turner at the Millennium Mayfair. Jardin de Plaisir was good and quite reasonable. (Wanted to go to Mon Plaisir, which is well reviewed here by Fodorites, but it was closed for the entire 4-day Easter holiday.) Live Bait had good fish and chips, but I'm not sure it was worth the hike to the area behind Waterloo station. Great, reasonable breakfasts around the corner from Millennium Hotel at Cafe Richoux. We ate there three of four days, interrupted by an expensive and unsatisfying experiment with the hotel's breakfast buffet. Interesting (to us) tidbit: At Rules, we saw and talked to the same cute waiter we had when we were there a few years ago. (He had offered to make sure they cut the head off the young lady's fish.)
THEATRE: First, a bit of background. Since she was 9, when I took her to see Kiss Me Kate in San Francisco, my daughter and I have had a birthday tradition of going out of town to see musical theater (usually much closer to home, though). So this trip was all about seeing as many shows as possible. Maybe I was too tired to appreciate it, but I thought the Woman in White was, as many here have reported, just okay. The story is good and the performances were good, especially the deliciously bad Count Fosco played by Michael Ball. But the music was all a bit too familiar and the lyrics were really lame: "...I believe my heart...perfect work of art...blah blah blech." Mary Poppins was quite fun. Mousetrap was delightfully what you’d expect. Believe it or not, this was our first time to see Les Mis, and we loved it, although the stalls and bar area at the Queens theater are really claustrophobic. On Saturday, we hooked up with friends from Portland (another mother-daughter pair) and got day-of tickets to Blood Brothers. Three of us HATED it, finding the whole thing utterly trite and insipid, in spite of some decent performances, but one of the girls enjoyed it. (Believe it or not, after months of checking the TKTS site online and having the benefit of Fodorite warnings, we STILL went to the wrong booth!! We had wanted to see Blithe Spirit, but since we were at the wrong booth, they didn’t have it.) We finished up with a Sunday matinee of the very fun Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged. It seemed like the audience was almost 100 percent American tourists, but it was a great way to finish out the week, and this long-running show closes this coming weekend.
FOOD: Best meals were at Rules and at Brasserie Max, the Covent Garden Hotel restaurant. The Ivy was good too. Quo Vadis wasn't. Enjoyed in-room dining from Brian Turner at the Millennium Mayfair. Jardin de Plaisir was good and quite reasonable. (Wanted to go to Mon Plaisir, which is well reviewed here by Fodorites, but it was closed for the entire 4-day Easter holiday.) Live Bait had good fish and chips, but I'm not sure it was worth the hike to the area behind Waterloo station. Great, reasonable breakfasts around the corner from Millennium Hotel at Cafe Richoux. We ate there three of four days, interrupted by an expensive and unsatisfying experiment with the hotel's breakfast buffet. Interesting (to us) tidbit: At Rules, we saw and talked to the same cute waiter we had when we were there a few years ago. (He had offered to make sure they cut the head off the young lady's fish.)
THEATRE: First, a bit of background. Since she was 9, when I took her to see Kiss Me Kate in San Francisco, my daughter and I have had a birthday tradition of going out of town to see musical theater (usually much closer to home, though). So this trip was all about seeing as many shows as possible. Maybe I was too tired to appreciate it, but I thought the Woman in White was, as many here have reported, just okay. The story is good and the performances were good, especially the deliciously bad Count Fosco played by Michael Ball. But the music was all a bit too familiar and the lyrics were really lame: "...I believe my heart...perfect work of art...blah blah blech." Mary Poppins was quite fun. Mousetrap was delightfully what you’d expect. Believe it or not, this was our first time to see Les Mis, and we loved it, although the stalls and bar area at the Queens theater are really claustrophobic. On Saturday, we hooked up with friends from Portland (another mother-daughter pair) and got day-of tickets to Blood Brothers. Three of us HATED it, finding the whole thing utterly trite and insipid, in spite of some decent performances, but one of the girls enjoyed it. (Believe it or not, after months of checking the TKTS site online and having the benefit of Fodorite warnings, we STILL went to the wrong booth!! We had wanted to see Blithe Spirit, but since we were at the wrong booth, they didn’t have it.) We finished up with a Sunday matinee of the very fun Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged. It seemed like the audience was almost 100 percent American tourists, but it was a great way to finish out the week, and this long-running show closes this coming weekend.
Mar 31st, 2005 | 11:14 AM
#3
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Mother-Daughter Spring Break in London Continued:
SIGHTSEEING: Walked a million miles! Managed to see most of the places we wanted, although we had to rearrange which days we saw some things, because they were closed for the Easter bank holiday. Strolled through St. James's Park in the rain, dried off in the Cabinet War Rooms, saw Westminster Abbey (a repeat visit). Saw St. Paul's – it was closed on our last visit – walked across the Millennium Bridge and toured the Globe Theater. Cruised through the Tate Modern, but couldn't quite get our hearts into it. London Eye was too crowded and we'd done it before. Being big theatre buffs, we enjoyed seeing the Theatre Museum, especially the dressing room exhibits and the theatrical make-up demonstration. We got a good look at the National Gallery, a peek at the Portrait Gallery (daughter lost interest after seeing Elizabeth I, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn), and the costumes/dresses at V&A. I finally got to see the British Museum, although daughter's patience wasn't what it might have been. She: "Why are you so excited about a big rock?" Me: "It's the Rosetta Stone, hello?" To be fair, that's not the rock she was referring to, but it makes a better story this way. Turner/Whistler/Monet exhibit at Tate Britain was fantastic. I left daughter sleeping for that one and sold her ticket to someone in the queue. About the only thing we missed that I really wanted to do was Hampton Court. It was a compromise, because my daughter wanted to spend more time...
SHOPPING: For the 13-year-old girl, this was the true raison d'etre of a visit to London. We traipsed through every branch of every retail outlet in every shopping district in town. Or at least it seemed so. Partial scorecard: The Gap (3), Top Shop (2), The Vestry (2), Office shoes (3), Diesel (2), Miss Sixty (1), Shelly’s shoes (4 or 5). We also explored Harrod’s and Harvey Nichol’s, as well as innumerable little BoHo-style boutiques on King's Road, High Street Kensington, and Covent Garden. Best buys: Fly trainers for my daughter that she wouldn’t find at home, a colorful top from Vestry that says "I would rather die of thirst than sip from the cup of mediocrity," and some handmade crystal jewelry from a booth at Covent Garden Market. Worst buys: some flats that I will probably never wear again (forgot to bring shoes to wear with a skirt), and a pair of Converse, which I bought in desperation, because my Dansko "walking" shoes were killing me. (Nothing wrong with Converse, but I could have gotten them at home for a lot less.)
SIGHTSEEING: Walked a million miles! Managed to see most of the places we wanted, although we had to rearrange which days we saw some things, because they were closed for the Easter bank holiday. Strolled through St. James's Park in the rain, dried off in the Cabinet War Rooms, saw Westminster Abbey (a repeat visit). Saw St. Paul's – it was closed on our last visit – walked across the Millennium Bridge and toured the Globe Theater. Cruised through the Tate Modern, but couldn't quite get our hearts into it. London Eye was too crowded and we'd done it before. Being big theatre buffs, we enjoyed seeing the Theatre Museum, especially the dressing room exhibits and the theatrical make-up demonstration. We got a good look at the National Gallery, a peek at the Portrait Gallery (daughter lost interest after seeing Elizabeth I, Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn), and the costumes/dresses at V&A. I finally got to see the British Museum, although daughter's patience wasn't what it might have been. She: "Why are you so excited about a big rock?" Me: "It's the Rosetta Stone, hello?" To be fair, that's not the rock she was referring to, but it makes a better story this way. Turner/Whistler/Monet exhibit at Tate Britain was fantastic. I left daughter sleeping for that one and sold her ticket to someone in the queue. About the only thing we missed that I really wanted to do was Hampton Court. It was a compromise, because my daughter wanted to spend more time...
SHOPPING: For the 13-year-old girl, this was the true raison d'etre of a visit to London. We traipsed through every branch of every retail outlet in every shopping district in town. Or at least it seemed so. Partial scorecard: The Gap (3), Top Shop (2), The Vestry (2), Office shoes (3), Diesel (2), Miss Sixty (1), Shelly’s shoes (4 or 5). We also explored Harrod’s and Harvey Nichol’s, as well as innumerable little BoHo-style boutiques on King's Road, High Street Kensington, and Covent Garden. Best buys: Fly trainers for my daughter that she wouldn’t find at home, a colorful top from Vestry that says "I would rather die of thirst than sip from the cup of mediocrity," and some handmade crystal jewelry from a booth at Covent Garden Market. Worst buys: some flats that I will probably never wear again (forgot to bring shoes to wear with a skirt), and a pair of Converse, which I bought in desperation, because my Dansko "walking" shoes were killing me. (Nothing wrong with Converse, but I could have gotten them at home for a lot less.)
Mar 31st, 2005 | 11:19 AM
#5
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Mother-Daughter Spring Break in London Continued:
FAUX PAS DE JOUR: 1. In a bit of a jet-lagged panic, we dove into the first open door we found on the Gatwick Express. When the conductor came by, he looked at us...looked at our tickets...and pointed to the head rests, which said "First Class." As Lyle Lovett might say, "It was then I knew I had made my first mistake." Rather than schlep ourselves to the standard class, we paid for the upgrade (an extra 7 lbs. apiece). 2. We took a cab to dinner one night, and I had planned to pay with a five-pound note, telling the driver to keep a pound or so for a tip. But the fare ended up being 7 pounds even. Finding a five note and a 2-pound coin in my pocket, I gave him the exact amount and forgot to add a tip. 3. Our easy "10-minute" walk from Rules to St. Martin’s for Mousetrap went awry when I made a wrong turn and ended up circling through the maze of nearby streets. We were so close, but couldn't quite find our way. Finally, the concierge at a nearby hotel took pity on us and literally escorted us there. To show my appreciation, I gave him all the change I had, which in the dark was an unknown amount. We were seated as "latecomers." 4. I made up for stiffing the previous evening’s taxi driver by waaaay over-tipping a bicycle taxi guy. He spotted us poring over our map and asked if we wanted a ride. Remembering our late arrival the night before, I said okay. Since we were his first riders of the night, he had no change (neither did I), so he got a hefty 4 pound tip for a 6 pound fare. I decided to think of it as "paying it backward." 5. I have to reiterate how stupid I felt for missing the real TKTS booth in Leicester Square, even with all the warnings and advice from Fodorites. I didn't even realize I'd done it until the next day, when I happened to glance over and see the big TKTS sign and logo on the white building in the square.
If you were to ask my daughter (practically perfect in every way, of course), she could probably think of quite a few things to add to this list, but since she’s not here to rat me out, I guess this is THE END.
FAUX PAS DE JOUR: 1. In a bit of a jet-lagged panic, we dove into the first open door we found on the Gatwick Express. When the conductor came by, he looked at us...looked at our tickets...and pointed to the head rests, which said "First Class." As Lyle Lovett might say, "It was then I knew I had made my first mistake." Rather than schlep ourselves to the standard class, we paid for the upgrade (an extra 7 lbs. apiece). 2. We took a cab to dinner one night, and I had planned to pay with a five-pound note, telling the driver to keep a pound or so for a tip. But the fare ended up being 7 pounds even. Finding a five note and a 2-pound coin in my pocket, I gave him the exact amount and forgot to add a tip. 3. Our easy "10-minute" walk from Rules to St. Martin’s for Mousetrap went awry when I made a wrong turn and ended up circling through the maze of nearby streets. We were so close, but couldn't quite find our way. Finally, the concierge at a nearby hotel took pity on us and literally escorted us there. To show my appreciation, I gave him all the change I had, which in the dark was an unknown amount. We were seated as "latecomers." 4. I made up for stiffing the previous evening’s taxi driver by waaaay over-tipping a bicycle taxi guy. He spotted us poring over our map and asked if we wanted a ride. Remembering our late arrival the night before, I said okay. Since we were his first riders of the night, he had no change (neither did I), so he got a hefty 4 pound tip for a 6 pound fare. I decided to think of it as "paying it backward." 5. I have to reiterate how stupid I felt for missing the real TKTS booth in Leicester Square, even with all the warnings and advice from Fodorites. I didn't even realize I'd done it until the next day, when I happened to glance over and see the big TKTS sign and logo on the white building in the square.
If you were to ask my daughter (practically perfect in every way, of course), she could probably think of quite a few things to add to this list, but since she’s not here to rat me out, I guess this is THE END.
Mar 31st, 2005 | 11:23 AM
#6
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luvtotravel:
There seem to be ticket booths on almost every corner of the entire theatre district. Most are small little places. The TKTS booth is actually in Leicester Square. It's white and has a big TKTS sign on it with the same logo that is on the website. I think I missed it, because I was talking to my friend and was a bit distracted. It was right behind us, but I never turned around. The next day, I happened to be walking from the opposite direction, and it was very obvious that it was THE ONE.
There seem to be ticket booths on almost every corner of the entire theatre district. Most are small little places. The TKTS booth is actually in Leicester Square. It's white and has a big TKTS sign on it with the same logo that is on the website. I think I missed it, because I was talking to my friend and was a bit distracted. It was right behind us, but I never turned around. The next day, I happened to be walking from the opposite direction, and it was very obvious that it was THE ONE.
Mar 31st, 2005 | 11:25 AM
#7
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What a great Mom and what wonderful memories you created! I hope if you post pictures we get to see the <i>"I would rather die of thirst than sip from the cup of mediocrity"</i> top! Any more kids with birthdays to come?
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Mar 31st, 2005 | 11:29 AM
#9
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Great Mom, indeed. And you can bet I will be reminding her of it every time she pulls the eye-rolling teenager thing on me! LOL! Seriously, I felt like it was a very special bonding experience and a memorable way to welcome her to young womanhood. My husband has been invited to give a paper in Denmark around the time of my son's 17th birthday in September, so I suppose that might be a possibility...but alas, not one that would include me.
Mar 31st, 2005 | 11:33 AM
#10
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You go Mom. My mother and step-father took me to New York and plunked down $500 in my hot little hands (a lot of money in ahem...the early 60's...)
to say Happy 13th Birthday!
Your daughter has the memory of London...now. It always will be with her.
to say Happy 13th Birthday!
Your daughter has the memory of London...now. It always will be with her.
Apr 1st, 2005 | 08:16 AM
#11
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I meant to also report that we used the London Train 2-for-1 offers for several of the attractions. This offer is good until May 31, so may be useful for those of you going before then. Tube tickets do count, and I did have to show my ticket in addition to the voucher. I printed vouchers for all the places I might want to go before leaving home. We also used this offer for a great deal on the Reduced Shakespeare Company (other plays are also available). Here is the link:
http://www.london2for1.com/2for1/default.asp
http://www.london2for1.com/2for1/default.asp
Apr 1st, 2005 | 09:03 AM
#13
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kswl: Yes, I DO love it! But I have to say my older teen (16) probably appreciates more of the same kinds of things I do, mainly because he has a few more years of knowledge and wisdom about the world. At school, he's doing his year-long thesis/exhibition on the Ostro-Goth (sp?) Empire. We'll be in Italy in June, and he's begging for a day trip to Ravenna to see Theodora's tomb, while my daughter will be begging for a trip to the outlet mall...or to stay behind to play in the pool 
Apr 1st, 2005 | 02:34 PM
#14
Joined: Mar 2005
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Thanks so much for this trip report. I am going next month in May for a week, so your report really interested me. Your daughter is lucky! I'm glad to hear that the 2for1 National Rail offers accept tube/travelcards because I have downloaded quite a few vouchers for attractions.
Apr 1st, 2005 | 04:01 PM
#15
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applehi: As you're planning, feel free to ask any questions. I will be happy to offer more details on anything of interest. (After I started doing more in-depth narrative, I feared boring people to death!) On many things, I have more info on prices, favorite meals, etc... Most of all, have a great time!!
Apr 1st, 2005 | 04:06 PM
#17
Joined: Jan 2003
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Brings back memories of our first trip to London, with 13-year-old daughter and like-aged friend in tow. We and they loved every minute of it. When we got back, our daughter opened a bank account and started saving for her next trip. (It only took her two years, and we had to save too because we weren't about to let her go alone.) In September, we head back for our 14th visit. And in 2010, our granddaughters will be 13 and we're looking forward to taking them.
Thanks for the memories.
Thanks for the memories.
Apr 1st, 2005 | 06:02 PM
#19
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What a great birthday surprize! We took our daughter to Europe when she was 13 and she's 21 now and I just got a call from her upon arriving in Siena where she'll be completing her senior year of college studying Italian. It feels so good to know she's inherited the "travel genes".
