Trip Report Scotland / London Part 2, London Info
 

I posted Scotland report last evening, here is the London paret of our trip.

Sat 6/17, flew from Edinburgh to Heathrow. Used Hotle Link for transport to our Hotel (well worth the Money). Checked into our Hotel, The Shaftsbury London Hyde Park. This is a newly renovated hotel, just reopened in last two weeks before our arrival. We were given a double room, but when we tried to enter the room, we found it was already occupied. By the time we got back to the desk, we were informed all double rooms were gone and we would be given two singles just for that nihgt and then a double on Sunday.....OK we lived we that, but the air conditioning went during the evening and I roasted as it was warm that evening. Got into double room on Sunday and A/C was fixed, so rest of week was OK. This was an OK hotel, just OK. Poorly organized with new staff, small rooms, but all furnishings were brand new. I am sure they will get their act together as brakfast room and restaurant were opening the day we left, so I would give it a 6 out of 10. Good location to tube and bus stops and not in a real congested area, but close, directly across from Kensington Gardens. Our friends were in Thistle Marble Arch Hotel, bigger and better, but much busier location. We went to an Italian cafe on James Street, just off Oxford St, a street loaded with good to great places to eat.

Sun 6/18 - Did Big Bus tour, very informative to get the lay of the City. Took in changing of the Guard at Buckingham. Hint, get their early, forgo the main gate, go up the Mall to Harsegaurds gate and follow band back to palace, very up close and personal. Come back another day if you want to get close to front fence to see actual changing of gaurd. Did Ceremony of the Keys at Tower of London, that night, great experience, good taste of pageant and ceremony surrounding the city. DO NOT TAKE ANY PHOTOS.......1 gent was almost kicked out of the group we were with for doing so. We ate at a gourmet Burger joint again on James Street before we did the Keys.

Monday 6/19 - went back to Tower of London and toured all buildings, plan on at least 3 hours to see all. Some of the best exhibits we found. Ate Lunch as our big meal at Wagamama's near the Tower. Good food, fun place. Just had some sandwiche's from local deli later in evening. Oh, and Cadbury Bars for dessert.......they are much much better there than in states. Although I hear there was a contamination scare the day we left and some product was pulled.

Tues 6/20 -- London Eye...450 ft high Ferris wheel with great views of city. Expensive, but it was our first time in London, so why not. Walked over to Westminster Abbey from Eye. Do not miss this!!! Allow about 1 to 1/2 hours to fully enjoy. If you can arrange, plan for Eveningsong. Went to Dominion Theater, Tottingham Court, just off Oxford St that night. Saw "We Will Rock You", ... Queen's music. Tacky, toungue in cheek, but fantastic musci and great voices in cast. Had a blast, everyone was on their feet at end. At at Zizzi's not far from James Street before the show...........best Italian food we found, outdoor and indoor seating.

Wed 6/21 - National Gallery, plan on about 2 hours to get to see just the highlights, Van Gogh, Monet, etc. A good representation. Lunch at Pret a Manger, good sandwiches for lunch. Just walked the city and did some shopping along Oxford street after. Ate at The Swann, near Lancaster Gate. Great Pub Atmosphere and good food, had Nacho's, and a fantastic fish and chips meal. Goos prices. Great place to watch world cup soccer also.

Thurs -6/22 -- Did British Museum, Rosetta Stone there. Plan on spending 3 hours to see all. Had lunch at Covent Gardens, fun place to shop and take in local street performers. Good for People watching, something I love. Dinner on James Street again, but at Carluccio's. Fantastic food, but pricy and noisy.

Fri 6/23 - Churchill War rooms and Museum. A must do for any historians. We spent at least two hours there and could have stayed longer. Good audio tour incuded in admission. Took bus to Harrods at Knightsbridge, just to say we were there. Ya just gotta see it to believe it. Final meal at Zizzi's again, our favorite.

I hate big cities, but London was very accomodating, we felt safe in the places we visited, even took tube some evenings, not an issue. We used the Oyster Pass for all transpotation, well worth the money if you are there for more than a day or two. Great bus and tube system.

Overall, I loved Scotland better than the City of London, but I would go back to London to take in some things we missed.

Hope you enjoyed my tale.......please provide feedback

It sounds like you did your homework before your trip - you had a good variety of activities. Providing the time estimated to visit a museum/site is very useful for planning. We did many of the same things, and really enjoyed our 6 days in London. We ended up eating a lot of Italian also, and the sandwich places really are handy and delicious. Thanks for an enjoyable report.

Noe847,
Thanks......1 thing I forgot to add was most of the planning was done with the help of Rick Steve's London guide. A great help for getting the most out of all activities. His tips and shortcuts are worth the price.

Hey, Rich -

Did you get a feel for what hotel or area you'd like to stay in next time? Did you end up using the buses or tubes more for getting around?

I noticed the Rick Steve guide says that you get into the Tower of London free if you go to the Ceremony of the Keys? How does that work?

Thanks for your help. I'm in the early stages of planning our trip for next summer. The guide hasn't helped me as much as I'd hoped in its discussions about accommodations or transportation but this forum is sure helpful!

Yes the ceremony of the Keys is free - but it doesn't let you tour the Tower. It is at night what the Tower is closed, and you only walk along the wall to the Water (traitor's) Gate. Stand there to watch the locking up ceremony, and then walk a little way into the inner Ward to watch the troop being dismissed. Then a quick trot back to where you entered the Tower. You do not see anything of the Tower bldgs/or get inside anything.

The Keys Ceremony is wonderful but certainly <b>not</b> a substitute for a paid admission to the Tower . . . .

oops: that last should have been addressed to crazy4hawaii

crazy4Hawaii: You get tickets to the Ceremony of the Keys by writing in advance (they only accept written requests) w/ an SAE, 2 international postal coupons, the names of everybody in your party and the date(s) that work.

Operations dept
HM Tower of London
London EC3N 4AB

RichinPA: I really enjoyed both of your reports.

Crazy4 Hawaii,
I actually enjoyed where we stayed near Queensway, just off Bayswater road. It was close enough to get to all the places we wanted to see within 20 min or so, yet a little out of the main congestion. There was a bus stop on the corner and a tube stop just around the corner, so we used both. If traffic looked congested, we took the tube. Busses can really get tied up in traffic, but they are great to see the sights. Tubes are much quicker, and I felt safe riding them even at night. Our hotel was also just across from Kensington Gardens an great place to walk and relax.

Janisj is right, The Ceremony of the Keys is free, but you must pay to tour the Tower proper itself, and allow plenty of time to do that. There are some great exhibits there and you don't want to rush.

Crazy.........where in Hawaii are you crazy for? This was our first year not going to Kauai, we have 3 weeks of timeshare in Princeville and love it there. Already booked for next year.

topping for SandyBrit

RichinPA - Thank you. Well done report with lots of helpful information for others planning such a holiday.

Two singles - does this mean that you were given 1 room with two single i.e. twin beds? Would you book at this hotel again or try for somewhere else in the same area?

Sandy

Sandy,
For that first night we were given 2 single rooms and switched to a double for the rest of the week. I would not be against going to this hotel again. They had onle been open two weeks, had some organization issues, but tshould have that worked out by now. Everythinbg in each room is brand new, so the amenities are all good and the breakfast room and restaurant opened the last night we were there. I enjoyed the location and would use this hotel again.

Oops! I just noticed I did not answer your question, Rich. I'm re-reading your trip report, dreaming about my vacation next June.

I love all of the five islands I've visited, took my 6th trip this past month. My favorites are Maui and the Big Island...