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Will we beable to attend Easter service at St. Pauls and other questions

Four of us (2 adults and 2 teen girls) are planning to be in London for six days over Easter. Here's the itinerary I'm looking at: Arrive Friday afternoon..... Self guided walking tour past Big Ben - Trafagher Square - Westminister Abbey - Buckingham Palace. Dinner at Hard Rock Cafe Saturday.......... Changing of the horseguards at 11:00a Walking tour of British Museum at 2:00p Dinner??? (Would love suggestions) Cats at 7:30p Sunday............... Street market such as Camden Organ music at5:00p church service at 6:00p at St. Pauls (Easter Sunday) Dinner?? Monday............ London Eye at 9:30a. River cruise to Tower of London - take tour incl jewels and return cruise to Westminister. (Have 1day pass for boat purchased with our 1week tube pass) How long does the boat trip take? If we get Tower tickets in advance, do we need to stand in line again? Eve. tour of Jack -the-Ripper. Dinner??? Tuesday............ Train to Hampton Ct and back. Tour kitchens and try the Maze. Convent garden in later afternoon...maybe get a 1/2 price theater ticket for evening. Wednesday.............. Herrods shopping in am. Browns for tea before Momma Mia in eve. Should I make res for tea at 3:45 or 5:30? Hopefully, I haven't crammed too much into 51/2 days. Any ideas? Thanks, Joy

Most of your ideas are pretty good for you and the teens. A couple of problems I see: Eating at the Hard Rock is very difficult (I'm not asking WHY you want to eat ther - teens are teens). But, they do not take reservations and you will have to stand in line outside for a couple of hours on a Friday night or any time on weekends. Other days the wait is less - but still usually over an hour. If they just want Hard Rock memoribilia - the shop is on the side of the bldg and you don't have to eat - but even at the shop the line can be 1/2 an hour. You should go to the Tower earlier in the day. Your tickets get you in w/o standing in the long ticket line. But more than 45 minutes after opening time the crowds inside are also a problem getting to see the Crown Jewels. The lines to get into the Jewel house can look like a line for a ride at Disney - a 300 yard snake. So go to the Tower EARLY one of the days and then leave just after lunch time - there is a riverside cafe just outside the Tower walls. Sunday is not the big Market day - but there are some The Jack the Ripper tour is at night so you should probably eat dinner before hand. For Tea - I would make the res for 5:30 since it will really be a light dinner. You can take your time and then have the doorman hail a cab to take you to the Theatre - make it a posh experience (Browns, Black cab, Theatre)

Janis, THANK YOU for your wonderful suggestions. We will change our plans for the Hard Rock Cafe to one of the mid-week days. One hour wait - wow! I'll have the girls wait in line while I sit on a park bench. Your suggestion about arriving earlier at the Tower of London is good. We do want to do the boat trip to the Tower, but we could do the EYE when we get back. Any idea how long the boat trip might take? I LOVE your idea about having tea at 5:30 and taking a taxi to the show! Consider it done. Any idea the problems we might have trying to go to St. Pauls on Easter? Thanks soo very much! Joy

I think you will have no problem attending services at St Paul's on Easter Day. There is of course no charge for people attending the services. It is a huge place - I don't think it will be full! The service schedule is on http://www.stpauls.co.uk/rindex.htm I see from this that the 6pm service you have chosen is probably not a choral service - in that case there will, I suspect, be very few people there.

Hi Joy- I second the idea about getting to the Tower of London when it opens. We did that, and there was already a long line (just this past weekend). Luckily, we had gotten our tickets ahead of time, so we were able to walk right in. We also went in and went right to the Crown Jewels. We didn't have to wait in any line at all, and we were 2 of only about 6 people in the room looking at the jewels. I can imagine that you wouldn't get a very good look at them if it is very crowded. After that, we went back to the entrance and picked up a Beefeater tour, which was VERY entertaining. For fun restaurants, I would suggest Wagamama (www.wagamama.com) - we ate in the one in Covent Garden, but I think there are others. Belgo (in Rick Steve's book) - we ate in the "beer hall" downstairs which has a fun atmosphere and serves the most wonderful mussels and french fries! Yo Sushi - if you like sushi or Japanese food, you have to stop in and sit down here. Even if it is only for a few dishes. All of the food goes around on a conveyor belt, and a robot brings the drinks around. The food isn't great, but it's an interesting experience. Have a great trip!

Thank you Ruth for the info on St. Pauls on Easter. Can't think of a better way to celebrate Easter Sunday (unless you have a suggestion for a different church that would be even better) Thank you Melissa for your ideas on places to eat. I have heard about Wagamamas, What type of food do they serve? The Japanese place sound like fun for the girls. We'll plan to get to the Tower of London early - do you remember what time it opens? Does anyone know how long it takes the boats to go from Westminister to the Tower of London? Thanks everyone! Joy

The boat ride is fairly short - about 30 minutes. Wagamama is sort of a noodle house. That doesn't really describe it though - they offer great value and very good food - noisy and lively. About the Hard Rock - be prepared to stand outside - no park benches in sight. Unless your kids are "collecting" Hard Rocks - eating in as many as possible - I would really skip it. If the weather is nice think about a picnic - not a full blown one where you prepare a lot of stuff. But either go somewhere like Harrods Food Halls and buy great cheeses and pies/tarts (both savory ones and desserts), or pick up fresh sandwiches at any Pret a Manger, and eat in a park - or take them on you trip to Hampton Court.