Much easier to take a taxi. But don’t let them try and fool you - the price they quote is a starting-point for barter. Many naive tourists fail to realise this, and leave London complaining the fares are too high.
This has been going the rounds for a few years now. I first saw it in 1999. Surely everybody in the world has read it now?!
The Sinn Fein reference looks particularly dated now.
I never thought the Mazola one quite worked either; I have never noticed this brand of oil on sale in the UK. Thus perhaps indicating this to have been the work of an American, who was clever but not as clever as he thought?
OTOH I do not buy a lot of veg oil and maybe it is everywhere and I am not seeing it.
John
Yep, that one always whooshed me when I saw that email. Now, at least, I understand it.
I wouldn’t rule out Stratford (Eton). It has great shops. I don’t smoke, but I considered taking it up when I went into a tobacco shop there. Had all sorts of custom pipes, lighters, canes, hats and mufflers for the gentleman in his parlor. The streets are laid out like nails scattered on the floor. The flea market has a stand that serves pork sandwiches. Closest thing to BBQ in the UK. While visiting the facilities at Shakespeare’s birthplace, I began to realize the toilet I was using was older than my country.
Edinburgh is definitely worth a visit. I want to come back someday and get lost there. It’s built on dormant volcanoes, so there’s all sorts of pathways and trails that cut from one elevation to the next. Go behind your hotel and you might stumble on some ruins from 1000 years ago. Plus, Scots are fun to talk to. They will readily admit that everything they do is of earth-shattering importance.
Eton (aka Windsor Comprehensive) is in Windsor not Stratford - or am I missing something here?
I certainly don’t want to seem arrogant and contradict the knowledge of the posters who live in England, but I do have to offer one opinion…
I’ve vacationed in London three times in the last 5 years and have never once needed an A to Z. It sounds like you’re going to do the “touristy” things and not go off the beaten path - so you could probably just do what I did. I brought the green Michelin Guide with me and used the map in the guide and also each time I went to London, I bought a street map from the little vending machines in the tube stations (it cost about a pound, I think). It’s a small little folded map with a stiff cardboard cover and covers most of the City and surrounding London metro area. If I remember right, this was also the map that showed the tube lines with the city streets - great for figuring out which tube station is really closest to your destination. At any rate, it’s not the worlds greatest map but it was certainly sufficient for getting around the main areas of London.
It sounds like your plans have been made and you have no extra time at all, but I have to add a vote for the Museum of London my favorite museum.
Oh, and yeah - please don’t bother with Madame Tussaud’s. There are so many better places to see.
Actually, I agree with you - and I am English and have lived in London.
When I lived in London, I used an A to Z a lot - because you go to a lot of non-tourist places when you live there, such as friends’ houses. However, I recently returned as a tourist and was able to get around central London just fine using a combination of a fold-up street map and tube map, both of which I got free from the hotel.
If your’re into Shakespeare (and haven’t been there already) I can definitely recommend Shakespeare’s Globe - http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/. I’ve just been there and it was terribly interesting. There’s also a nice turkish restuarant, where you can have lunch, in New Globe Alley(?) - TAS’ place (or something) - just around the corner.
You can manage without an A-Z, you can buy maps from vending machines, and most guidebooks have maps of the sort of places that you’re likely to go. There are also signposts to most of the tourist areas/attractions
Having said that, the small pocket ones are only a few pounds and have the advantage of an index. It’s your choice, but I would say they are worth the money.
Try and manage without - if you find it difficult, the A-Zs are on sale in pretty much every newsagents and small shop - not just bookshops. You just need the small central one, not the bigger more pricey versions.
Now please tell me you have dissuaded the trouble 'n strife from wanting to go to Mme Tussauds!
Still working on it… :mad:
Another quick question. Where should I buy my Tube Tube Card from?
I want a seven day tube/bus pass. Some of the sites say I need a passport photo to buy one (if I wait until I get there) and others say I can order one over the internet and don’t need a photo.
What should I do? Any reputable sites if I should do it over the net? Is it quick and easy once there?
Straight from the horse’s mouth – Transport for London. It doesn’t look like you’ll need a photocard, and if you want, you can buy travelcards from tube stations, rather than on the net.
As you’re arriving in Gatwick, I think you should be able to buy the travelcard from the train station there.
You can buy travel cards at all stations and lots of newsagents sell them too - look for the london transport logo.
gatwick is outside the travel card zones, but the station there can sell you a travel card - you’re only going to need zones one and two.
The Dickens Museum in Doughty Street isn’t that far from the British Museum - locals would walk it rather than try to use the Tube between them. Might be worth trying to arrange to do these two together.
We are going to England from Toronto for 3 weeks in May as well, and I have to say that I’ve gleaned some good info here. Thank you all!
Most of the activities for your first day are close together.
Keep in mind that you are leaving at 4PM Houston time and landing at 1AM Houston time (which your body will still be on, thanks to jet lag). I can’t sleep on the plane with the meals being served and watching the movies/listening to music/reading/puzzles. Add to that that you won’t be sleepy until you are almost there and I find that the first day is a bit of a throwaway due to fatigue and acclimation.
It sounds like people have convinced you to cross off Buckingham palace. You may want to consider attending the Changing of the Guard. It starts at 11:30AM daily. It ends up looking like a parade for 45 minutes, but the pagentry that makes up the ceremony is just, well, foreign.
I was there the other week and it is a very easy connection from plane to train.
Also: go up in the London Eye if you possibly can http://www.londoneye.com/
Amazing!
John
I feel the same way. I am going to take a OTC sleeping aid (and drink a little) on the plane to get some Z’s. If I can get 5 or 6 hours of rest/sleep, I’ll get by. But I can’t let the first day be a wash. I am not going to be there long enough. I figure we’ll do the bus tour to cut down on a lot of walking. I also have the first night an early turn in. No pub crawls for us!
After finalizing all of my plans, here is my itenerary:
MON-
Bus Tour of London
We are only getting off the bus at Westminster Abbey and the Cabinet War Rooms, but I promise you this. Every time the bus passes Big Ben, I will say “Big Ben…Parliament…” and when we pass Piccadilly Circus, I will say “What a shitty Circus.” You have my word!
TUES-
Tower of London
British Museum (not getting to spend enough time here, I know)
and if there is time,
That DAMN Madam Tussaud’s (it stays open later than most London attractions)
[sub] I think my wife wanted to see it the more I, along with my “nerdy internet friends”, protested. [/sub]
For our anniversary dinner we are hitting Launceton Place and then maybe a few pubs.
WED-
An out of London tour of Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath. As soon as we get back (about 20:30), we will go right to sleep, because…
THURS-
We leave for Paris at 5:45 from Waterloo station. We got a guided tour that will probably not give us enough time for my wife to see the Mona Lisa. Of course, as I felt it was the most overrated thing in the history of EVERYTHING, I feel she won’t be missing much. We return at 10:30, where I am sure we will crash.
FRI-
Our last day in London. I’m sure we will be tired, so we will have a late breakfast and do some shopping. Midday, we will head to the British Library. I gather that is like a combination of the Library of Congress and the US National Archives of sorts. I read that an existing copy of the Magna Carta is there. And a Guttenberg Bible. That guy was GREAT in Police Academy! I didn’t know he made Bibles. I am going to investigate this a bit more. If it turns out to be a dud, I’ll probably sub in the National Gallery. The wife and I are not much on art. We lean more to history and, at least one of us, to life-sized wax statues.
I have a few add-ins in case there is time.
I know I won’t be able to appreciate everything in the time I’ve given it, but I don’t see that I have much choice because late Friday evening we fly to Edinburgh.
SAT-
See Edinburgh Castle. Take a bus tour of the area. Go back to the airport.
(Not sure I’ll have the time for a pint with John, but I woulda liked to have!)
SUN-
Fly home in time to see the season finale of Survivor through bloodshot eyes!
After paying for all this, I am now officially poor. Thanks to everyone for their help.
Good plan - and yes, both those are on display, along with a lot of other interesting stuff. http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/whatson/exhibitions/riblat/riblat.html
One thing you might like to try in the evenings is a pub walk. I’ve done several of these and they’re very enjoyable. You get shown a bit of London you probably wouldn’t otherwise see, and you go in about three pubs and finish in a nice pub.
These people are very good:
and you don’t need to book - so you can see what the weather is like.
Now don’t show this website to your wife as she is bound to want to do the Jack the Ripper one (like every other yank on the planet). It is by far the worst thing on offer. Do one of the others (the along the Thames one is very good)