OT-Going to London 03-24-06

First air/land trip I have booked in years! Decided to take a break from
cruises even thou we're booked for one in June & Sept. Going thru Virgin
Vacations out of EWR. Anyone been to the UK lately and have tips or
advice please feel free to post or email me. Thanks!

Len...

Always have had great times around Trafalgar Square--usually stay @ Thistle
Trafalgar and walk to theater and for us wonderful modestly priced Indian
restaurants. Feel it better and safer to walk to all, rather than take other
means.

Hey, Len,

What a fun idea! It is nice to change things up a bit. I think land trips
are far more satisfying, but the ease of cruising can't be beat. So, we do a
mix of both.

I have a million ideas when it comes to London! But I'll start with the
obvious...are you doing theatre? My favorite resources are
http://www.goodshow.com (great overview + reviews) and
http://www.theatremonkey.com (seating charts, good/bad seats & ticket buying
info & tips). You can do the half-price ticket booths if you aren't choosy
about the show or your seats. However, if you want to see a particular show
and/or prefer good seats, it is best to book now. The nice thing is that
London theatre tends to be less expensive, thus far more accessible, than
Broadway.

You are going at a great time to avoid summer peak crowds. I have a review
of a Nov. 2005 trip we made. I have culled two salient paragraphs that may
have some useful tidbits in them depending on your tastes and interests:

Crowd-free Sightseeing: What a contrast touring London in November was to
our prior spring and summer treks-it's easy to see and do a lot when there
aren't many tourists in town! To illustrate, on our busiest day of amazingly
all-free touring, we started with the obligatory photo op at 9 ¾ Platform at
King's Cross Station (we're as hooked on Harry Potter as our kids are!);
spent an hour with the Magna Carta, Dickens and Shakespeare manuscripts, and
original Beatles sound recordings in the British Library; took an
interesting walk from there-with spontaneous stops along the way including
the Victorian-era shop of James Smith & Sons Umbrella and Stick Makers since
1830 and a street vendor's stand for roasted chestnuts-to the incomparable
British Museum, this time solely to see the "new" (since 2000) Great Court
and Reading Room and take in a midday tour of the restored King's Library
with fascinating Enlightenment exhibit; reached Somerset House before 2 p.m.
for the weekly free entry to the Courtauld Gallery's incredible art
collection; had a late lunch/early dinner at the "veddy British" Simpson's-in-the-Strand
featuring roast beef and lamb carved from a joint of meat on the tableside
trolley followed by their famous treacle sponge pudding; lumbered up to the
National Gallery balcony on Trafalgar Square to catch a spectacular sunset
vista over Nelson's Column and the lions and fountains down the rush hour
cityscape to Big Ben; hopped a bus for the short trip to Parliament for near
queueless entry to the "stranger's galleries" of the Houses of Commons and
Lords (sitting hours published on their websites and in the Times, on this
day, from 2:30 to 10:00 p.m.); and finished the day with our nightly theatre
fix. Whew! Sounds exhausting, but in reality, our pace was fairly relaxed,
and because we planned our route in advance and had only "tightly focused"
sightseeing on the day's agenda, we had room to spare for the occasional tea
break or "let's look in here" stop.



A Quick Rave About the V&A: On an unscheduled day, we happened into the
Victoria and Albert museum. I had always shied away, having been
disappointed by one too many "encased in glass" experiences with "applied
and decorative arts" exhibitions. But there's nothing ho-hum about the
V&A.what imaginative curation of such a rich and varied collection!
Everything's thoughtfully arranged and supported by multimedia explanations
and interactive learning opportunities. Our intended peek turned into hours,
and yet, we didn't make much of a dent! I've added the V&A to my list of
places I "must see" every time we go to London.




---------------

Have a great time, Len!

Diana Ball
near Houston, TX

"Len C." wrote in message
...
First air/land trip I have booked in years! Decided to take a break from
cruises even thou we're booked for one in June & Sept. Going thru Virgin
Vacations out of EWR. Anyone been to the UK lately and have tips or
advice please feel free to post or email me. Thanks!


Whatever you do, don't arrive suntanned and take the tube with a
rucksack........

--

Dave

Just an obseraton, but the British men seem(to me) very femine?(especially
the
"Dave" wrote in message
...

"Len C." wrote in message
...
First air/land trip I have booked in years! Decided to take a break from
cruises even thou we're booked for one in June & Sept. Going thru Virgin
Vacations out of EWR. Anyone been to the UK lately and have tips or
advice please feel free to post or email me. Thanks!


Whatever you do, don't arrive suntanned and take the tube with a
rucksack........

--

Dave

"clint" wrote in message
. ..
Just an obseraton, but the British men seem(to me) very femine?(especially
the

We seem feminine? At least we're literate.

--

Dave