London Trip, August 2007, Plans and Ideas

 

 

Notes

  • There will be a lot of walking. Bring comfortable shoes.
  • One pound = $2   ...   so just multiply everything by 2.
  • That is not a good exchange rate. Everything will be expensive. Therefore we will need to be frugal. Some ways to do this:
    • Eat in the flat .. we do need to experience British restaurants, especially the pubs, but we can eat breakfast in, and evening snacks, and occasionally lunch and/or dinner.
    • Lots of things are free .. do them.
    • Keep souvenirs to a minimum. Our best souvenirs are photos and memories.
  • Baggage – keep it minimal. One bag plus one carry on per person. Your carry on might be what you use when we are out-and-about in London. We can do laundry while there if need be, I think.
  • Relax. We have a full week. We do not have to do everything at once; in fact we do not have to do everything period.

 

Schedule

  • Saturday, August 18
    • Tom is working in the morning?
    • Party at Paul’s, 2 pm until ???? Maybe we go, maybe we don’t – we’ll see. It might be nice to go to the party around 3 pm , hang for a few hours, and then go straight to the airport, especially since it sounds like not many people can make the party.
    • Flight BA0068 leaves from Philadelphia at 8:55 pm. We should be at the airport car park by 6:00 pm, although we will probably end up having to kill time in the terminal. Bring a book. Drink water (it helps you avoid jet lag). Set clocks to London time.
    • We are flying “World Traveler” class. I expect the plane will be full – they usually are.
    • We’ll get a nice dinner on board, probably our choice of chicken or beef or something. Also all the beer/wine you want! But drink a lot of water.
    • Relax and enjoy your own personal seat back video screen with a wide choice of latest blockbuster movies and TV entertainment or drift away listening to a choice of 12 channels of CD quality audio.
    • Get some sleep!!!!! They will “shut down” the plane for a few hours so people can sleep. It is crucial to get at least 30 minutes sleep. Just do it. The longer the better. I know a plane ride with your own TV is exciting but GO TO SLEEP.
  • Sunday
    • We’ll get at least a “snack” breakfast on board the plane.
    • The flight only takes 7.5 hours but since we are flying “into” the sun and there is a 5 hour time difference we arrive at Heathrow at 9:15 am, seemingly 12 hours after we left.
    • We each get a 7 day London Underground pass for our use through Saturday. They cost about $90 each - DO NOT LOSE THEM. We can use our passes to take the “regular” train into London, but it cannot be used on the Heathrow Express – no worries, there is a direct train to Earl’s Court. Somebody needs to stay awake so we don’t miss our stop.
    • Hopefully by noon, we are settled into the flat.
    • Walk around and check our surroundings? Take the tube into the theatre district? Have a pint somewhere? Walk through Hyde Park (from our flat to and around the park and back would take a few hours – that might be perfect for our first day).
    • A Sunday roast at a local pub? Roast turkey or beef is a traditional Sunday pub grub staple.
    • A short nap, up to 1 hour, might be OK but it’s probably best to avoid it and just go to bed at a “normal” time or maybe a little early. You might wake up in the middle of the night, since your body is all confused. Go back to sleep. The goal is to wake up in the morning at a normal local time. Then have some coffee.
    • Hit a grocery store?
    • Buy phones.
  • Monday through Friday
    • Mornings
      • Typically eat breakfast at “home”. Read, coffee, play with the cat, maybe browse the web, watch TV, a walk around the neighborhood or in some park.
      • There are three major museums (science, natural history, and “stuff”) about a mile from us. They each open at 10 am and are free. Maybe a walk to one of these and some time browsing around is a good way to spend the morning/early afternoon.
      • On the other hand ... it might be smart to do some “real” touristy stuff bright and early, such as the Tower or the Eye, to avoid the crowds, then retire to the flat for a quiet mid afternoon, recharging for an evening out somewhere?
    • Midday
      • Late mornings through early evenings are for sightseeing. Museums, famous buildings, shopping ...
      • Pub grub lunches should be good and reasonably priced.
      • This is also the time to hit the half price ticket booth at Leicester Square.
    • Evenings
      • Some evenings we’ll do something .. a show, shopping, the movies?
      • We should probably plan on some evening meals in the flat. Check out British TV.
      • Perhaps one night we will check out a “club”. This is a London young person thing. Tom and Julie might find it interesting. One or both of “us”, the parents, would go with them. Melissa Edwards’ favorite club is the Metra. I think these clubs get “full” and have long lines of “kids” waiting to get in so if we want to do this we’d probably go “early”. I’ve sent an email to Melissa about this to try to get more info.
  • Monday
    • Courtauld Institute at the Somerset House is free admission from 10 am to 2 pm. It has a nice impressionist collection. It can be combined with a visit to St. Paul’s, right “up the street”.
  • Thursday
    • Covent Garden -.. its no longer a real market and is targeted at tourists but that is what we are! This summer they have extended hours on Thursdays into the evening until 10 pm.
  • Saturday – beginning of the Bank Holiday weekend
    • During this holiday weekend London hosts a HUGE Caribbean themed carnival, we’re talking a million or so people, in the NottingHill area. The main activities take place the day we leave and the day after we leave. But, the day before we leave, Saturday, there is a key carnival related steel band competition in Hyde Park between 4 pm and 9 pm.
  • Sunday
    • Clean up the flat.
    • One last walk in a favorite park.
    • Pack and leave by 12:30 pm (just after noon)
    • Our 7 day pass is used up so we have to buy tickets
    • Flight BA0069 leaves from Heathrow at 4:15 pm. Same amenities as the flight over except we will not need to try to sleep. Flying “with” the sun means we just have a very long day.
    • Arrive in Philadelphia at 7:30 pm, after an 8 hour flight.
    • Home by 9:30 pm and to bed. It’s a long day.
  • Monday
    • Villanova starts!

 

Location

  • Keep your fingers crossed about the flat. I have no idea what it is like. The one they were in before was ideal for us .. three bedroom, close to the underground and several nice stores, pubs and parks. The one that we will be in is further from the underground (but its not terribly far), has only two bedrooms, and I have no idea what sort of pubs, stores are around, and the large parks are several long blocks away. But I have a feeling the whole thing will turn out to be perfect!
  • Here is where we are (see arrow):

 

 

  • Closest tube station is Earl’s Court (0.5 miles?) although High Street Kensington isn’t too much further.
  • Nothing of real interest right on our doorstep but the following are within “walking” distance (from near to far) and I think are all free:
  • We will be staying just off the lower left hand corner of this large map.

 

Shouldn’t Miss (in no particular order)

 

Other Ideas

  • National Portrait Gallery
  • A walk in Regents Park and a beautiful view of London from the top of Primrose Hill maybe with a picnic lunch
  • Here’s a site which describes several interesting London walks.
  • London Eye (huge “ferris wheel”) - it costs $30 each except Julie is half price and I can skip it but if you all want to go, you can, its supposedly very nice but I’ve seen warnings that you should book in advance. Maybe it should be an early morning thing?
  • The Photographer’s Gallery is free.
  • The Tower of London
  • London Dungeon – Maybe just for Tom and Julie as that would cut the cost considerably.
  • OK, this is something that is on all the “top London attractions” lists but that I have never been to and I think it might be neat. It’s a Shakespeare “museum”, the Globe Theater. The centerpiece is a theater that represents a reconstruction of a theater back in Billy’s day. They put on his plays, and apparently do a really good job of it. When we are in town a three month run of the Merchant of Venice is just starting. Personally I think it would be a great night out for the family, although tickets might be difficult/impossible to get since its the opening week. What do you think?
  • Hampton Court in southwest London although it might be crowded .. go early?
  • Lunch/Dinner in Chinatown
  • Harry Potter sites
    • London Zoo Reptile House
    • King’s Cross Station Platform 4
  • The Australian for a pub-grub lunch but it might be closed down?
  • Berwick Street for LPs

 

 

Day Trips?

 

 

  • I think we can get a car for about $100 a day. The idea would be to pick it up early one day and head out into the countryside. Possible destinations would be:
    • Stonehenge
      • Maybe combined with Bath
      • Maybe we just take a canned tour to Stonehenge and Bath; its about $80 per person but includes the round trip ride plus admission at both sites (a total of $60 at Stonehenge and $88 for the Roman Baths. And we avoid the hassle of getting and returning a car and driving in London. On the other hand we also miss the fun and freedom of having our own car. On the third hand there is plenty to do in London and we don’t have to leave it. So, what do you think .. rent the car and see Stonehenge and the Roman Baths is $248 .. take the canned trip is $320 .. do neither is $0?
    • Canterbury
      • Could possibly include a visit to one or two friends of mine. Pretty countryside, historic city, could possibly include a drive to the Cliffs of Dover.
  • Greenwich is only about 6 miles from downtown London and is a neat place to visit on a nice day. I think there are free ferry rides from nearby various tube stations so that is one option – but I don’t know how crowded they are. It would be fun just to ride the ferry. Sue Edwards suggested this as a good day trip, no car needed.