London Calling - Page 5

DreadPirateRoberts · 12-12-2006, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Not Afraid

Maybe you were reading the guide with us when they suggested going to a Rainforest Cafe.

We won't be doing that, BTW.

In that case, you probably won't care that the McDonalds in London charges for those little ketchup packages (at least they did when I was there).

Tom · 12-17-2006, 11:00 AM

Hey guys, sorry I'm late to the party.

I've been to London twice in recent years (meaning since 1999) and have some suggestions:

1. Do go to the Tower, but do get there at opening, and get on the first or second tour with the beefeaters. There will be a somewhat more manageable mob, and will leave you a good deal of time afterwards to poke around on your own. When I was there, the beefeaters also offered lectures in the afternoons. I went to one on the history of imprisonment and torture in England, which was fascinating and horrifying.
2. I found pretty much througout England that the guided tours offered at sites are highly worthwhile. For a couple pounds or something like that, it makes the visit to the place a lot more rewarding. I would say that the tours at the Tower and at Westminster Abbey are musts (the Abbey one takes you to places that are not open to the non-touring public). I didn't try the ones at the museums, so not sure about thoise, but I highly recommend them for historical sites.
3. Many (most?) of the museums have no admission charge, which makes it easy to see them in more than one visit. I saw the British Museum over parts of three different days when I was there. Whenever you find yourself with a spare two hours or so, you can pop into a museum.
4. As GD mentioned, the half-price ticket booth is an excellent option, though when I was there it was in Leicester square, not Trafalgar. Perhaps it moved? I went to a different show essentially every night I was in England, and they had tickets for just baout everything available there. I got tickets there the Royal Shakespeare doing Measure for Measure which was the best production I have seen of anything, anywhere.
5. The one sort of out of the way place I got to and recommend is the Old Operating Theatre Museum (http://www.thegarret.org.uk/oot.htm). It is an actual operating theater, dating from 1822, that has been turned into a museum about pre-Victorian medicine. Also fascinating and horrifying (actually, those are recurrent themes in England).
6. Day trips could be a lot of fun as well. Canterbury and Oxford would be manageable day trips from London, and well worth while. Cambridge and Stratford might be as well (I haven't been to either). Stonehenge, I think is a little farther away, and I'm not sure how day-trippable it is. You can check my geography on this. When I went there, I had a rental car and I got to Stonehenge in the morning as it first opened. I was the only one there for a while (two or three people showed up before I left), and there was a lot of low-hanging fog around and in those conditions being with the stones was a fairly awesome experience. Then I was able to drive to Avebury and see the stones there as well. Anyway, what I'm saying is that I'm not sure a bus from London would get you to Stonehenge in the right time or frame of mind to appreciate it fully. Maybe I'd leave that for the next visit. Bath is also surpassingly lovely, but I would want more than part of a day there. I also recommend York and Edinburgh, as long as we're planning your next trip.
7. It doesn't get as uch attention as some others, but I really enjoyed the Museum of London (which covers the history of London).

Anyway, that's my several cents worth.

Ghoulish Delight · 12-17-2006, 06:15 PM

Nope, you're right, Tom. Leiscester Square, my mistake.

DreadPirateRoberts · 12-22-2006, 04:42 PM

"Oranges and lemons" say the Bells of St. Clement's
"You owe me five farthings" say the Bells of St. Martin's
"When will you pay me?" say the Bells of Old Bailey
"When I grow rich" say the Bells of Shoreditch
"When will that be?" say the Bells of Stepney
"I do not know" say the Great Bells of Bow
"Here comes a Candle to light you to Bed
Here comes a Chopper to Chop off your Head
Chip chop chip chop - the Last Man's Dead."

link

lashbear · 12-22-2006, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadPirateRoberts

"Oranges and lemons" say the Bells of St. Clement's
"You owe me five farthings" say the Bells of St. Martin's
"When will you pay me?" say the Bells of Old Bailey
"When I grow rich" say the Bells of Shoreditch
"When will that be?" say the Bells of Stepney
"I do not know" say the Great Bells of Bow
"Here comes a Candle to light you to Bed
Here comes a Chopper to Chop off your Head
Chip chop chip chop - the Last Man's Dead."

link

I used to play this !!

parkfreak · 01-20-2007, 04:13 PM

Sorry if this is late, but I'm new to this cool pad!

My suggestion is to contact this walking tour company.
website: www.walks.com or e-mail: london@walks.com
Get a brochure and check it out.
They have tours with many different themes and locations. They are great because you don't have to book them ahead of time. You just show up at the desired location (usually just outside of tube stops), pay right there and join in with the tour. They usually last about 2 hours. You can fit them in anywhere that you might have time.
My (grown) daughter and I took the "Jack the Ripper Haunts" tour. Cool and creepy!
It started at the tube stop just north, across the street from the Tower of London, so it was very handy for that evening, after our tour of the Tower.
I wished we'd had more time. Some of the other tours looked interesting.

We did a day-trip to Stonehenge which also included stops at Salisbury Cathedral, Old Sarum, Avebury and lunch at a great roadside pub/restauraunt called The Wheat Sheaf. We were in a small bus (about 18 passengers) and our tour guide Robert pointed out sights and other interesting things along the way. A magical day despite the weather. (We went at the end of November 2006)

We did do the London Dungeon. Dark and sorta cheesy, but fun. Not to be missed if you're into that sort of thing. BTW the plague room smells like plague because it smells like the rats.

--P.U.!--

We saw "Wicked" at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. Way, WAY cool.

Don't do what we did and let jet-lag get the best of you and sleep almost a whole day away. It happened because we said "we'll just rest for a little while". Ya right!

Whatever you decide, have a wonderful time!!

dlrp_bopazot · 02-05-2007, 02:15 AM

hi

i may have March 17 off and those fares for the Eurostar to London are cheap on that day .

I'll arrive at 8.30am and leave at 7.15pm . Nice schedules to spend a wonderful day in london .

Not Afraid · 02-05-2007, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dlrp_bopazot

hi

i may have March 17 off and those fares for the Eurostar to London are cheap on that day .

I'll arrive at 8.30am and leave at 7.15pm . Nice schedules to spend a wonderful day in london .

PERFECT! The only set plans we have so far are tickets to see naked Harry Potter on the 16th so we'll have stories to tell...

I can't wait to meet you!

Where would you arrive? I can't remember which station the Eurostar comes into. We are about 5 minutes walk from Victoria Station.

Disneyphile · 02-05-2007, 01:18 PM

This is so exciting! I swear, I'm going to live vicariously through NA next month. (Especially for Naked Harry Potter.

)

Not Afraid · 02-05-2007, 01:26 PM

Honey, you get to see naked Harry Potter every day.

12-17-2006, 11:00 AM	#42
Tom Valued member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 541	Hey guys, sorry I'm late to the party. I've been to London twice in recent years (meaning since 1999) and have some suggestions: 1. Do go to the Tower, but do get there at opening, and get on the first or second tour with the beefeaters. There will be a somewhat more manageable mob, and will leave you a good deal of time afterwards to poke around on your own. When I was there, the beefeaters also offered lectures in the afternoons. I went to one on the history of imprisonment and torture in England, which was fascinating and horrifying. 2. I found pretty much througout England that the guided tours offered at sites are highly worthwhile. For a couple pounds or something like that, it makes the visit to the place a lot more rewarding. I would say that the tours at the Tower and at Westminster Abbey are musts (the Abbey one takes you to places that are not open to the non-touring public). I didn't try the ones at the museums, so not sure about thoise, but I highly recommend them for historical sites. 3. Many (most?) of the museums have no admission charge, which makes it easy to see them in more than one visit. I saw the British Museum over parts of three different days when I was there. Whenever you find yourself with a spare two hours or so, you can pop into a museum. 4. As GD mentioned, the half-price ticket booth is an excellent option, though when I was there it was in Leicester square, not Trafalgar. Perhaps it moved? I went to a different show essentially every night I was in England, and they had tickets for just baout everything available there. I got tickets there the Royal Shakespeare doing Measure for Measure which was the best production I have seen of anything, anywhere. 5. The one sort of out of the way place I got to and recommend is the Old Operating Theatre Museum (http://www.thegarret.org.uk/oot.htm). It is an actual operating theater, dating from 1822, that has been turned into a museum about pre-Victorian medicine. Also fascinating and horrifying (actually, those are recurrent themes in England). 6. Day trips could be a lot of fun as well. Canterbury and Oxford would be manageable day trips from London, and well worth while. Cambridge and Stratford might be as well (I haven't been to either). Stonehenge, I think is a little farther away, and I'm not sure how day-trippable it is. You can check my geography on this. When I went there, I had a rental car and I got to Stonehenge in the morning as it first opened. I was the only one there for a while (two or three people showed up before I left), and there was a lot of low-hanging fog around and in those conditions being with the stones was a fairly awesome experience. Then I was able to drive to Avebury and see the stones there as well. Anyway, what I'm saying is that I'm not sure a bus from London would get you to Stonehenge in the right time or frame of mind to appreciate it fully. Maybe I'd leave that for the next visit. Bath is also surpassingly lovely, but I would want more than part of a day there. I also recommend York and Edinburgh, as long as we're planning your next trip. 7. It doesn't get as uch attention as some others, but I really enjoyed the Museum of London (which covers the history of London). Anyway, that's my several cents worth.
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12-17-2006, 06:15 PM	#43
Ghoulish Delight I Floop the Pig Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Alternative Swankstyle Posts: 19,348	Nope, you're right, Tom. Leiscester Square, my mistake. __________________ 'He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.' -TJ
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12-22-2006, 04:42 PM	#44
DreadPirateRoberts Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 2,483	"Oranges and lemons" say the Bells of St. Clement's "You owe me five farthings" say the Bells of St. Martin's "When will you pay me?" say the Bells of Old Bailey "When I grow rich" say the Bells of Shoreditch "When will that be?" say the Bells of Stepney "I do not know" say the Great Bells of Bow "Here comes a Candle to light you to Bed Here comes a Chopper to Chop off your Head Chip chop chip chop - the Last Man's Dead." link
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01-20-2007, 04:13 PM	#46
parkfreak Aloha, Daddy-O Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Tiki Lounge Posts: 7	Sorry if this is late, but I'm new to this cool pad! My suggestion is to contact this walking tour company. website: www.walks.com or e-mail: london@walks.com Get a brochure and check it out. They have tours with many different themes and locations. They are great because you don't have to book them ahead of time. You just show up at the desired location (usually just outside of tube stops), pay right there and join in with the tour. They usually last about 2 hours. You can fit them in anywhere that you might have time. My (grown) daughter and I took the "Jack the Ripper Haunts" tour. Cool and creepy! It started at the tube stop just north, across the street from the Tower of London, so it was very handy for that evening, after our tour of the Tower. I wished we'd had more time. Some of the other tours looked interesting. We did a day-trip to Stonehenge which also included stops at Salisbury Cathedral, Old Sarum, Avebury and lunch at a great roadside pub/restauraunt called The Wheat Sheaf. We were in a small bus (about 18 passengers) and our tour guide Robert pointed out sights and other interesting things along the way. A magical day despite the weather. (We went at the end of November 2006) We did do the London Dungeon. Dark and sorta cheesy, but fun. Not to be missed if you're into that sort of thing. BTW the plague room smells like plague because it smells like the rats. --P.U.!-- We saw "Wicked" at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. Way, WAY cool. Don't do what we did and let jet-lag get the best of you and sleep almost a whole day away. It happened because we said "we'll just rest for a little while". Ya right! Whatever you decide, have a wonderful time!! __________________ "How many husbands have you had?" "Mine? Or other women's?" (Mrs. White - Clue)
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02-05-2007, 02:15 AM	#47
dlrp_bopazot Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Paris - France Posts: 323	hi i may have March 17 off and those fares for the Eurostar to London are cheap on that day . I'll arrive at 8.30am and leave at 7.15pm . Nice schedules to spend a wonderful day in london .
	Submit to Quotes

02-05-2007, 01:18 PM	#49
Disneyphile SQUIRREL! Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: On the curbside. Posts: 5,098	This is so exciting! I swear, I'm going to live vicariously through NA next month. (Especially for Naked Harry Potter. )
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02-05-2007, 01:26 PM	#50
Not Afraid HI! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 17,108	Honey, you get to see naked Harry Potter every day.
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