HAIL BRITANNIA!

We went to London in September and had an Absolutely Fabulous time! 10 days left us wanting more. Here's what we thought of London, Windsor, Stonehenge, and Bath.

Making Plans to Go
We tried Virgin Vacations and didn't have a good experience with them. When we got to London we were supposed to get a free breakfast at McDonald's, which didn't bother us that much, except that is was supposed to be in conjunction with an orientation meeting, which we also didn't get. This left us in London pretty much blind, since we had never been there (much less ANYWHERE overseas) before. We had no opportunity to ask questions or find out information about our Paris day trip, which we had also booked through them. (We had no idea where to meet the train and the tour group we were supposed to be with.) The person that met us at the airport basically took us out to the car that took us to our hotel and that was it, no time for questions. Our documents did not have a number in the U.K. that we could call if we were having any trouble with our trip, only numbers in the U.S. It's ridiculous to make a long distance call to talk to a company that's supposed to be based in the U.K. The last straw was when we called to make arrangements to be picked up to be taken back to the airport. We wanted to get to the airport 3 hours early. The pick up service said absolutely not, they have to pick other people up and can only get you there 2 hours early. There was no line at the check in counter when we got to the airport, but we noticed that just 5 minutes later, the line was enormous. We felt very rushed, since we really wanted to take a lot of time to do duty free shopping and maybe grab a bite to eat. Avoid Virgin Vacations-they seem to be too new to be a really good vacation booker. British Airways vacation service might be better. We'll try them next time.

Getting There
Well, of course, by airplane. We highly recommend Virgin Airways, even though their vacation service isn't that great. See our review in the flying section.

Getting Around London
If you're American, PLEASE DON'T DRIVE! This is what quite a few of our British friends told us, and they were right. We didn't rent a car, and got around just fine. (And noticed how nutty everyone there drives, which also made us feel just fine about not driving.) The London Underground (Tube) has got to be the best subway system next to New York City. You can get anywhere in London very quickly. Stations are located really close to all the major attractions, and you never have to wait long for a train. Anytime we went anywhere, it was always only 2 or 3 minutes to the next train. If you are going to do alot of tubeing it, we suggest you get the "visitor's travelcard", a multi day subway card that is a really good deal. It's not available when you get to London, so be sure to buy one before you leave on your trip.
If you want more structured touring, there are loads of double decker bus tours that have all day city tours stopping at all the major attractions, where you can get on and get off as many times as you like.

Where to Stay
Do as much research as possible. If you're American you will not be happy with the size of the rooms at the average hotel, but that's the way it is all over. Europeans don't care as much about room size as we do. The best thing to do is look online and even then, the pictures are misleading. Also keep in mind that their rating system is quite generous. If it says "4 star", knock off 2 stars and that's more like the American rating.
Swallow International Tube: Gloucester Road. This is where we stayed and it's a good example of not getting what we expected. It's a 4 star hotel, in the European rating system, but it seemed like 2 stars to us. The quality of the accommodations reminded us very much of a Comfort Inn in America, which really made us wonder what the Comfort Inn that we saw over there was like. (The room must have been a shoebox there!) The first room we were offered was the standard room-it was way too small and the window had a lovely view of a brick wall. We called the front desk and asked to be moved. They were very nice about it and moved us to an "executive suite". It was bigger and didn't have a view of a brick wall. Even though it was bigger, the actual size was what we thought the original room SHOULD have been. (It was the size of a standard Comfort Inn room in America.) We guess London executives must not need much room. The room was clean, except for the sticky parts of the rug that the maid never cleaned. (That was the drawback to the free in room breakfast-the jelly for the buns gets all over the place.) Be mindful of when you shower-the hot water didn't always seem to be available. The pool and gym was nice, and the restaurants were pretty good (reviewed in the restaurant section below.)

Royal Palaces and Buildings
Buckingham Palace Only open in August and September, when the Queen typically takes her vacation to Balmoral Castle, this is her primary residence. Be sure to get your tickets as early as you can, because they go quickly. This self guided walking tour goes through the most beautiful parts of the palace, and takes a couple of hours. Queen Elizabeth keeps a tight reign on photography, and as you'll find in many of the royal palaces, no cameras are allowed, and here, they even go so far as to not allow you to take any kind of bag at all in.
The Royal Mews The stable where the queen's horses are kept. You can visit the horses, and see the collection of magnificent coaches she uses on different occassions, including her coronation coach, the biggest of them all, and totally gold leafed. Take as many pictures as you want.
The Tower of London An all day affair, practically. This is a collection of buildings, which used to be a royal residence, armory, jail, and a host of other things. The main attraction, of course, is the building where the Crown Jewels are kept. A number of crowns, scepters, jewels, and other priceless items are kept here. Another Tower of London attraction is the armory, where you can view lots of swords, weapons, knight's armor, and even horse's armor-it's a wonder the horses could walk! We highly recommend you pay the extra and go on the Yeoman Warder's guided tour. It's very informative, and gives a great overview of the history of the Tower of London. After the tour, you can explore on your own, and be a little more in the know about everything. The only place cameras aren't allowed is the Crown Jewel exhibit.

Other Stuff to See
BBC Experience Not what we expected. The building this is in is only really used for radio broadcasts. The "experience" is not a tour at all, it's kind of a hands on experience geared for kids where you see clips from TV shows, try your hand at a radio broadcast production and some other games and stuff like that.
The British Museum Huge. This is where you can see the Rosetta Stone, the original tablet that made it possible to translate Egyptian hyroglyphics. You could spend days here, there are loads of artifacts from ancient Egypt, Greece, and lots of other archeological treasures.
The London Eye British Airways built this enormous ferris wheel on the bank of the river Thames. Hop aboard one of the cars (each holds 25 people!) and spend a half hour getting a fantastic view of London.
The London Transport Museum A neat museum dedicated to the history of public transportation in London. Displays include the history of the subway, bus system, and railroad. There are lots of authentic old buses and a few subway and rail cars to look in. Try your hand at driving a subway train in a simulator.
The Millenium Dome Tube: Greenwich. Reminds us of a "lite" version of the Epcot Center in Disney World. The dome seems to have a love-hate relationship with the Brits, considering it was built with taxpayer money and has been losing that money left and right. While we were there, the regular admission price was reduced from 20 pounds to 10 pounds to try to drum up some business. Anyway, this is truly an all day affair, so be sure to give yourself at least 6 hours to see the major stuff. There are a number of interactive exhibits in the pavilion, the neatest of which is run by British Telecomm. They will make what is called an "avatar" of you, which is a 3D computer rendering of your body. When the rendering is ready, you access it on the internet and can see yourself doing some pretty silly stuff. Other exhibits include a giant walk through human body, a transportation exhibit, an exhibit about money and spending habits, including a huge display of 1 million pounds (about $1.5 million), and loads of other stuff.
The Palace of Westminster Also known as Parliament. Only open for tours during the Parliament's summer holiday, typically August and September. Be sure to book your tickets very early-they sell out quickly. An extrememly knowledgeable guide takes you through both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, telling you a little about how their government process works. You also get to see the back rooms where voting takes place, as well as tracing the route the queen takes when she does her yearly opening of Parliament ceremony, going up the stairs, throught the halls, and into the robing room. The best story is the story of Blackrod, the man who is designated to call the members of the House of Commons to the queen's throne. As he comes to call them, year in and year out, tradition goes that they slam the door in his face. The tour is well worth it, especially for those of you anglophiles who watch Prime Minister's Questions on C-SPAN. The only drawback is that no cameras are allowed, but in the gift area at the end of the tour, there is an interactive cd-rom available.
Vinopolis A museum dedicated to the history of wine. Learn about wine and wine making from its earliest times, and a history and explanation of each winemaking region of the world. Also learn about the different kinds of wine and what they taste like. Included are actual tastings at different areas of the museum. A warning to people who only like sweet wines: The tasting tables were 99% dry wine, so we were kinda out of luck because we don't care for dry wines.

Shopping
All we can say is: Harrod's Harrod's Harrod's!!! It was the most amazing department store we've ever been in-if you've ever seen the Macy's in New York City, they pale in comparison to Harrod's. It's more like an upscale (and bigger) Macy's. Be sure to devote a day just to look around. They've got something for everyone, even a pet shop, food hall (grocery shop), book shop, a giant cosmetics area, loads of clothes, including lots of special areas devoted to just one designer, restaurants, lots of areas devoted to souvenirs with the Harrod's name plastered on them, and the best Christmas shop we've seen-too bad they don't allow photos, we surely would have taken some.

Duty Free
There are 2 ways to save some money on stuff you'll be taking home with you. One way is to go duty free shopping at the airport before you leave for home. Be sure to leave lots of time-there are tons of duty free shops, including liquor stores, souvenir shops, clothing stores, a tiny Harrod's outlet, and just about everything you can imagine-it's set up like a mall.
The other way to save money is to get the VAT refunded on your purchases. VAT is the national sales tax, which is a hefty 17%. Yikes! But, careful shopping can save you money. Look for shops that have a sign saying "tax free for tourists" or something like that. When in doubt, just ask if they refund VAT. Two places we know of do it-Harrod's and the shops in the Tower of London, but there are probably lots more. Normally there will be a minimum spending amount, like 50 pounds ($75). This is because when you fill out the paperwork, there is a processing fee which makes it not worth it if you spend less than that. The store will give you the paperwork, which you must take to the airport to have stamped. They may ask you to show the items you are claiming as tax free, so be sure to stop at the counter before you check in your luggage, or keep the stuff in your carry on.

Restaurants We Tried
This is only what we had time to try. Keep in mind, there are loads of places to eat, so you might want to consult a restaurant listing.
ASK There are a few of these-it's a chain. Upscale pizza-lots of choices, like Bertucci's here in the states. They have pasta and some other italian items, but we stuck with the pizza, which was really good-they come personal size, but if you want to share, just order a salad-they're huge.
Blayney's Restaurant in the Swallow International Hotel, tube-Gloucester Rd. A little more dressy than Hunter's, also in the Swallow. The food is excellent and the service is great. Be careful-if you stay in the hotel, they'll give you a "buy 1 get 1 free" coupon for this restaurant, but it's a different and much smaller menu that you choose from for that. We stuck with the regular menu and enjoyed it thoroughly.
British Museum "Buffet" In the British Museum, tube-Tottenham Court Rd. They call it a buffet, but it's not all you can eat, which is our definition of a buffet. It's a cafeteria-go through the line once and pay for each thing you take. Way overpriced, and the food wasn't anything to write home about. The seating area leaves much to be desired-the tables are too close together and it's not as clean as it should be.
Delhi Brasserie tube-Gloucester Rd. A friend of ours told us to try an Indian restaurant while in London and she was right-this one seemed to be the next best thing to being in India. The food was fantastic. We had a complete dinner for 2 that, for 1 price, had appetizers, 2 entrees, rice, naan bread, and dessert. YUM! The lamb dish was fantastic-the lamb tender and the sauce very good, and the duck dish in a tomato based sauce was the best. Everything was great. The service was a bit slow for our taste-it made us late for a West End show we had tickets for, so if you go there allow 2 hours minimum if you're going to do the full dinner without wolfing it down.
Garfunkel's All over the place-it's a chain. Reminds us of TGIFridays here in the states, but with a smaller menu. The choices were fairly ordinary, burgers and British faves such as fish n chips and mushy peas, but it tasted good and the prices weren't too bad.
Hunter's Restaurant in the Swallow International Hotel, tube-Gloucester Rd. Very good buffet. Nice ambiance, in a kind of casual setting (no t shirts, jeans or shorts). The buffet had very tasty choices, including lamb, beef, egg rolls, and a few sides and salad items, all you can eat. Good price, too-only 13 pounds ($20).
Porter's English Restaurant tube-Covent Garden. This was as close to pub food as we could get-even though everyone told us to do the pub thing (they're supposed to have great food and be really fun), we avoided them like the plague because there's no such thing as a nonsmoking section in a pub. This restaurant didn't have one either, but it had more of a family atmosphere, so it wasn't too smoky. The food is standard British fare-excellent and reasonably priced. The Dorset Jugged Venison (a stew with venison, veggies, and a red wine sauce) was great, and bubble and squeak as a side was tasty. For dessert, try the dark chocolate chip pudding with chocolate custard-it's scrumptious. If you want to try an interesting cocktail that's a British standard, get a Pimm's Cup. It's Pimm's, a kind of liquor, lemonade, and cucumber-it makes for an interesting combination.
Rainforest Cafe tube-Picadilly Circus. Good service and tasty food at one of your favorite theme restaurants. We liked the Lamba La Bamba with apricot sauce and sweet potatoes-the lamb was moist and not overdone. The toffee mousse and banana ice cream was delicious for dessert.
Wwwater Restaurant tube-Tower Hill. In the Thistle Hotel next to the Tower Bridge. We were at the Tower of London for the day, and the food choices there didn't thrill us, so we left the Tower grounds in search of something better. This is a nice casual, coffee shop type of restaurant with a nautical theme and a great view of the Tower Bridge. The service was a little slow, but the food was good and inexpensive-the daily specials are the best deal.

WINDSOR
Another quaint town, the home of Windsor Castle, Queen Elizabeth II's favorite residence. It's easy to get to-take a commuter train from Waterloo Station in London to Windsor-the town, as well as the castle, are within walking distance of the station.
Windsor Castle Parts of the castle are almost always open, but there are times when you can see more rooms than at other times-check their website for details about hours and pricing. It's well worth the trip to see this magnificent structure. Plan to spend a few hours just walking through and admiring the many beautiful rooms. An audio tour is provided, which is nice because it explains a lot in detail. The guidebook also helps-buy it so you can refer to the room layouts and descriptions as you walk through. There is also a "changing of the guard" ceremony, which is supposed to be better than the one at Buckingham Palace. We missed it, so be sure to call the castle ahead of time to check for the days and times they will be doing the ceremony.
Restaurants There's no shortage of restaurants and fast food places all along the main street leading to the castle gates.
Shopping Lots of nice little shops-you could spend a day here just shopping.

STONEHENGE
Pretty cool. However, you'd better go see it while you can. Our tour guide said that the scholars are up in arms about people being able to get up close to it, claiming that the visitors may be destroying vital archeological evidence. Horse Puckey!!! They are threatening to close it off to visitors and sightseers and build a replica a mile down the road. Sorry, but I can't see spending $75 on a bus trip to a fake Stonehenge.

BATH
A quaint little town a short drive from London. It's claim to fame is the Roman Baths, but there's much more to see. If you have the time, at least spend the night there so you can see the Baths and get in some shopping, too.
The Roman Baths The famous Roman Baths were built at a time when what is now Great Britain was occupied by the Roman empire (almost 2000 years ago). Believe it or not, people still go there from time to time to take "the cure". This naturally occuring hot spring's water is supposed to have a healing effect, which explains the elaborate structure the Romans built to house it. The tour consists of going through the many chambers to see the many different pools the water was pumped into, as well as the interesting way the furnace system was set up. The floor was raised on little brick pillars and hot air was pumped in under the floor from another room. Bathers would sit in one of the many kinds of hot baths to soak up it's curative powers, and then take a cold plunge in another room. It's well worth the trip to Bath to see this-it's really cool.
Evan's Famous Fish 'n' Chips On a street nearby the Roman Bath's-ask for directions-anyone familiar with the area should be able to direct you there. Our tour guide suggested this place and we were not dissapointed. You can eat in or take out, there are tables in the back. The menu is small-fish 'n' chips is the thing to get. It's the best! Huge fish fillets are breaded and fried and served with lots of chips (the British call french fries "chips"), as well as "mushy peas". (Mushy peas are a British institution-it's just what it sounds like, and yummy.) The food is great, as well as a great deal. You get a lot for your money.
Shopping The main reason we want to go back to Bath for a couple of days. We were on a bus trip, so we really only had time to see the Baths and go in a couple of used book shops. There are loads of quaint little shops up and down the main streets of the town, you could spend a couple of days there just shopping.

Email / knighton@cablespeed.com
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