Just got back from London Thurs. afternoon so I guess I will attempt to answer all of those “How was London?” questions with one post. Hopefully it will be helpful if anyone plans to go to London eventually.

London is essentially the NYC of Europe. The official language is English but you are likely to walk down the street or to any Tube (subway) station and not hear a bit of English. Their money (the Pound) is extremely strong especially against the US Dollar almost 2 dollars for every Pound, which makes London very expensive.

With that said here are the highlights, disappointments and tips for your next London excursion.

For those who do not want to read it all, here are some of my favorite pictures for you to look at (others can continue on reading below):

–HighLights–
Tower of London - The yeomen Wanderers or Beefeaters offer free tours of the Tower of London which run about 50 minutes each and are very entertaining. The tour takes you through a few points in the complex, which was once a prison, castle, weaponry but is now a government officials home, a museum and the home of the Crown Jewels. The walk through the complex which houses the Crown Jewels was like weaving your way through a line at the DMV. Thankfully it is the off-season and there was no one there, but even in a crowded summer, it is worth the wait. The gold swords, elaborate robes, punch bowl that could double as a keg holder, and of course the crowns, were all amazing. It was def. one of the best sites of the trip.

More Tower of London Pictures here

-Changing of the guard - the changing of the guard is something I really wanted to see. Wanted to see it so much we went twice. The first time was actually a mistake b/c our Concierge didn’t know what day it was happening, hell he didn’t really know anything. The first day we went out to Buckingham Palace there was a large crowd (so we thought) but nothing really happened, if you got close enough to the fence you could see 3 guys changing out the guards but it was not the elaborate ceremony we had hoped. We asked a bobby and found out it was actually the following day. We returned a day later and I guess everyone else’s concierge knew the proper day b/c the crowd was 5x as large. We were still able to get our spot on top of the fountain, which is the best place to stand. Everyone and their mom happens to know this but if you go up the far side stairs you will be able to get a good spot by the ledge. The guards come marching from all directions along with their marching band which was one of the highlights in itself…at least to me. I have a slight affinity for marching bands. When all of the guards are in the gates, funny hats and all, they begin their ceremony. The whole thing takes about 20 minutes and the band was the best part, the rest is kind of dull. Luckily for us, the Brazilian President happened to be staying in Buckingham Palace which is why I believe the Guard’s Marching Band played a few tunes from West Side Story, so we got an extended show.

More Changing of the Guard Pictures

Beer - One thing the United kingdom is known for is its beer and cider, which I did my blogging duty and tried as many different varieties as possible, as many times as possible :). London Pride and Stella Artois are other English beers that I sampled, along with John Smith, Broadside, and several types of Strongbow Ciders (by recommendation of RT). Holsten was one of my favorites (along with London Pride) and I think it is going on my top 10 beers list, and as I google’d the site, I just found out its a German beer, oh well it was damn good. Learn more about english beers.

Pubs - We found a great site (fancyapint.com) which has helped us identify which pubs the locals have rated the best Pubs to visit. Jen and I mapped them out before we left and attempted to visit as many as possible, although some took lots of wandering around and turned up empty the ones we did find we all well worth it.
The Swan - We drank a few times at a pub near our hotel, The Swan, which is mostly a tourist pub (has a 1 pint rating out of 5) but it was close, service was friendly and was open later then most. The fish and chips were excellent too.
Nags Head was a extremely small pub on the south side of Hyde Park and has a 5 pint rating. There is a sign out front that says ‘No Mobiles’ and if your cell phone rings the 70yr old bar keep yells at you and makes you go outside, as he did to the young suit who was his first victim while we were there. Nags Head is known for its shepherds Pie, authentic atmosphere (with fireplace) and supposedly the bar keep is a helluva guy. Another note on the Nags Head is if you ask or attempt to pay by credit card, he yells at the entire bar ‘CASH’ ‘CASH’ ‘CASH’ because as you guess he only takes cash. It was a charming pub but not our favorites, but someone must like it b/c he has all these ‘Best Pub’ awards up.
Ladbrooke Pub in Notting Hill was a nice authentic pub that my friend Adrian was nice enough to introduce to us (along with the Double Decker and Black Cab). The beer was good an the atmosphere was good as well. It was the type of place that seemed like the locals came too after work.
Our favorite pub was by far the Duke of Wellington which was an excellent pub near Victoria Station and the perfect way to end a long day trip to Bath. Duke of Wellington is another 5 pint rating but one we can agree with. The welcome was extremely warm and friendly and the people we enjoyable as well. Jen had a meat pie that she really loved and while we drank we watched on local put at least 100pounds into this video slot machine which provided us entertainment. There was a small tv with the soccer match on, a fireplace and a wide selection of beers, whiskeys and food. The Duke of Wellington was top notch and a must visit for anyone else planning on going to London.

Windsor Castle - this was the first stop on our day trip guided by Evan Evans tour, no I’m not making that up. The castle was amazing. It is hard to believe there is no sign of the fire in the 90s that supposedly did so much damage to the castle. They have done an amazing job restoring it and still keeping the history in tact. The Queen actually lives in the castle (one of 5 places she lives in), which is still active for royal functions of all sorts. You get a free audio guide before you enter the castle and it is full of information. As you walk through the designated path you can select the number of the room you are in and listen to all sorts of facts. The best part about this is the fact you can tour the castle at your own pace and listen to what you want and skip the 3 dozen reception rooms if you so choose. The view from Windsor Castle is particularly amazing.

Bath - Bath is a small town founded by the Romans who discovered the underground Hot Springs. The Roman Baths are easily identified by the Roman architecture around them and again you got a free audio guide which allowed you to tour at your own pace. We went into the Church which was nice but it would have also been nice to explore the rest of this small town. We ate at a place called the GC, Jen had a pasties and I had a Bacon and Brie baggette Panini that was divine. It was a delicious lunch for 5pounds and the owner / cook was very friendly. Although I have heard others say otherwise, Jen and I say Bath is def. worth the visit.

Stone Henge - This was another place where I have heard others say they thought it was disappointing but it was one I had to go to, if anything to check it off my life list. Some people say b/c it is next to a road it kind of loses its mystique and also some people said it was smaller then they expected. I was impressed and it was actually larger then I thought. The stones were 30 or so feet high and 2/3s of each stone is buried below the ground which amazes me even more. Historians believe it was used as a calendar / sun dial / temple which was built by druids 5000 years ago, although others (including me) believe it was built by Aliens Overall, I really enjoyed this visit, but could have done without the bone chilling winds that were whipping over the open fields around Stone Henge. The first picture shows a good perspective to the size of Stone Henge

London Markets - the open-air markets are always one of my favorite places to go no matter which city it is. You find a lot of local items and food there which is usually cheap and tasty. Camden Market was definitely busier on the weekend then it was during the week, but it was also much busier during the week then its counterpart, Portobello Road Market, which was mostly fruit and veggies during the weekdays. We had some great Chinese and donuts for dessert at Camden Market along with some cheap shirts for Jen and her sister. I could have easily eaten everyday at Camden Market and I wish we would have tried the Nutella filled crepes (damn this Lent and chocolate thing). Def. worth a visit and you’ll see some of the classic Londonites you expect. The ones with the 2 foot high colored mohawks, black leather pants and huge black boots are plenty around Camden Market.

Fish and Chips - one of the first thing people associate with London when they hear it is, Fish and Chips. Now I see why. This was my first fish and chip experience and definitely not my last. The ‘chips’ = French Fries we good and you could find them just about everywhere and the fish was black cod in a tamporu coating and fried. its hard not to like something that’s fried, but I’ve never been a big seafood fan, until the Tuna incident and now the Fish and Chips…YUMMM

bagettes - there is nothing like a good baggette and in London, like the rest of Europe they are damn good. You can go into just about any food store and get a baggette for less then 50 pence (80 cents). I know they have them in the US but they just aren’t as good and its hard to explain. A true bread lover will understand what I mean. Its great to throw in your backpack and snack on throughout the day…another YUMMM

Worth Mentioning
-Harrod’s - the huge department store that ‘every woman must visit’ (its basically a mall, but don’t worry guys they have an electronics and sports departments…and a toy hummer worth 40k$).
-Notting Hill - cool area
-British museum - beautiful museum of artifacts from all time periods of world civilization. Also home of the Rosetta Stone. And this impressive tomb
-Imperial War museum - awesome display of weaponry, history and the trench experience is especially cool! (although it scared jen)
-British Library - excellent display of old scrolls, original bibles, Shakespearean works, beetle’s original Lyrics and the Sound Archives.
-London Eye - the big ferris wheel with amazing views of the city but go early in the day, at dawn or at night for the best pictures mine were very hazy.
-Big Ben - Jen’s favorite
-Our Hotel, Thistle Lancaster Gate - nice hotel, very accommodating and a huge breakfast every morning which was included in our package.
-Tate Modern - Pretty cool if you are into contemporary Art I did learn who Jackson Pollock was!
-St Paul’s Cathedral - beautiful church. Costs 9pounds to explore but you can go in the main entrance and get a look around for free.
- Hyde Park - park right across the street from our hotel. Filmed JP’s favorite movie, Bridget Jones Diary here.
-Liecester Square / Piccadilly Circus - the Times Square of London

-Disappointments-
-Sherlock Holmes isn’t real! and James Bond has retired!
-museum of Natural History. My main reason for wanting to go to the Natural History Museum was to see the newly acquired Giant Squid. My love for marine life, discovery channel documentaries, and IMAX movies have peaked my interest in the Giant Squid but what the article (or any book) fails to tell you until you reach the door is that you can only see the squid if you book a behind the scenes tour, which by the time you get to the door are already booked (we were there before the doors opened too). The rest of the museum was nice but its definitely more of a place for kids. The one exhibit I wanted to see other then the squid was Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibit but it was an extra 6pounds each to see, which I thought was a little pricey for one exhibit. The giant moving T-rex was pretty sweet and I could have sat there all day and watch the reactions of the little kids walking into the dark room and hearing T-rex ROAR and turn to look at them. It was mildly entertaining but the squid and photography exhibit issues make it a disappointment for me.

Weather - I expect London to be cold but the weather forecasts and words from Londoners said to expect 10oC temps (about 45oF) but the entire week it was around 3-5oC which was pretty damn cold. The last day the sun came out for the first time. We had all types of precipitation possible. Rain, Mist, Hail, and some snow flurries! An interesting fact about London weather is that they only get 21 inches of annual rainfall despite their reputation as being a cold wet city. They are also in a 2 year long drought, which is hard to comprehend for a country that is an ISLAND!

Brian Haw - Haw is the guy who has supposedly been protesting the War in Iraq out front of parliament since 2001 was not there anymore. I went by to talk to him by recommendation of my friend Kristin Luna and I was told by another protestor he wasn’t there. I couldn’t get anymore info from the protestor but maybe the fact the UK started pulling its troops out had something to do with it. I have no idea.

Rush hour on the tube - try to avoid rush hour on the Tube / Underground if at all possible, it is nuts!

Museum Overload - not really a disappointment but a shock, there is a museum for EVERYTHING its really just hard to take it all in within a week.

Fashion - I know Europe is supposed to be very fashionable but I don’t know if this applies to London, if so I hope that the next wave of trends skips the US. All of the women tuck their jeans into their boots. It just does look right. The Swedes were different and cuffed up their jeans above their boots which looked ok. I would love to see both of these left out of the sorority girl newsletter and abolished along with the pointy shoes.

Magna Carta - We went to the British Library to mainly see the Magna Carta and on the same day of the fake changing of the guard and the squid incident we go to the BL and find that the Magna Carta is in the USA! Just our luck that day.

Cabinet War Rooms - couldn’t get in because there was something special going on. Have heard it was worth a visit if you can get in.

–Tips–
-Like in any country if something says ‘Traditional XYZ’ then its most likely not and probably geared towards tourists.
-Internet - If you are looking for Internet access go to the Leicester Square stop and walk towards the National Gallery. There is a 24hr Internet cafe where you can get an hour for 1pound. Our hotel had access for 4pounds for 20 minutes (8$ per 20 minutes or 24$/hr) and most other shops were 2pounds for 15 minutes.
-Tower Bridge which is the best looking bridge often gets mistaken for London Bridge (which the original is now in Arizona)
-There is a direct flight out of Raleigh-Durham Airport to London that runs daily and wasn’t too crowded, allowed us to stretch out.
-If you have a breakfast buffet, pack sandwiches for the day.
-Southern Train from Gatwrick is cheaper but takes a little bit longer because it stops at all stops. In the morning it can get crowded.
-A passport holder / wallet that hangs around your neck is worth the investment to avoid pick pockets.
-Get Dansko’s

–Interesting Facts–
-when the Queen goes on a trip, her luggage weighs 12 tons.
-Burgers have a different texture, i hope it is not mad cow related
-8% of all money spent in England goes to one company, Tesco, the supermarket. This still amazes me.
-London only gets 21inches of annual rainfall per year, currently in a 2 year drought
-Londonites must love magazines, they have 4 mags for every topic..at least about 63 for pr0n
-you can get a 7day transportation pass that is called an Oyster pass for 5pounds more then the much publicized 3day pass.
-London is surprisingly clean

Resources
FancyApint.com
Rick Steve’s book
A friendly Local (Thanks Again AB)

When I go back to London: (I’m sure I’ll be there eventually, maybe on a ‘business’ trip)
-I’d like to explore some outside areas of London.
-Id like to take the Cadbury Tour although the factory is an hour and a half out side of town.
-Fullers Brewery Tour
-Wimbledon
-and I’d go to a Soccer Match.

There really wasn’t much good light while I was there and I didn’t get a chance to take too many night shots, but I tried to filter through the crap photos and post/link to the good ones. 500+ photos so I didn’t do any post processing to any, so if some are tilted or color is a little off, I’m sorry. I have full size pics if anyone wants any.

There is so much to do in London, I’m almost sure I forgot something on this post, so I’ll make sure Jen adds her 2 pence. Overall, it was a great trip we had lots of fun, thanks to everyone who helped make it possible.

Tagged with London, Buckingham Palace, London Bridge, Vacation, Stone Henge, Beer