London advice

[rubato]

We'll be in-transit in London for a little longer than expected. Any suggestions on things to do?

We'll be landing at 1:30pm on a Monday in July and be leaving again about 48 hours later on. I expect that we'll not be good for much the 1st day other than finding a hotel and dinner.

yrs,
rubato

[Long Run]

The British Museum has an amazing collection. If you have time to wander to Buckingham Palace, it might be fun to get the Royal Guard's opinion on the newest addition to the Royal Family.

[Gob]

We'll be in-transit in London for a little longer than expected. Any suggestions on things to do?

We'll be landing at 1:30pm on a Monday in July and be leaving again about 48 hours later on. I expect that we'll not be good for much the 1st day other than finding a hotel and dinner.

yrs,
rubato

The London Eye is good. http://www.londoneye.com/

Natural History Museum http://www.nhm.ac.uk/

The Tower http://www.hrp.org.uk/toweroflondon/

Covent Garden http://www.coventgardenlife.com/

Speakers corner in Hyde Park is a laugh http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speakers%27_Corner

And a personal favourite, http://www.sherlock-holmes.co.uk/

But really it depends upon your personal interest, what would you like to see?

Give me an idea of your budget and I can recommend some hotels too.

[The Hen]

I can spend hours wandering in Hyde park. You should probably have a look at Buckingham or Kensington Palace.

The Tower was a lot of fun too.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Speaking as a Londoner, a one-day "best of" would be spent around Westminster Bridge area. There's your Parliament, Westminster Abbey which is so stuffed with literary and other bods/treasures/wonders now that the parvenus have left, Whitehall, the Eye on the south bank, 10 Downing (waaaaay back there), then you stroll up the Mall to Buck Pal and St James' Park. Just a bit further east from the Eye, still on the south bank, you should find some wonderful mimes and performance artist people doing their thing. Also there are brief river cruises from below the Eye which give good value going east.

If you are near Charing Cross, try to seek out the Sherlock Holmes pub but make sure to eat upstairs.

OTOH if you're into the history of war, take a taxi to the Imperial War Museum which even my wife found extremely interesting (passing strange!). Then a quick trip to HMS Belfast (which is moored on the Thames).

As an alternative, for quiet contemplation in less touristy areas seek out the Inns of Court, the Templar church and St Bride's - all off Fleet Street but try not to get miffed at all the bloody security.

Do not try Madame Tussaud's. Not unless you are ready to spend at least half the day lining up and then the other half pressed shoulder to shoulder with fellow tourists oozing from room to room. Same thing for the Crown Jewels at the Tower.

Wherever you go, I hope you have a great time and enjoy the best city on earth

Meade

[Jay Tea]

Catch a show - London Theatre is vibrant and affordable

http://www.londontheatre.co.uk/

Eat. London cuisine is excellent and varied.

http://www.timeout.com/london/bars/features/2473.html

Drink. London still boasts a remarkable pub scene.

http://www.citypubs.co.uk/

[@meric@nwom@n]

Spend an afternoon going through Harrods....

[Gob]

Great little faux-pub in Harrods.

[rubato]

Speaking as a Londoner, a one-day "best of" would be spent around Westminster Bridge area. There's your Parliament, Westminster Abbey which is so stuffed with literary and other bods/treasures/wonders now that the parvenus have left, Whitehall, the Eye on the south bank, 10 Downing (waaaaay back there), then you stroll up the Mall to Buck Pal and St James' Park. Just a bit further east from the Eye, still on the south bank, you should find some wonderful mimes and performance artist people doing their thing. Also there are brief river cruises from below the Eye which give good value going east.

If you are near Charing Cross, try to seek out the Sherlock Holmes pub but make sure to eat upstairs.

OTOH if you're into the history of war, take a taxi to the Imperial War Museum which even my wife found extremely interesting (passing strange!). Then a quick trip to HMS Belfast (which is moored on the Thames).

As an alternative, for quiet contemplation in less touristy areas seek out the Inns of Court, the Templar church and St Bride's - all off Fleet Street but try not to get miffed at all the bloody security.

Do not try Madame Tussaud's. Not unless you are ready to spend at least half the day lining up and then the other half pressed shoulder to shoulder with fellow tourists oozing from room to room. Same thing for the Crown Jewels at the Tower.

Wherever you go, I hope you have a great time and enjoy the best city on earth

Meade

I like the idea of picking out a central area and working around it. My wife is a big fan of boats and mentioned a museum with an Isembard Kingdom Brunel ship which was rescued from the Falklands (the "Great Britain" iir) so the HMS Belfast would be right in her area. Isn't there a preserved Viking Ship somewhere around? We'd both like to see the Turner's in the Tate Britain. I would personally like to see the war museum, but that will have to be a longer trip. We have a half-day the next morning but if I really whine pathetically I think she'll agree to a zoo visit.

A lot more than anyone can do in a short stopover.

Is there some particular pub you would recommend for a pub dinner the first night there?

yrs,
rubato

[rubato]

"...
Give me an idea of your budget and I can recommend some hotels too.

One of the good things about being married to the right person is the seamless blending of ideas and styles. Single, I'd always go for cheap but I have to say she's right about this one, nice hotels are nicer.

So what do you have in the $300/night range? +/- ?

Yrs,
rubato

[Gob]

I would go for one of the boutique hotels hike Hazlitts in that case. Good personal service, high quality accommodation, and a sense of history, centrally located.

[rubato]

I see the Golden Hinde (replica) is there. I saw it under sail when it visited Moss Landing back in the 1980s.

put it on the 'possibles'

[rubato]

Hazlitt's was a little further away and amazingly expensive, more like $800/night.

So we're closer in.

I looked at the Park Lane which was very nice but since this is just the first two nights of a three-week trip it was a little atmospheric for my taste.

So we're at the Mint hotel $868 for two nights including breakfast (which even the English can't fuck up).

So far our interests are Boats and Art with a side of Zoo. I'm pretty uninterested in the usual sights but the things the Maj.Gen'l mentioned are interesting..

yrs,
rubato

[thestoat]

(which even the English can't fuck up)

Oh yes we can! And charge you through the nose whilst doing it ...

[The Hen]

And you can also get it so right it can bring tears to your eyes.

When on holidays in the UK I do love starting the day with a "full English". I never need lunch then and a nice meal of my choice is a wonderful way to end the day of sight seeing.

(Coffee is CRAP in the UK, but they do make the best ever tea.)

[thestoat]

Coffee is no longer crap - we have Starbucks

If you can, when going for the Full English, ask for "Black pudding" - but don't ask what it is until you have eaten it

[Sean]

Ha! I'm willing to bet that Hen knows EXACTLY what black pud is. Probably loves it too...

[thestoat]

lol - I am sure she does. I love it too ...

[The Hen]

I was raised on black pudding. We used to have it every second Saturday night. (That's a Kiwi thing.). We used to also have it as a sort of stew on toast with mashed potato on the side. (That's also a Kiwi thing).

It wasn't til I got to the UK I actually had it as a fried slice.

If you have never made it into a stew, you ought too.

[Sean]

*drool*

Do you have a recipe for this stew you speak of Hen?