trip to London

[Tracy Hunt]

<marc.nguyen at g...> wrote:
> hello all. I know I don't post much, but I do enjoy reading this 
list. I do
> have a question to all the Brits and Americans who have been in 
London
> though.
> 
> I'm planning a trip to London December 27th - Jan 4th, and booked a 
couple
> of taxi journeys through www.lodonblack-cab.com. We are also booked 
at the
> Thistle Kensington Gardens Hotel.
> 
> Has anyone used this taxi service or hotel before? This is our 
honeymoon, so
> I'm trying to make sure everything goes smoothly.
> 
> Also, if you really know London, can you recommend any restuarants 
or pubs?


Marc,
I haven't used the cabs much in London and don't know the hotel...so 
I'm not much help, am I?  Acutally, my husband and I went to London 
for 10 days in February of 2002 (without our children).  

I don't know how much you have to spend on your trip...we were on a 
tight budget as this was a 'last hurrah' before my husband went back 
to school full-time.  We cashed in frequent flyer miles for the 
airfare and hotel bonus points for 4 of the 9 nights free.  We also 
got a good map of the Underground and bought an unlimited, 1 week 
tube pass (we bought separate tickets for the remaining 2 days).  The 
Tube was a great, cheap way to get around.

Bring good walking shoes....we walked EVERYWHERE!!!  It was a great 
way to explore and find things that we might not have seen.  We saw a 
few plays and movies, we ate in pubs and markets, went to museums and 
other great landmarks.  We even took one of those 'coach tours' 
advetised in the hotel lobby.  It was a day trip to Stonehenge and 
Bath.  It was a wonderful time!  Some of the best pubs and shops were 
the ones we found down very small side streets by accident.

My husband is great with a map and neither of us is shy about asking 
for help/directions/recommendations/etc... so for us, it was a great 
way to go.  If you're a little adventurous and don't mind not having 
an itinerary planned - we found it a great city to just explore.  I 
can't wait to go back...and the next time, we won't do London...we'll 
do the countryside, Scotland, oh, I dunno...there's still soooooo 
much to see!

Have a wonderful trip--relax!

Tcy