London

London

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May 30^Th

We decided to high tail it into London and rid ourselves of the Bad Idea. It was to be a pretty straight shot, mainly on the M4. When we reached the M4 back in England, the traffic traveling the opposite way was at a standstill. The stopped cars extended about 8-10 east of Bristol. We then realized that there was yet another sports final being conducted at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and that this line was very likely traffic heading that way. We figured the distance to be about 50 miles from the end of the line to Cardiff . You’ve really got to be a fan.

The drive into London was very easy. Practical Car Rental delivers you a car with an empty tank and you are to return it as close to empty as possible. We did a pretty good job and actually had to stop to put a couple more pounds in when we were still about 80 miles out.

When we arrived, there was no manager on site, so we got all the receipts that we could and caught the van back to the airport. The Practical people look the car over VERY carefully, so if you rent from them, you should do the same. Back at the airport, we caught the express train to Paddington which is a wonderful but expensive option. If you have a lot of bags, it’s the way to go. Otherwise catch a tube. If there are 4 or more of you, catch a cab.

We checked in at the Best Western Paddington which is an average 3 star. The standard rooms are the usual tiny, but we managed to get set up comfortably and it is very convenient to Heathrow. The plan was to head down towards the London Eye to see if it was crowded. This being a Bank Holiday weekend, everything was crowded. As we came out of the tube, there was a flamenco guitarist playing so we stopped and listened to him for a few, threw him a pound and headed on. Just crossing the Westminster Bridge was a challenge due to heavy tourism, and when we arrived at the London Eye, the line was long. It was a beautiful day with just occasional sprinkles so we walked along the Thames and enjoyed the views. We decided to look for some interesting pubs I had read about on the Fodors site, but as it turned out, many of them were in the City of London and closed down on Sundays. A stop at Ye’ Olde Cheshire Cheese found a locked door.

From there we just wandered around, hoping to find something to eat. We passed St. Bride’s Church famous for many things including being the model for the modern day wedding cake. We finally ended up near the Tower of London and eventually found a pub serving Fullers. The food was OK and the bartender was surly. This seemed to be the case at most of the London pubs we visited. Not sure why.

I had decided to surprise Felicity with one of the London Walks and the choice was Haunted London. The meeting place is outside the Monument Tube stop, right under the great London fire monument. London Walks does a fine job with these tours though you always want to try to be close to the speaker. We did learn some valuable information like where the term “dead ringer” comes from and the origin of the term tips (to insure prompt service) where it refers to a gratuity. If you’ve already had a good bit of walking, you’ll feel the workout by the end of the tour. He moves quite quickly and I would think it would be difficult to keep up if walking speed is an issue. The tour ends up near St. Paul’s Cathedral and the tour guide offered to show us the quick route back to our tube stop. We had a spent a good deal of the afternoon and evening walking, so we decided to head back to the room and collapse.

May 31^st

This was to be our last full day in London and quite frankly, I had done very little planning for it. Felicity wanted to see Madame Tussauds which wasn’t far away. The place was packed. Personally, I don’t get the thrill of it. Yes, the figures are pretty accurate representations but they really are just wax and it’s pretty expensive to visit. I looked through the crowd and there was a pretty even mix of old and young yet the music was loud and definitely geared to a young crowd. A goofy scene as you enter is supposed to give you the feeling of walking the red carpet surrounded by paparazzi, but it was really just a bunch of noise with flashes imitating camera flash bulbs. There was a short scary section which appealed to me a bit more. I took a few pictures of Felicity standing with the “stars”, but the whole thing was kind of a pricy ho-hum. Others seemed THRILLED by it.

From there, I had no plan. We wandered down the street and passed 221B Baker Street and decided to walk in and see the Sherlock Holmes Museum. Here lies another opportunity to part with some over valued British Pounds and we did. It’s an interesting old building and wasn’t terribly expensive. We eventually ended up at Regent Park and walked around enjoying the pond and got some good people watching in. For those that are concerned about how to blend in with London fashion, I suggest to wear whatever you want as long as it accentuates your weakest physical attribute.

Lunch seemed like a good idea, so we decided to grab some food in the cafeteria at the park. It was a nice setting and we got to watch people with rowing skills almost as weak as my own take to the water. It was a great day to just wander around.

We left the late afternoon for packing and then a meal at a nearby restaurant. Paddington is very convenient to Heathrow, but is not loaded with nice affordable restaurants. We found a place and the food was fine, but there were not a huge number of options and, as usual, the bartender wanted to be any place but there.

June 1^st:

The weather picked a good day to go sour. We’re leaving for home today. The free breakfast at the hotel is a basic large continental layout though you can order a full English breakfast also if you care to add to your bill. It would be cheaper though, to walk down the street and pick up breakfast at a local deli. We had plenty of time to catch the plane and didn’t have to check out until noon , so we decided to wander around. We walked down to a nearby park only to discover that it was Hyde Park. So we wandered around in the mist and ended up by the Albert Memorial. It was nice to not have to get up early and get to the airport as fast as possible.

Finally it was time to check out and was told by the clerk at the counter that we had been charged the wrong amount. I was about to strangle him until I realized that he was charging us less. We ended up paying only ₤52.10 per night. That’s a fine deal for a hotel in London.

Another great trip behind us, we headed back to the States, trying to figure out where to go next. Southwest England and Wales make for a great adventure and there is plenty to do in each area to fill 2-3 weeks. We’ll surely be back, only moving slower the next time.

Bill O’Beirne
June 1, 2004

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