London

[yak'em-n-stack'em]

anyone been recently?

I leave next wed and stay til monday. Anyone been lately?

anything to see for sure?

also, i dont need a visa right? just a passport.

[biglaketiger]

Originally Posted by iambigwilley

anyone been recently?

I leave next wed and stay til monday. Anyone been lately?

anything to see for sure?

also, i dont need a visa right? just a passport.

You going on vacation?

Been a few years for me but Stone Hedge was pretty cool and the queens place of course was cool, changing of the guards and all that. Big Ben, theirs tons of museums, very old structures and such. I'm a tall guy, 6' 2", had a hard time with the height of their ceilings, had to duck everywhere! If your a single guy and go into a pub, it's not like here, pubs there are not a meat market like here, ha! I went into my first one and there were all these guys sitting on one side of the place and all these girls on the other, i thought heck, i'm going with the women! well, they were all married to the guys on the other side, one dude told me to learn their customs! almost got nasty! Then their is the Yard of Yale to do if you are a drinker...it's this yard long shot glass, like a bong...you sit on this chair and chug it, you have to spin it while you drink it. Everything there is served at room temp also, you have to ask for ice if you want it. There is a place, a night club called the Hippo Drome, very cool, lots of stars there, i shared a drink with Brooke Shields in there! oh, if you drive, BE CAREFUL! They have these circles instead of red lights, round and round you go, like chevy chase in that movie! and they drive on the wrong side of the road at a VERY HIGH RATE OF SPEED! and their is NO shoulders! their are these stone fences everwhere, if you hit it, you fix it! and they will just stop in the road for tea and will pull right up next too you trying to pass, you have to let them in, crazy stuff i tell you, but i had a blast! have fun!

[yak'em-n-stack'em]

yea my girlfriend is there for the summer and she paid half the plane ticket and her parents have tons of free nights in rooms so im staying at a crown plaza called london the city

[coachlaw]

Dudes, it's Stone HENGE. That's far away from London.

I have not been there since 2000. I used to go almost every year between 1993 and 2000, when I was a bartender making big bucks. Now I'm a teacher and I make less. 9/11 kind of soured me on international travel too. There is so much to see in London, you're not going to be there long enough to do much of it.

Not all pubs are like BLT said. It just depends on where you go. Not everything is served room temp. You have your choice of beers. The hand pulled ales are served cellar cool, and are not artificially carbonated. Most Americans don't like it. Lagers and stouts are always served cold. Guinness is even sometimes served, "Extra Cold". Try the hard cider. It's awesome. If you get a soft drink, it will come with about 2 ice cubes. Like BLT said, you have to ask for more. Roundabouts are an awesome driving experience. Much better than the idiotic intersections we have here.

As far as what to see, I don't even know where to start. Being a history teacher, I absolutely LOVED the British War museum. Riding the "Tube" is the best way to get around London. In my opinion it is the best subway system in the world. I suggest you get a day ticket on the red double decker on/off tour busses. It's a great way to see most of the city and you can get off and see things up close if you like. You really can't go wrong.

Just so I can toot my own horn for once, I was once announced at the House of Lords in Parliament. I'm a descendant of Prince Henry Sinclair, Knight Templar, and I was there for a Sinclair Clan reunion. It was an awesome experience. We had a hoity toity reception afterwards right on the banks of the Thames. My cousin got so sloshed, he puked in the river. LOL!

If you get out of London at all, you need to see the "Cotswolds". It's a set of hills to the west of London. Find the tiny village of Castle Coombe. It is a trip back in time I tell you. Also Warwick Castle, which is the best in all of Great Britain in my opinion is there.

Do enjoy yourself. St. Paul's Cathedral. Take the walk up to the top. It's worth it. - Sandy

[slip knot]

The wife is draggin me to Amsterdam on the 20th. She's got 2 weeks worth of crap lined up. Told her I don't care what we do i'm going to Normandy. I want to see the beaches. The hi speed euro trains are fairly reasonable, If you get a chance take the chunnel and go see some of the contenant as well. Wife has family there and goes regularly. My first trip.

Too bad the Salty Cajun shirts wont be in by then I could see europe in style. Wife would have a fit.LOL SK

[yak'em-n-stack'em]

haha yea, my girlfriend said she met some people from auburn the other night lol

small world

id really like to see some castles, how far is this castle coombe?

[SULPHITE]

The wife is draggin me to Amsterdam on the 20th. She's got 2 weeks worth of crap lined up. Told her I don't care what we do i'm going to Normandy. I want to see the beaches. The hi speed euro trains are fairly reasonable, If you get a chance take the chunnel and go see some of the contenant as well. Wife has family there and goes regularly. My first trip.

Don't eat the brownies in the coffee shops!!

[coachlaw]

Sorry, I misspelled it. It's Castle Combe (Pronounced Koome).

Here are a couple of links. Driving directions from London first.

http://maps.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTEx...Castle%20Combe

http://www.castle-combe.com/

Go with your honey. It's truly a romantic spot.

Since you're so close by, might as well see Bath. The Roman baths are really something cool to see.

If you're in the mood for the best castle on the Isle, here are driving directions for Warwick (Prounounced WARRIK) Castle. It would be tough to see all this in one day. You could of course see Stonehenge on the way to either, but it really doesn't take long to see Stonehenge.

http://maps.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTEx...rwick%20Castle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warwick_Castle

These are just a few of my favorite things. Since you have such a short time there, you may just want to stay in London. I lived in the city of London for about 9 months of my life alltogether. It is the ONLY city on this earth I love. There is just so much to offer there. See a show in the theater district near Leicester Square. Eat Indian food there too. Dad gum is that Vindalu Chicken HOT! See hot supermodels stroll down Kings Road in Chelsea as you have a pint at the Chelsea Potter. (This was my and my dad's favorite thing to do each evening when we were there together ) Hang out in Hyde Park. Go to Greenwich and stand on the Prime Meridian. You're in the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere at the same time! I'd say go see the Cutty Sark, but I heard she burned a couple of years ago.

Your biggest problem will be jet lag. Try HARD to sleep on the plane and drink a ton of water on the flight.

Dad gum. You've got my wanderlust going. I'm going to renew my passport!

[yak'em-n-stack'em]

i almost had a catastrophe with my passport, i went friday to apply in person in new orleans and they mailed it to me but i never got it. they forgot to put my apartment number on it and no one knew where it was, luckily i was going down the road and saw my mail lady and she had it. I leave wed at 5 from new orleans and didnt know what i was gonna do

[coachlaw]

DUDE! It's good to be in good with the mail lady! I'd buy her a present.

[FlatoutFishin]

Things to do. I went for 2 weeks in 95 and that wasn't long enough. Just be prepared....
*they don't like putting ice in drinks.
*they don't like giving refills.
*pubs are a cool place to drink, just don't eat there.
*lotta muslims.
* when walking in London, make sure you look to the right when steppin off curbs.
* Definitely do a castle tour, Bath, Stone Henge is cool but now you can't get in there and actually touch it, this takes away from the visit in MHO. Driving in the English country side is very impressive.
* There is a torture museum that bad azz, and the London Museum of History??? was way cool. The armament museum at the Tower of London was pretty impressive as well. Wouldn't waste my time on the changing of the guard or seeing the queen....over rated IMO.
* All parks in London are very impressive.
* Picadilly Circus at night time.
This was a long time ago, and it might be closed now, but if there is still a Mexican restaurant in London called the Texas Embassey, go eat there. Owned by a man from SA, he built it to look like the Alamo. It is in the general area where the old Texas Embassey was located when Texas was a republic...hence the name. Excellent Tex-Mex, good salsa and chips and most importantly...they put ice in your glass and keep it full of tea. After 2 weeks in London, I really appreciated that!

Hve a good one!

[coachlaw]

There's a Texas Barbecue restaurant on Cromwell Road. It's festooned with things from Texas. There's a wooden sign on the wall showing a Confederate Soldier holding a sword and it says, "Remember Sabine Pass". Very cool place and great food.

FOF has great advice on London. Monte, I wonder if we were there at the same time dude! In 1995 I was there from May 27th to July 25th. I went other places, but I based out of London.

[FlatoutFishin]

Originally Posted by coachlaw

There's a Texas Barbecue restaurant on Cromwell Road. It's festooned with things from Texas. There's a wooden sign on the wall showing a Confederate Soldier holding a sword and it says, "Remember Sabine Pass". Very cool place and great food.

FOF has great advice on London. Monte, I wonder if we were there at the same time dude! In 1995 I was there from May 27th to July 25th. I went other places, but I based out of London.

I was there the end of May to mid June. My FIL worked for BP and had a bad azz flat next to Hyde Park, that and a Jaguar complete with the front seats backwards. I remember when we went to fill up and it was like $100 U.S. Back then I was floored.....$5 a gallon. We were centrally located and able to walk or take the subway to about anywhere we wanted.
On the way to Bath we stopped at a pub to have lunch....The Thatched Tavern had some good ale, but their fried sole was way fu'ed. Hard fried and with literally a cup of oil floating on top of it....if you can bring some Tony's in, I would. Tabasco wasn't a problem, most places had it. Even that wouldn't have helped this meal though.

Londons cool...wish I could go back!

[cmdrost]

went in 2002. Loved London and want to go back One place that hasn't been mentioned yet is Oxford. Cool place and awesome college campus. Go check it out.

All the castles were good, but I had the height problem too!

London Eye at sunset is a must.

Your going about a week too late for Wimbedon, but thats fun if you can find tix.

Food sucks over there! Bring a small can of Tony's. Plenty of good beer to be found though.

Best advice I can give you is try to sleep on the plane and stay up all day once you get there....usually around 6 am london time. That way you adjust to their time. I couldn't sleep on the plane and was up all day for 2 days straight, but slept great that second night and was on "london time"

[coachlaw]

I'll disagree about the food bro. London is such a diverse place, you can find any kind of food. It is a good idea to bring Tony's with you if you want to eat traditional English fare. The one exception is the Fish n Chips you get from the local holes in the walls. Little salt and a bunch of malt vinegar. Awesome. It's tough to mess up fried fish. I kept a small ziploc of Tony's in my backpack. Oddly the place I used it most was in France. I was sooooo underwhelmed by French food. I don't go anywhere without it, but that's true for everywhere. Try real Indian food. I ate it all the time there. You will begin to smell of curry though .

My sister actually made money selling Tony's in Ireland.

[FlatoutFishin]

Plenty of good italian places for pizza, Hard Rock, ect... There was a place we ate fish n chips at called The Fish Hut, or something like that, and it was always packed. While you were waiting outside to get in, they would open up a window and pass out sacks of hot chips. Place had some damn good grub. Too bad, I heard it had closed down.

I honestly only had 1 bad meal and that was at the pub. When eating there be sure and ask them for "W"s favorite desert....(seriously)Spotted ****!

[cmdrost]

I liked the fish n chips, though I thought it was in bad need of some Tony's. You're right though, the food in London was better than Paris. yak!

[coachlaw]

I remember going to this place, "Captain Kidd's" near the Tower of London. It was a cool place right on the Thames. I was missing home a bit and they had both gumbo and jambalaya on the menu. I ordered the gumbo. It came out and it was jambalaya. I told the waitress and she was highly offended that I thought there gumbo was jambalaya. So I asked her to give me some jambalaya instead. You guessed it - it was gumbo. I explained this and she became highly incensed. I told her not to get upset. I wasn't complaining, I just wanted to straighten the situation out as far as the identity of the dishes. It really wasn't half bad, just a bit bland. I revealed that I was from Louisiana and I just wanted to help them out a bit. LOL! She brought me back in the kitchen where I met the cook and explained the difference between gumbo and jambalaya. It seems they had it backwards for years.

[Gerald]

I have had "jambalaya" from a few out of state places and the only resemblance was that it did have rice in it.

I guess customers that knew they had it wrong.....never spoke up.