ldsant
Nov 16, 03, 7:12 pm
I attended the London do with over 100 other FTers the weekend of November 8th. After being home for one day from my trip to New Zealand (and a day/night in LAS to meet a certain FTer who is always there on the weekend. . . http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif), I did laundry and packed a suitcase. Arrived in London at Heathrow. Cleared customs (struck up a conversation with a guy who I would later see at the Tower of London!), took the underground to the Sheraton Park Lane (Hyde Park Corner, out of the underground, walk 2 blocks and you're there). The underground was 5 pounds (about $10) whereas the Heathrow Express was going to be >$50. Met two lovely women from Wales who helped me get to my tube stop without any problem.
I had forgotten what a vibrant city London is. It had been about 5 years since I visited there (usually go to Paris when I visit Europe, but rarely London). It is wonderful! People milling around at all times of the day. It is also extraordinarily expensive which takes some of the "fun" out of the trip e.g., the only thing that I did buy the entire time were two bags of tea from a tea shoppe in Covent Gardens. I saw a scarf I wanted to purchase for my niece, but it was acrylic and cost $56. . .seemed a bit pricey to me.
Anyway, the first night I went to see a play, the Rat Pack. This was the original one at the Strand Theatre. I went to Leicester Square to buy the 1/2 ticket, but when I arrived, they were closing the counter and would not allow me to purchase a ticket. I was told that I could buy one at the box office at the theatre. While walking away,I saw a number of people lined up. I asked what they were waiting for. The girl I asked told me that Gwyneth Paltrow was coming to appear at the gala for the movie "Sylvia." Although I'm not a huge Gwyneth fan, a very good friend of mine is so I figured I would hang around and hopefully get a picture. About 15 minutes later Gwyneth arrived driving herself in her Range Rover. She looked VERY elegant and chic. She also was extremely gracious. Taking time to sign autographs for fans that were on the opposite side of where I was standing, waved to everybody, and took her time getting into the theatre.
I then made my way to the Strand. The play was more of a 2+ hour concert of the Rat Pack "playing" at the Sands in Las Vegas. It was a good play. They sold ice cream during intermission which you could sit in your seat and eat (I felt VERY decadent doing this since here in the states you are not allowed to eat/drink in the theatre itself). The theatre was lovely with ornate gold decorating the boxes and the ceiling, crowned moldings, and beautiful frescos painted on the ceiling.
Afterwards I stopped at a small place in Covent Gardens to eat dinner (it was now 11 PM). I had a bowl of French Onion soup and a small plate of pasta along with a glass of still water (one glass). Total cost: $40!
Next day I found breakfast at a small place around the corner from the hotel (this would become "our" breakfast place each day). Wasn't fancy, but good food, and good prices. It was called Picollo Bar. You order upstairs, eat downstairs. They bring you your food. [/B]iluv2fly, JayBrian, and dan1431 became familiar with this place before we started touring [/b].
I then met JayBrian at the British Museum. We toured the museum, found out a lot about the coins (got to hold a coin from Greek and Roman times in our hand), toured the Egyptology portion, and saw the scant Americas portion as well. It was great! The museum really allows you to get up close to the pieces they have which is nice. The cost was free although we did give a donation. After the museum, we walked back towards the hotel. That evening we met up with some other FTers and had dinner at a Chinese place with LOTS of food served family style. This was in the Chinatown portion of London.
The next day, after breakfast, we went to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. [/B]tom911[/b] found us while I was standing on top of the fence in my red raincoat. We had front row seats and I was excited since I love all of the pomp and circumstance surrounding the Changing of the Guard. The queen was not at home this day. However; 3 minutes before the start, it was abruptly cancelled. The entire crowd had to disperse. The reason according to a policeman that I asked was a bomb scare.
We saw F16s fly over and a helicopter as well as all of a sudden a HUGE contingent of police everywhere. This was the day that there was the bombing at Riyadh.
I had forgotten what a vibrant city London is. It had been about 5 years since I visited there (usually go to Paris when I visit Europe, but rarely London). It is wonderful! People milling around at all times of the day. It is also extraordinarily expensive which takes some of the "fun" out of the trip e.g., the only thing that I did buy the entire time were two bags of tea from a tea shoppe in Covent Gardens. I saw a scarf I wanted to purchase for my niece, but it was acrylic and cost $56. . .seemed a bit pricey to me.
Anyway, the first night I went to see a play, the Rat Pack. This was the original one at the Strand Theatre. I went to Leicester Square to buy the 1/2 ticket, but when I arrived, they were closing the counter and would not allow me to purchase a ticket. I was told that I could buy one at the box office at the theatre. While walking away,I saw a number of people lined up. I asked what they were waiting for. The girl I asked told me that Gwyneth Paltrow was coming to appear at the gala for the movie "Sylvia." Although I'm not a huge Gwyneth fan, a very good friend of mine is so I figured I would hang around and hopefully get a picture. About 15 minutes later Gwyneth arrived driving herself in her Range Rover. She looked VERY elegant and chic. She also was extremely gracious. Taking time to sign autographs for fans that were on the opposite side of where I was standing, waved to everybody, and took her time getting into the theatre.
I then made my way to the Strand. The play was more of a 2+ hour concert of the Rat Pack "playing" at the Sands in Las Vegas. It was a good play. They sold ice cream during intermission which you could sit in your seat and eat (I felt VERY decadent doing this since here in the states you are not allowed to eat/drink in the theatre itself). The theatre was lovely with ornate gold decorating the boxes and the ceiling, crowned moldings, and beautiful frescos painted on the ceiling.
Afterwards I stopped at a small place in Covent Gardens to eat dinner (it was now 11 PM). I had a bowl of French Onion soup and a small plate of pasta along with a glass of still water (one glass). Total cost: $40!
Next day I found breakfast at a small place around the corner from the hotel (this would become "our" breakfast place each day). Wasn't fancy, but good food, and good prices. It was called Picollo Bar. You order upstairs, eat downstairs. They bring you your food. [/B]iluv2fly, JayBrian, and dan1431 became familiar with this place before we started touring [/b].
I then met JayBrian at the British Museum. We toured the museum, found out a lot about the coins (got to hold a coin from Greek and Roman times in our hand), toured the Egyptology portion, and saw the scant Americas portion as well. It was great! The museum really allows you to get up close to the pieces they have which is nice. The cost was free although we did give a donation. After the museum, we walked back towards the hotel. That evening we met up with some other FTers and had dinner at a Chinese place with LOTS of food served family style. This was in the Chinatown portion of London.
The next day, after breakfast, we went to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. [/B]tom911[/b] found us while I was standing on top of the fence in my red raincoat. We had front row seats and I was excited since I love all of the pomp and circumstance surrounding the Changing of the Guard. The queen was not at home this day. However; 3 minutes before the start, it was abruptly cancelled. The entire crowd had to disperse. The reason according to a policeman that I asked was a bomb scare.
We saw F16s fly over and a helicopter as well as all of a sudden a HUGE contingent of police everywhere. This was the day that there was the bombing at Riyadh.