True to my promise elsewhere herein, I just did a “Great Weekend” in London. Left Friday afternoon, came back Tuesday evening – OK, a longish weekend. Nevertheless, it was a very nice time.

Face it, London is a big place and one can’t get much done in a few days, not to mention that I was actually there to get in a little work on Monday. Saturday, i.e., arrival day on the red eye from LA, it rained all day, so after dropping off luggage at the hotel, I pretty well stuck to old haunts of antique stores and pubs in the Kensington High Street area. Speaking of hotels, I stayed at the Tara, about 2 blocks south (!) from the Kensington High Street tube station. A 4 star with 3 star prices, and these days a terrific deal. [Capttuttle are you paying attention?] Next, and this should catch your fancy, penny pinchers, I picked up ₤100 at the airport Barclays ATM – and discovered today that my account was debited $147.78. Take off another $1.46 for the transaction fee, and it’s the cheapest pound I’ve ever bought.

Sunday I had dinner with a visiting grad student (after wandering around Hyde Park the earlier part of the day), and we found the Prince Regent pub on Gloucester Street jam packed. This is something new for me, since the place hadn’t really caught on yet as of last May. Apparently much has happened over the summer and fall to change all that. When we arrived (keep in mind this is a Sunday night), we were told we couldn’t order for at least 20 minutes as the kitchen was backlogged too far for new orders!

Little to report on Celebrity Watch this time, but for one: I ran into Sister Wendy Beckett in the hotel lobby. As lovely and chipper as always, although she must be pushing 80. For those who recall, she was "Sister Wendy" of PBS art programs of about a decade ago. Great fun to say hello!

And yes, I looked in all the bars of the Admiral's Clubs along the way and didn’t see SB. Oh well, I’ll be back in February!

Best, Intl Doc

IntlDoc -

I'm glad to hear from you and that you had another good trip across the Pond. I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you and all the faithful Brownheads and especially Samantha herself peace, joy and love of this wonderful season . Merry Christmas, everyone! May 2009 bring luck and prosperity.

First off, my regards to all the other regulars as I haven't been here in a LONG time.

Secondly, Intl_Doc, What a great (long) weekend. When did you go? I ask because in October, hubby and I "popped" over for a long weekend ourselves! We arrived Friday and left Monday....as we'd been there 3 other times, we knew just what we wanted to see, the British Museum, the Imperial War Museum, the London Transport Museum (I do NOT like their new renovations, I much preferred it the old way, sad to say), Covent Garden (whilst we were in the vicinity), Tower Hill, the clock tower containing Big Ben, Harrods and Hamleys.

This time we shelled out for the Grosvenor Hotel on Buckingham Palace Road and the price difference was well worth it. Also, this time we waited and bought Oyster Cards there. What a convenient timesaver those were. We also had a purpose this time. Back in 2005 we had met British actor, Kevin McNally on the Holburn tube line and I had kept up with him. This time we let him know we'd be over to visit and we met him for dinner and then he arranged tickets for us to see him in "IVANOV" at the Wyndham Theatre where he was appearing with Kenneth Branagh. We had fifth row center stall seats! The first row was getting spit on by Branagh, but I don't think they minded.

A very delightful way to spend a long weekend. I know there are alot of places to visit here in the United States, but if you can go to Europe for that amount of time, GO!!!!

Hey Sparkles -

Are we ever glad to see you return to the forum! I thought you were lost forever. I still want to know what fine wine you get for $75? Keep in touch.

Actually, I didn't get in much sightseeing at all, instead opting for visiting familiar haunts near my newly found favorite hotel (again, the Tara). [Incidentally, CS, the St James near Buckingham Palace is also quite nice if you require an alternative to your hotel.] I left the west coast on 12-12 and returned 12-16, specifically, CS. I arranged my flights to minimize jet lag each way (leave late at night on the outbound and sleep on the plane, and then arrive here late in the evening after a long haul awake to go to bed as I normally would). Saturday it rained quite hard, so I spent the time bouncing from one pub to the next and enjoying the Christmas revelling.

Europe is wonderful in its differences from us, folks. For example, the number of flower stands is remarkable (e.g., the one at the corner of Kensington Church and Kensington High Streets that operates 365, the one a few blocks west of it, the one at Gare Nord in Paris, the one at the Ostbahnhof in Berlin, etc etc etc). Men and women quite commonly are seen walking the streets of London (and elsewhere) having purchased flowers to be given to guests, hosts, the spouse, maybe even the church itself (St Mary's Abbott, I believe, is right there).

The church choir was to perform The Magnificat Sunday evening, and so on Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday the choir (costumed in Victorian era capes, top hats, etc.) sang Christmas carols on the sidewalk just outside the KHS tube station. The conductor watched on with appropriate pride as many passers-by, like me, stopped to listen and drop in a pound or two into an upturned top hat. Funds from the caroling and the concert were destined for church repair, I learned.

Sunday, when the weather was a bit more cordial, I visited an antique bookstore, the queen's chandelier shop, and wandered into places I'd never before visited. I had all the good intentions to visit Jas. Smith & Sons, makers of fine umbrellas and canes, but it was too late to do this and wander in Hyde Park too. Hyde Park wins.

Dinner with a student, grading papers submitted online (Father O can relate, I imagine), and then putting a full day at a West London university conference Monday rather neatly used up all the rest of my time. But when I return in February, speaking at a conference this time, there will be a little more freedom in my schedule; however, even that time is filling up with side-conferences (i.e., private meetings one tends to get saddled with at these things).

The Brit Museum and Herrods are a short walk from Kensington, but not for me this trip. Except for seeing Sister Wendy (am I the only one who knows who she is?), it was a celebrity-less trip, and those few celebrities I know out here don't travel with me in any case - nor do I blame them. SB and I have historically hung out in the same Euro-locales (and we usually find out long after), but no sign of the girl and entourage this time either.

Here in California, we can find some rather nice wines for $75 per bottle. But where did you get fine dining in London for $120???? I usually get in dinner at Balans, and that is about ₤100 per person! [And worth every penny I might add.]

So, best to all for the Christmas season, Holiday season, and for the upcoming Baseball season too. You're right - it's always good to hang with the old-timers once in awhile. Seems to be the season for that too.

Best,

Intl Doc

Welcome back, Champagnesparkles. It's very good to see you back again.
Thanks so much to you and Intl Doc for sharing your unique London adventures and tips here. I first encountered the unforgettable Sister Wendy when living in London in 1996, and I absolutely loved her TV show. I wonder what she is up to these days, but probably nosing about the museums.
Speaking of nosing about, intldoc, here is a link to one of my favorite spots on Kensington High Street. It is the Rooftop Garden, located high above the spot where you were watching those carolers from St. Mary Abbot's. Flamingos and ducks live happily up there year round amid full grown oak and willow trees, streams, bridges and three themed gardens. Very much a hidden treasure of that neighborhood, reached by elevator off Derry Street.

http://www.roofgardens.virgin.com/en/the_roof_gardens/the_gardens

Wishing safe and happy travels to you all in the New Year.

Mother O.

Ah, Intl Doc, you don't need to taunt me about wanting to return to London, although I definitely need to upgrade my accomodations a bit. But I still love staying in the Bloomsbury/U of London area; maybe I'll try one of the places in Cartwright Gardens next time, whenever next time arrives.

The Kensington area I'm not nearly as familiar with, although if you wander further west towards Holland Park, Campden Hill Square is a very neat and steep little residential corner to nose about on a nice day and fantasize about living there. A friend of mine spent Boxing Day ice skating with her boyfriend (she's a grad student at Cal-Santa Barbara but he's English, so that's quite a lengthy relationship) in Hyde Park, although I don't know where an ice rink might be there. Surely the Serpentine isn't frozen over. I envy you the book shop sniffing about there, but have yet to summon up the courage to step into Smith's Umbrella Shop on any of my visits. And I yearn to ride the English trains again, but prefer to wait til the passing scenery is lush and green again (and I'll just stay here getting lush myself until then).

But ChampagneSparkles, check out the wonderful webside www.londontheatre.co.uk and all the West End and other London play information is right there for you. Right now Wyndham's is doing a production of Twelfth Night with Derek Jacobi as Malvolio. And the RSC will be doing The Taming of the Shrew in February when Intl Doc returns. Looks like an amazing number of tired old musicals are filling most the West End theaters right now (and speaking of musicals, I see that The Sound of Music is on network TV tonight, if anyone happens to be feeling like Liesl and hopping blissfully upon gazebo benches).

If you want a quiet and very civilized museum experience, try the Wallace Collection in Manchester Square, never at all crowded and you'll almost have the place to yourself. There's also a nice art collection in Kenwood House at the top of Hampstead Heath, which on a fine day I'd greatly recommend hiking about regardless, and the house has spectacular 18th century interiors inside. Both of them are free, far as I'm aware. What a wonderful city. Even in wintertime.

But that's the nice thing about being a mental traveller. Pull down a book or two, summon up some past mental images, and you're there right now, sort of.

Happy New Year, everyone.

Thanks for the heads-up on The Sound of Music coming on tonight; since watching Samantha in Salzburg that movie has become one of my favorite things.

I'm traveling to London this summer, and I'm looking for cheaper options for lodging- does anyone have any tips on where to look? I've checked out vrbo.com for vacation rentals by owner, and I'm looking in the surrounding London area, but as I've never left the US, planning this trip is a little tricky!!

Thankfully, it seems that for a brief moment we have returned to the heart of this forum, i.e., chatting about real travel, just like the real travels of Samantha Brown. Have to tell you, Mother O, I’d not heard of the Rooftop Gardens until you mentioned same, and indeed it is located in the center of my London-Kensington universe. I can’t wait to see it, in other words! As a matter of fact, I have a few “off-site” pre-conference meetings and hopefully we may be able to wrangle something in the RG club. Thanks so very much for the website and recommendation, and I sincerely hope to return the favor. Let me know when you’re off to Paris!

Capttuttle, I haven’t seen James Smith & Sons yet either, but have hope for the future. For the record, my favorite used book store is Barrington’s – chock full of first editions and rare books. Great fun, but bring a house payment. Not to mention, drop in at Michael German’s Antiques for a magnificent collection of canes and ancient militaria. The entire neighborhood is positively riddled with antique stores of all varieties, but don’t forget it’s a bit expensive (and complicated sometimes) to ship antiques to the US. Nevertheless, with the GBP falling against the USD, it seems to be a good time to drop in and shop; and we all remember what it was like as little as 6 months ago (abysmal). Also, Capttuttle, you’ve made a salient point regarding museums, which applies just about everywhere, in truth. The little museums are nearly always as interesting as the big dowagers, I’m sure you’ll agree. Over the years, I’ve had terrific fun on rainy days-off wandering around halls where one can find a little beauty. Probably my best find was at Den Haag (the Hague) where I had been stumbling around a shopping district and happened into a small (by American standards) museum called the Mauritshuis – and there found a wealth of paintings by Vermeer and Rembrandt! [The City Museum is also quite remarkable – which is fortunate for visitors to the Nederland as it rains rather frequently there.] And I promise to one day take in a London play, really I do, and a RSC play sounds perfect.

B2S, you might check Orbitz or similar search engine for inexpensive rooms. A word of caution: you get what you pay for in London. For example, the inexpensive hotel district near Paddington Station on Sussex Garden is adjacent one of London’s more notorious districts that you wouldn’t want to visit by accident after dark. Capttuttle seems to have had good results in Bloomsbury, so you might begin there.

Thanks everyone for participating in this thread, it’s good to see all of you!!!

Best, Intl Doc

bonou2suz,

Not knowing how long you and others will be in London or what your standards are regarding lodgings, it is hard to make any recommendations. I just looked up the cheapest place I have stayed at in the Notting Hill area and it got terrible reviews on tripadvisor.com, but I thought it was just fine. It's a wise idea to look at reviews on that site before you book anything.
There are many good inexpensive hostels in London, as well as small hotels and B and B's that include a full English breakfast. Bayswater, Notting Hill, Holland Park, South Kensington, Hammersmith and Earl's Court are all areas that have an abundance of these and are great locations, I think, to use as a base for traveling around London.
Samantha's advice given in her three London Passports is quite sound, and getting a good travel guidebook with map and street guide such as London A-Z in your early stages of planning will help you, as will Google Maps. Cheaper accomodations are often quite inconveniently located far from where you might really want to be. You want to be close to a tube stop or bus line. An Oyster card covering Zones 1 and 2 is a good deal for unlimited travel on the tube and busses. Ask for a detailed bus and tube map when you buy the card, and keep it with you.

Check out the Discussions section on this website, as many have posted very helpful information about traveling around and staying in London. Here is the link. Good luck with your plans!

http://discussions.travelchannel.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/9971981059

Intldoc,

I have only nosed about the Roof Gardens when they let people in there between events. I am not really in any position to recommend the club facilities. Looks pretty good on the website. As you say, one would need to take along a mortgage payment.

Happy New Year, everyone.

Snowed in yet again,
Mother O.

Mother O, thank you so much for the rooftop gardens site, it was very helpful. We are very much planning another trip this Summer as Kevin is now in "Hamlet" with Jude Law. Truly must see theatre.

Int_l doc and capt.tuttle, I HAVE been to James Smith and Sons and highly recommend it. We usually stay in the Bloomsbury section (so we can scamper over to the British Museum quickly) and back in 1992 we specifically looked for James Smith and Sons. I bought a lovely black/brown checked bumbershoot with a fox head handle. I had it for 10 years when someone finally pinched it from the back of my car. I would love to replace it, but ordering online is not like visiting the shop itself, so I will be patient until I can go back.

It is good to be back amongst old friends and travelers.

Sparkles -

It is good, indeed, to have you back among friends. But who's old here? I'm glad to see your name on the boards again. Keep in touch.

You're welcome, champagnesparkles. Yes, it is nice to see you here, talking about bumbershoots and London. I love that word.

Mother O.

I find that London actually has so many attractions that you don't know of until you're there! And traveling from place to place & finding out one attraction is not as how you expected can definatley be a shocker.