An American Woman in London

I reserved a single room and was quite surprised at just how tiny the room was. It was the size of a walk-in closet, but I understand that's normal for London hotels. The bathroom was rather large in proportion the rest of the room. The bed was comfortable; however, I bashed my legs a time or two on the desk, which was within 3 feet of the bed. The room also had tea- and coffee-making facilities, a safe, a pant press, and a television. The television had close to 10 channels, which was a change from the two or three channels I had previously encountered in England. I'm not used to so little space, but since I was so rarely in the room, it was quite adequate.

The hotel offered a continental breakfast each morning, although I woke up too late to partake of it both mornings. The lobby also has two computers with Internet access for a charge of 0.09p a minute. There were also soda and candy machines available.

La Pegola is a small Italian restaurant on Cromwell Road about 250 yards from the Gloucester Road Underground. The doors don't open for dinner until 5pm. The menu is vast, with everything Italian, from pizzas to pastas. I had a three-course dinner, consisting of spaghetti bolognese to start off with. The spaghetti looked delicious and tasted fabulous. I could have easily ate another bowl. The meat sauce was divine and the noodles were cooked to perfection. For the main course, I had roast beef. The roast beef was thinly sliced and served with roast vegetables and potato. The roast wasn't the best I've had, but was still quite tasty. I was much too full for desert, which worked out fine, since they forgot to bring it to me. I had a Diet Coke to drink. The tip for the waiter is automatically added to the bill, and my entire meal ended up running me 12 quid.

TGI Friday's is a well-known restaurant in Los Angeles, where I live. It also happens to be my favorite restaurant. So I was quite thrilled to see one while I was in London.

I was seated almost immediately and was horrified upon looking at the menu. Whereas in America, a decent meal will cost you on average $15-$20 US, I would end up paying double that in London.

The restaurant was rather busy, so that could be why the service was extremely slow. The waiter was very friendly and efficient, but it was a good 15 minutes before I was able to order and another 15 before I saw my food.

I ordered Jack Daniels Chicken with a stuffed potato and a small green salad. The salad was mainly onions, which I don't like. The main course was much more filling. It was two chicken breasts marinated in Jack Daniels sauce, and a rather tasty potato. I ordered a Diet Coke to drink.

The meal ended up running me 18 quid, and that was without a cocktail, which TGI Friday's is known for.

The tour originates from many different stops. I boarded in Haymarket, within 200 yards of the Piccadilly Circus Underground. You can either board a bus with a live guide speaking English, or a bus with recorded audio in six different languages. The tour lasts close to 2 hours, and you can hop off the bus at any stop to get a closer look at the attractions and then hop back on at your leisure. There is also a free Thames River Cruise available with the tour.

I hopped off at Buckingham Palace and at Westminster Abbey. The buses come every 15-20 minutes to drop off and pick up new passengers. Many of the buses are open-top so that you can get a better view of the attractions. The guide was very informative and helpful.