Summer in London

July 4th at Windsor Castle can be bit dicey, if not memorable. Harrods' food halls are incredible and not to be missed. Taking in an authentic Shakespeare play at the reinvented Globe theater is fun and engaging.

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

The Underground subway system, sometimes called the Tube, is not only color-coded and simple, but very easy too. Get a Travelcard, pass through the turnstiles, and go just about anywhere. With easy connections to Waterloo (the main train station) and all the other stations, the Underground goes everywhere you want to go. It's all I used for my entire 4 months in England.

The Cafe in the Crypt may look like a secret as you walk down the dark stairway into the basement refectory, but it's a London establishment. Just steps from the National Gallery, the Cafe in the Crypt is fun and has quality food at a great price. Its central location makes it ideal for a tourist bite, and the sampling of food cafeteria-style, from fresh salads to pastas and pies, is worth checking out.

You may have seen pictures of the late Princess Di on a log flume with her sons--it was here at Thorpe Park, one of many amusement parks in the Toussaud's enterprise. If you've been to the Wax Museum, near Regent's Park or abroad in New York, you have come to expect a tourist-trap element from Toussaud's.

Thorpe Park is fun, but marked-up vending lurks around every turn. A 45-minute train ride from Waterloo, it's a great way to tame the kids, who may be burnt out from the National Gallery and Tower of London tours. For the adults, the park hardly makes up for the trip and leaves much to be desired.

The Eye gets a lot of attention for its ultra-modern looks, contrasting with the historical Big Ben across the Thames. Despite the high admission prices, the view is spectacular and exciting.

I have sat just about everywhere you can imagine in this theater, from the groundling seats, which aren't seats at all, but permission to stand and take in the theater up close, all the way up to the Lord's Box, where you actually sit in the canopy above the stage with the orchestra and, at times, some of the actors.

While it was exciting to be whisked away to the Lord’s box, there is truly only one way to go: standing. The view is authentic, fun, and truly captivating. You are drawn in to the show in a way that is hard to experience anywhere else in the theater. Take advantage of the cheap prices and experience the drama up close--the way it’s meant to be seen.