6 months in London

The first day I arrived in England I knew I was in for something special. After getting situated at my hotel, I caught a taxi over to the office and was amazed at sites I saw on the way. Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the Millennium Wheel and Parliament.

I spent one night walking the length of Hyde Park and admired this green oasis in the middle of this old city. Looping back, I walked through Westminster and Marble Arch. Down Oxford Street, which turns out to be a shoppers paradise. There must be 1 ½ miles of shops on either side of this street, which range from HMV (the British Kmart) to Indian and Turkish shops.

And since London is a cultural hub, you can expect to eat at some interesting restaurants. So far, I’ve seen Irish, Lebanese, Indian, Spanish, Mexican, Thai, Italian and American restaurants, in my brief travels.

This weekend, a few coworkers and I, will be visiting the British Museum and, on the return trip, walk down Oxford street for a little shopping. Please check in, from time to time, to see my additional entries for my 6-month excursion in London.

Quick Tips:

Use your credit card and ATM card every chance you get. You will receive a better exchange rate by using your cards, versus exchanging currency. Also, if you plan on using your ATM card, make sure you fund your checking account and have access to your checking account through your ATM card. British ATM’s only withdrawal from checking accounts.

Avoid room service in your hotel. It will probably be horrible and insanely overpriced. How does .00 for a Cheeseburger or .00 for a bowl of soup sound? The first night you arrive in London, walk the streets around where you are staying and look for food markets. Chances are, they have "ready to eat" meals and you can get away with eating a meal for about 5 pounds.

Best Way To Get Around:

Getting around is extremely easy and inexpensive, if you walk, use the tube or take the bus. Taxi’s are expensive and forget about renting a car. I’m amazed that I haven’t seen one car accident over here. The roads are shaped like pasta and pretzels, and the streets can be extremely congested at times. If you stay in London, you may walk to most of the sites and you can take a bus to the rest. So far, it’s cost me 1 pound to ride the bus and I’ve walked the rest of the way. And don’t worry too much about your safety on the streets… CCTV, which is a Camera system, is set up all over the streets, which highly deters crime. I walked the streets for 3 hours until 2 in the morning and I didn’t feel uncomfortable during that time. Try that in a big U.S. city and you're lucky if you don’t get mugged.

This is probably as good as it gets in London. I had the pleasure to see what my coworker’s rooms looked like in other hotels and each time I saw their quarters, I got a chuckle. Don''t expect much from British hotels. I have the best room out of 6 people and my room is small, the bed is hard, there are no drawers to store my clothes, the shower is not meant for a 6''2" person (I hit my head on the ceiling every morning) and the room service is extremely overpriced. How does $15.00 for a cheeseburger sound?

But, all in all, this hotel went under a major renovation, recently, and it is head and shoulders above the 6 other hotels I''ve seen.

Where the Thistle Marble Arch falls short on accommodations, it more than makes up for it with its location. Smack dab in the middle of a shopping district and within minutes of such places as Piccadilly Circus, the British Museum, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the Millennium Wheel, and many other sites, it''s the ideal place to stay for easy sightseeing.

All in all, I would recommend this hotel, due to the centralness of its location with respect to a large number of attractions in London.

The British Museum is the Smithsonian of the U.K. When first walking into the museum, you know you are in for a treat by the decorative carvings on the roof of the entrance.

The museum is one of the very few freebies in London. Combine that with the unparalleled collection of antiquities and this is a must see. If you have limited time, then I would suggest seeing the Greek/Roman exhibit and the Egyptian exhibit first. Otherwise, if you plan on making this a multiday event, then please take your time and enjoy everything the museum has to offer.

I found the Roman/Greek exhibit to be flat out, awe-inspiring. There are hundreds of marble statues on display, many of which depict politicians and characters from mythology. Hercules, Pericles, Athena, and Pan are a few of the representations you will see. Look for the majority of the busts and statues in the basement of the museum.

Among the other sites in the Roman/Greek exhibit, are the Acropolis, the front entrance to a temple and numerous pieces of jewelry and pottery.

The Egyptian exhibit was what I really came to see. I had always heard the British had an astounding collection and I was not let down. Statues of ancient god-kings, sarcophagi, the Rosetta Stone, stone tablets, jewelry and mummies are many of the pieces that will catch your eye. I found it amazing that the Egyptians could construct many of these items with simple bronze tools, water, natural elements and simple mathematics.

Besides those exhibits, the museum has exhibits dedicated to the Assyrians/Babylonians, Africans, Orientals, Eastern Indians and Middle Easterns. The bulk of the Oriental/Indian exhibit was pottery and earthenware, all of which I skimmed through. The Assyrian/Babylonian exhibit had a nice display of ancient furniture, altars, weaponry and statues.

Anyone visiting London should make this a "must see" when in the city. It’s truly the experience of a lifetime.