Long London Weekend

I just love big cities, and London is one of the best! I spent four days (Wednesday - Sunday) in London; two days with my cousin and two with a friend I met in Germany. I don't think I could have had a better time.

Since I had been to London twice before (once for three days when I was 18, and once on a 7-hour layover on my way to Spain), I skipped some of the more popular sights - like Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, and Parliament - because I had already been to those places. Instead, I saw some new things (or at least some things I don't remember seeing before).

Highlights of the trip included the many pubs I visited (that's a given, of course, if you've been reading any of my other journals), the Primrose Hill, the British Museum, Camden Market, and Indian food. Lowlights included the (bad) show I saw, fighting the Christmas crowd at Harrod's, and being too late to get on the London Eye.

Quick Tips:

The best thing I think I did in London was visit a local pub near my B&B in Hampstead. My cousin invited me out to a friend's 21st birthday bash, but since I can barely remember mine, I decided to spend the night on my own exploring the neighborhood. I popped into the first pub I saw and ended up talking to lovely gent all evening. He and the friendly bartender gave me some good tips on what to see and do in the city, including Camden Market (as opposed to Portabello), and Primrose Hill.

I also learned the useful tip of ordering a beer at 10:55; while the pubs officially close at 11PM, they usually let you hang around a while casually sipping your last drink.

I recommend staying in one of the lovely neighborhoods, like Hampstead, instead of the center. Tube service is pretty good, and you'll get a better feel for the city.

LondonTown.comhas a wealth of great information on what to do, where to stay, and what's going on in London. Oh yes, and you can make an advance reservation (online) for the London Eye.

Best Way To Get Around:

It's pretty easy - though a bit time-consuming - to get into town from Heathrow using the Tube. There are plenty of signs at the airport pointing the way. There's also train service to Gatwick from Victoria Station, where, if you're flying British Airways, you can check your bags right at the station. This was very useful to me when I stopped in London for a few hours on a layover that required transferring from Heathrow to Gatwick. As I was looking for a locker in which to store my bags, I noticed that I could check in (and check my bags) for my next flight right there at Victoria. Nice!

Getting around the city is made easy by the extensive subway (Tube) system, though trains stop running at around midnight.

I chose this cozy bed and breakfast because it was located around the corner from my cousin''s apartment in Hampstead, but I would choose it again in a second. Extremely affordable (for London, anyway), the Dillons Hotel is located on a very pretty residential street and is convenient to both the Jubilee and Northern Tube lines.

I booked a single room (bathroom down the hall) and got a fairly large room with a single bed, a sink, a desk, and a window that opened onto the quiet street. Breakfast - consisting of coffee or tea, toast, cereal and yogurt - was included and served in the sunny breakfast room on the ground floor. The bathrooms down the hall weren''t beautiful, and I almost panicked when the water barely trickled out of the shower head (until I found that the shower in the other bathroom was much more powerful) but they were clean and adequate. All in all, a great value!

For online reservations, check out DillonsHotel.com.

You may have to wait for a seat at one of the long communal tables, but that just means it's good. These trendy, funky restaurants popping up all over London serve good pan-Asian dishes at reasonable (for London) prices. Once you've selected a dish from the extensive menu, the waiter will punch your choices into his/her hand-held keyboard, magically sending your order into the kitchen. The food is served to you when it's ready, not necessarily at the same as others in your party. But don't sweat it, man, everything's cool - you're at Wagamama, baby! Eat up!

Yes, this place is so hip, it even has a cool website... Check it out.

My cousin recommended this place on touristy Leicester Square for a quick drink before heading out to dinner. As we made our way toward the bar, we noticed barricades in front and were told by official-looking men that there was a movie premiere that night at the theatre next door and we'd have to move along. I asked how we could get to the bar behind the barricade, and the official kindly told us to walk around it.

Once in the pub, we couldn't find a place to sit, so we stood at the bar with our beer. Tired of standing, we started to make our way out when we noticed people gathering near the door. It seemed that people had started coming to the premiere, and after talking to a nice man standing by the door, we learned that some of the Royal Family were expected. The film was 101 Dalmatians, and Prince Andrew, his children, and possibly Fergie were supposed to show up. So, we ordered two more beers and waited. It took almost an hour, but after Glenn Close walked by (nobody even noticed that), the motorcade with Andrew, Fergie and the kids went by. Feeling satisfied that I had caught a glimpse of the Rowal Family on my first night in London, we left.

One of the most famous sights in London, the Tower Bridge, stands just next to one of most famous tourist attractions - the London Tower. Having slept in that morning, by the time I got to the Tower, the line for tickets was quite long, so I decided to forgo it and head to the Tower Bridge (I will definitely do the London Tower tour next time!)

Entrance to the Bridge tour was a bit hefty at 8 pounds, and I'm not sure the tour is worth it, unless you are interested in history or bridge engineering. The hokiness of the talking mannequins who narrated the history of the bridge (one of the rooms contains a reenactment of the town meeting where the building of the bridge was discussed) made me laugh! The tour includes a walk across the top level of the bridge, which offers nice views of the Thames, and ends across the river in the engine room and gift shop (of course!)

Just because the bartender told me to, we headed to Camden Market on Saturday morning. What we found there was an endless collection of somewhat funky, somewhat junky merchandise. You can buy almost anything imaginable, but the real fun was walking around people-watching. Down the street from the main market is a collection of other markets, selling mostly crafts, which made perfect gifts for the people back home. It's a good place to spend a Saturday morning.

About half a mile away, you can escape the madness of the markets and head up to Primrose Hill. I was told that it offers one of the best views of London, and that turned out to be true. Among the people walking their dogs, playing with their kids, and romancing each other, we sat for a while and enjoyed this somewhat hidden treasure.

From Primrose Hill, you can head to nearby Regent Park and Zoo or take the Tube (Chalk Farm) back to downtown.