A quotation from Benjamin Disraeli, Former British Prime Minister who lived in London from 1804-1881. And from what I've seen, that statement seems to be true today as well. London is a microcosm of the world.
There are so many different nationalities living in London that I would venture it's hard to guess who among the crowd are born and bred Londoners. I see more Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and Thai restaurants than I see pubs and I don't think that it's reserved to any one part of the city for it seems to be like that everywhere I've been today.And the people...the people have all been wonderfully nice. No one has really commented on my accent, or lack thereof, and I've easily understood most of the people to whom I've been speaking unless it's been a really heavy English accent. Even the lady standing behind me as I tried to refill my public transpo card was politely impatient.
All in all, the people have been great. In Bath, everyone to whom I asked directions of were very helpful and one shop woman actually walked out of her shop with me to point me in the right direction. Several people reminded me to "mind the traffic" (I think they were trying to tell me to not to get run over in front of them).Today, I met up with an email pal I met through a women's travel network called HerMail.net. HerMail allows you to write anonymously to women living in the area to which you're traveling and ask them for hints or advice. I wrote, Ann answered. We wrote back and forth a few times and set up a time and day to meet for lunch. It was nice to have a friendly face, good food, and good conversation when you're traveling by yourself.Last night, while eating dinner at the pub around the corner from where I'm staying, I got to chatting with a couple next to me that were on holiday from Australia. I guess what I'm trying to say is that no matter where we choose to travel, it's nice to know that there are other birds out there willing to show you in which direction to fly.
OMG! First of all, I knew it was going to be small. I read the reviews on Trip Advisor. But I am traveling on a budget and 45 pounds a night is a good deal for London.
The average room runs about 100 to 200 pounds a night (that's $200-400 dollars for us poor people). I'm willing to work with what I get...but DAMN it's tiny!!! (Above pic is taken from the bathroom doorway. At the foot of the bed is a tiny bathroom with a standing shower and a teeny-tiny sink. Behind the front door and to the right of the medium packing cube pictured above is a folding chair, which I'm using as a stand to hold my big packing cube and a small shelf stand that holds a hot water pot and my small packing cube with food.) Not only that, when I checked in, the kind proprietor tells me they've given me a very nice room on the third floor. THIRD FLOOR!!! WTF! I'm FAT and out of shape dammit!
Worse, I remembered on my way up the stairs (with that heavy, mother-humping piece of luggage) that in England, what we in the States refer to as the first floor, they refer to as the "ground" floor. Get it? So in England, you have the ground floor (G), 1st floor, 2nd floor, 3rd floor and so on. Are you all catching my drift here? I had to lug my crap up FOUR FLIGHTS OF STAIRS! I need a friggin' vacation from carrying my luggage! It also makes me hesitant to leave lest I decide I need extra exercise to get back to my room. Other than that, it's clean and safe (CCTV on all stairwells and at the front door) and at a wonderful, wonderful location. Honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better place to stay while in London!
After tons of hours on a plane, we landed in London and guess what I saw upon leaving the airport. Yep, that’s snow. Lots and lots of it. Check out the short clip of how hard it was falling as I waited for my train to London. Took the train to London and caught another to Bath Spa. Arrived yesterday, settled in and then hit the pavement.I was bone-tired but did not succumb to the temptation to sleep. Instead, I walked up the hill (ugh!) to the Crescent Gardens and caught the hop on hop off bus and tried to get my bearings.
I took a 90 minute tour of the historic Roman Baths, then walked a bit until I decided to hop back on the bus to go back to the B&B.Today, I ventured back out towards the gardens and made my way to Bath Centre. Along the way, I checked out the Jane Austen exhibit and visited some shops. Afterwards, I headed back to the B&B for a rest and some tea. Later on, I headed back into the Bath Centre and spent a couple of well earned hours in the mineral baths...aaahhhhh....sheer heaven, that was!!!
After my dip, I met up with other gluttons for punishment for a 90 minute comedy walk in the very cold weather. My feet and legs are going to punish me for all the walking I’ve been doing but it’s all good. Tomorrow, I’m off to Stonehenge and the Cotswalds. Will post more tomorrow evening. Ta-ta for now.
In my last entry, I mentioned I would probably go out to see the changing of the guard the morning after I arrived in London. I decided to check the web and read what I could about Buckingham Palace and it’s a good thing I did because I found out that in April, the changing of the guard is only happening every other day and I would have been sorely disappointed upon arriving at the palace and seeing NADA! Save time and check as much as you can ahead of time!!! Remember, your time is valuable, spend it wisely!The other thing I’m checking now that my trip is coming up is the weather! I had already planned on a rain jacket of some type but seeing the weather trends lately (and chatting with a friend who lives across the pond) I’ve discovered their weather has been a bit colder than usual so I added more long sleeve shirts, a quilted vest, gloves, and a scarf to my packing list. My original plan included a hoodie which I will wear on the plane. Speaking of packing lists, check out my packing video on an earlier entry.So, I’ve changed my plans a bit and decided that I’m going to try for a Duck Tour. It sounds like fun, cold fun, but fun.Thursday will be spend exploring London. I already have friends and family that have placed orders for souvenirs so I have stuff to buy! I’ve already reserved my ride on the London Eye and a cruise on the Thames. It should all be fun!
I know it’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to write a bit. I’ve been working extra consulting jobs for the trip so I got a bit sidetracked but for a very good reason...MONEY!So, where were we??? Ah yes. Our first day in London! I’ve decided that I will be as flexible as possible while in London. I’ve got 5 full days to see as much as possible (and try to fit in some rest as well) but I don’t want to stress myself out so for me, flexibility will be the key. I will be arriving by train from Bath. My plan is to leave Bath around noon so I can arrive in London and check in by 3pm or so. I’m staying at the Cherry Court Hotel.
I found this location in my Rick Steves guidebook. I checked out the web page and as a single woman traveling alone, decided that it was in a safe location, near the tube, and the hotel has closed-circuit television monitoring the entrances and lobby. I felt better knowing if I arrived after dark, the doors were being monitored. I booked a single room and reserved it at the posted rate of 48 pounds a night. Breakfast is a fruit bowl, biscuits, cereal and coffee/tea and that’s plenty for me to start my day.After checking in I don’t plan on doing too much besides getting to know my way around my new neighborhood and maybe do a hop-on/hop-off bus tour around the city. Depending on how tired I am, I might spend the evening in my room relaxing or just hanging around the area. The next day, I plan to walk around London and catch as much as I can by foot. I will try to visit Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard. I’m hoping that this will be a good day to miss crowds as a Thursday morning isn’t usually the tourist time. After the change, I plan on visiting London Bridge, Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Madam Tussaud’s Wax Museum and the London Dungeon (which sounds a bit like Disney’s Tower of Terror) ride.
Afterwards, I have already booked myself a Thames River Cruise (a circular river cruise that lasts about 40 minutes) that should take me by all the major sites in and around the Thames River. Afterwards, I have also reserved and paid for a fast-track ticket to the London Eye (see pictures above). By purchasing in advance, I’ve saved 10% and have something akin to a reserved time to ride the pod on the Eye and see London at night instead of waiting in line (which I’ve heard can get very lengthy at times) to ride.My suggestion to all of you is if you can book a ticket or make a reservation on-line before you arrive at your destination, it will probably save you money and time (which is sometimes as valuable, if not more valuable than money). I saved 10% on each ticket and have definite plans for my evening so I don’t waste any of my precious time in London wondering what I’m going to do next. After my pod ride, I’ll catch the tube back to my B&B for the rest of the evening.
Well...so if I decided I was too tired to do the Stonehenge Tour on my second full day in Bath, I plan to see the city sites the right proper way!I mentioned that the city of Bath offers free walking tours. They last about 2 hours and are led by volunteers so this would probably be the day I would take advantage of that freebie. Hopefully, the guide will mention extra-ordinary city sites that I should not miss and I will get to see them all.The main thing I am interested in seeing of course, are the Roman Baths (pictured above) and on some of the photos from my earlier entries.In all honesty, I do want to take a look around this fascinating city and take advantage of all the historical sites and such but what I’m REALLY interested in doing is this: I’m going to sit around in the Spa doggone it! The Thermae Bath Spa is Bath’s original and only natural thermal spa. My plan is to buy the 4 hour spa session. They also have a cafe & restaurant and a visitor center.There is a great deal of history in the water and there are some archival films and photos available for viewing if you click on the link above. I have read that the water that is generated in these spas is anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 years old! Can you wrap your brain around that??? I’m having a hard time doing that myself!Oh well, who cares if I can wrap my brain around it or not?! The fact of the matter is the main reason for my stay in Bath is rest & relaxation before I hit the bustling city of London and this is where I’m gonna get it!!!
I’ll be arriving at London, Gatwick. Once I get through customs, I plan on catching the train to Bath.Bath is considered a World Heritage City with a population of about 85,000. It is best known for the hot springs that are credited with ended infertility for Queen Mary, who became pregnant after bathing in the Spa.
Supposedly, the Romans traveled there extensively also to use the springs so much so that the town was called “Aquae Sulis” which later was shortened to “Bath”. The city of Bath logs about 2 million visitors a year!
The town is also known for the 5 years that Jane Austen lived there (circa 1800) and how Bath influenced her writing, but we’ll talk more about that later. There seems to be quite a bit to do in Bath and the surrounding country. I chose to go to Bath upon my arrival in England because it sounded like just the right place to be to recuperate from my jet lag. I will be staying at the Elgin Villa-Bed & Breakfast. It looks lovely and the proprietor, Anna Rutherford, sounds like she’s going to be a wonderful and helpful host. Here’s a link to the Elgin Villa so you can see where I’ll be staying.
Photo: Elgin Villas Bed & Breakfast
I’m guessing that alot of you probably think it’s too early to be getting ready for a trip that isn’t going to happen until April but I’m a bit over-anxious and excited. I want to know about everything that I could possibly do, see, eat, ride, and watch before I set foot on British soil. Once I’m there, I’ll whittle down my must-see list to something that is hopefully manageable with a few days of plain rest and relaxation thrown in for good measure.As I find things to do or see, I’ll put the links and pics in here so you can do a little discovery of your own. Sound good? BTW, when you see a blog entry with this symbol (~) before the entry title, you will know that that particular blog entry contains information that is relevant to travel in general and not specific to my upcoming trip. Also, I just want everyone to know that if I’m mentioning a website or a product, it is based strictly upon my own experience with that website or that product. I have no ties to any company or business out there in web-land and I don’t get paid or compensated in any way to endorse anything. So...are you ready to get in on the planning of this trip with me? Lets go...
Posts
