Zx2guy19 Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 Spending Christmas traveling to London (UK for the funny guys) and staying through New Years. Leaving out of Toronto so we'll be there Tuesday, Dec. 26th- Monday, Jan 1st. What do we HAVE to do while we're there? Restaurants, site seeing, etc. Obviously I'll do some research but the first hand CR experience has been amazing in the past. We have considered doing a day or 2 in Barcelona or Germany, but were totally open to recommendations. Where else would you stay or spend a day if you could? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJ Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 I spent 7 days in London back in late 2006. All the museums are great, but going to the British Library and seeing books and documents that date back to the 600's is pretty amazing. Check out the old Roman city walls. Tower of London is good. Churchill museum and War Rooms was really cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lauren Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 I go there for work once a year. Do all the normal touristy shit. The eye. Palace etc. Get a train pass and head outside of London and see the country. Go to Bournemouth. Love that city. Head to the Isle of wright. Go stay at a B&B in the new forest. Get a train ticket from London to paris for $100 and tour Paris. Two important things. After a night of drinking stay far far away from a kebab truck. Your entire next day will be ruined if you don't lol. Find chippys and eat often. UK has some delicious food contrary to popular belief. Amazing curries , fish and chips and meats. The beef taste very different. Oh their is Blackpool up north ( I'll be there in May). Its like a dirty Las Vegas. Do not limit yourself to just London. England is a beautiful country. Explore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRed05 Posted December 5, 2017 Report Share Posted December 5, 2017 Normal touristy stuff +1 Delicious food +1 Check out the countryside +1 We rented a car and drove to Stonehenge and back, I enjoyed that. Also spent some time in Kent. Canterbury is a cool place and the cathedral is pretty amazing. It's not far from Dover, which has Dover Castle and it's also where you can take a train/ferry over to France. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotCarl Posted December 6, 2017 Report Share Posted December 6, 2017 My gf's family is from there (mom's side) so we went last summer and had a great time. However it was the hottest day since 1976 or some such nonsense and absolutely NO building we visited had AC. You were lucky to find a cab with AC. Luckily that won't be an issue for you. We did the Eye, I hated it but only because I fucking hate heights. We toured the Olympic park which was cool, there's a tower in the middle of the park called the ArcelorMittal Orbit, or just Orbit for short. Go to the top and ride the slide down it's a blast. We took a boat tour on the Thames, that was cool. Probably one of my favorites was just exploring, there are so many little parks tucked away that have been there for 100's of years. We also spent some time in the countryside because her family has a cottage there still. It's nice and quiet. I do remember Londoner's being very friendly, that was unexpected for some reason but everyone was cool. I drank in several pubs that are older than the United States. Talked to bartenders about the history of the buildings. Every pub has a trap door, most just got concrete floors in the last 50 years because it wasn't even invented when the pub was built. oh and be prepared to duck everywhere you go. Timber was an expensive commodity back then so all structures were built with very low head clearance. I'm an average 6' tall and the ceiling beams were 5" lower than my head everywhere we went. Of course if you're just staying in London most buildings are very modern so you might not see that at all. The English love their puns, talking about Trump and I was mistaken for a Canadian a few times. One bartender apologized when I said I wasn't, "you're not offended I called you a canadian?" "No, not at all." "Oh well they're offended when we call them American!" "K" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99StockGT Posted December 6, 2017 Report Share Posted December 6, 2017 First trip out of the country to that area of the world or no? I'm in Ireland every year and while there's amazing stuff to do in capital cities the more "International" everywhere gets the less unique it becomes at times. Adventuring the countryside is a MUST to get a real flavor for where you are. A Ryan mentioned above it's quite a weird experience to walk into a pub or building pretty regularly that's older than our country. Bone up on proper tea etiquette! Part of the British Way is their tea/eating schedules which can be a little different from what most westerners are used to. Also, try not to over schedule yourselves which is something I was very guilty of my first time in Ireland I wanted to see EVERYTHING. You end up rushing from site to site, being a high strung stressed out American instead of slowing down and enjoying a taste of the Old World. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zx2guy19 Posted December 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2017 Thanks everyone, much appreciated. Austin- this is our first trip to Europe, but both of us have been out of the country a number of times (mostly to Mexico and Central America). I'm extremely lucky that this girl is seriously the second coming of Ferdinand Magellan. She can navigate a map like nothing I've ever seen, so a trip to the countryside with little to no plan outside of Stonehenge is 100% in the cards. We've gotten a lot of people who recommend the Eye, and of course the museums and libraries will be the first day or 2, as she's also a fucking nerd who's into that stuff. Like I said, we're considering taking a train to Barcelona, Germany, or now Paris, but since it's only a few weeks out it looks like tickets are expensive as hell. We are holding a day or so to book our AirBnB to see if we can get there a cheaper way, but they're like $250 a person right now, so that's out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lauren Posted December 7, 2017 Report Share Posted December 7, 2017 You have limited time. Don't spend gobs of time on a train going to Germany. Keep it close inside england or Paris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99StockGT Posted December 7, 2017 Report Share Posted December 7, 2017 Well get ready to enjoy a huge change in your life, once you've been in that area of the world you'll want it more and more. To really get a taste of the life of another country you need to get out INTO that country. Look into renting a car if possible (and make sure you have insurance squared away) and get out there. Stop in little towns for tea and cake, talk to the locals, see the little off the path stuff. Getting to experience the difference between "Pub Life" in UK/Ireland and the "Going to the Bar" we do in America is ... well you'll see Some of the best fun I've ever had was navigating purely by map and compass, when you get lost you never know WHAT you'll find! Personally another part of this experience is being off your damn PHONE. No phone calls, no texting, no constantly walking around with your head down just enjoy the world outside our borders. Wifi is pretty common and I even usually a portable wifi option when over there but try to keep that to a minimum. Take pictures and videos and such during the day and when back at the house/cottage/hotel/hovel/wherever you can post and share over evening tea or a pint! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99StockGT Posted December 7, 2017 Report Share Posted December 7, 2017 You have limited time. Don't spend gobs of time on a train going to Germany. Keep it close inside england or Paris I agree, save Germany for another trip. Once you've dipped a toe in with this one I can promise you you'll be planning the next one before you're even back on US soil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zx2guy19 Posted December 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2017 The train prices and times are insane to anything other than Paris, and even to there, it's still $300 plus a person now round trip. It's looking more like we are going to site see for 2 days in downtown London, travel around the countryside for 2 days and go to a bed and breakfast, and come back and probably do more stuff in London. Where do you guys normally stay while there? Is Kensington good? That's where the majority of the AirBnB's are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Posted December 7, 2017 Report Share Posted December 7, 2017 goto the emirates and watch Arsenal on boxing day! or goto any EPL match, you wont be disappointed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zx2guy19 Posted December 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2017 Nevermind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotCarl Posted December 8, 2017 Report Share Posted December 8, 2017 I agree with the above, Germany might be a stretch to do on short time schedule. Have you looked into flights? Ryan Air (no relation) has dirt cheap trips within the UK and Europe, like under 100$. I think I remember a friends saying she flew from Paris to London for like 80$/pounds but I could be wrong. I know inter-UK flights are always dirt cheap. I recommend Harrods in London for tea. You should do tea, to get the full experience. Just think of it as a fancy, really small, lunch with your pinky up the entire time. I dressed in typical american touristy stuff (polo and khaki shorts) and didn't feel too out of place. Put some collated cream on your scone and go to town. That shit is fucking great. It's like a heavier, fancier, cool whip. Its also a good spot to do some shopping or just browsing. They have an insane "food court" for lack of a better word. Like all fresh meats, prepared food that you can eat right away or take home to your hotel and stuff you typically can't find at your typical grocery. I don't know if your a beer guy or like IPA's or anything. I'll just say have an open mind. Try some of the cask ales, the stuff you've never heard of. I wasn't a huge fan of warm beer but I'm glad I tried it. Oh and we paid for a double decker bus tour, I kinda wish we stayed on it longer. It took you to all the areas of the city and gave a historical run down of each. I enjoy that kind of stuff though. Oh and get fish and chips... from anywhere. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRed05 Posted December 8, 2017 Report Share Posted December 8, 2017 We had the same issue with prices being high to Paris a couple days in advance. We ended up taking a Megabus which was pretty cool. From London to Paris it drives up on the ferry, and then on the return it drove inside the train that goes under the channel...pretty wild. I must say, that yeah it was nice seeing Paris (the Palace of Versailles is nuts!), but London is one of, if not my favorite city in the world (maybe tied with Cape Town). There is so much to do and see there. Get an oyster card. You can get it there but supposedly you can get better deals if you buy it ahead of time. https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/visiting-london/visitor-oyster-card Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zx2guy19 Posted December 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2017 All awesome suggestions. We are building an itinerary tonight (loose) so this thread will be up on the screen. We did book a rental car for Thursday/Friday to travel the countryside. She found some castle she wants to stay out way in the middle of no where, so I'm pretty excited. Also, can't wait to drive a manual in another country, ha! Left handed and the other side of the road. Here is the AirBnB we chose...it's right in the heart of Westminster. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/18654870 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mensan Posted December 8, 2017 Report Share Posted December 8, 2017 Eat at Nando's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zx2guy19 Posted December 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2017 Eat at Nando's. They have that in the US- it's delicious. Not sure I'd want to "spend" a meal there though. I eat it when I travel for work quite often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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