Going to London. Tips appreciated!

[mizzou]

OH, if you are a coffee drinker, it's sometimes just "Filter Coffee" or maybe you can only get an "Americano"

there is no such thing as "Can I just get a small house blend"

 

[ElFenix]

gatwick is cooler than heathrow. heathrow is for tossers.

 

[HAL9000]

gatwick is cooler than heathrow. heathrow is for tossers.

Stansted ftw.

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

Watch out for HAL9000 and his fellow Westham supporters. RUN LIKE HELL DONT LOOK BACK. If they catch you your a goner. They grab you and force you to watch Westham Play football for 90 minutes. Thats like being locked up in a turkish prison

 

[HAL9000]

Watch out for HAL9000 and his fellow Westham supporters. RUN LIKE HELL DONT LOOK BACK. If they catch you your a goner. They grab you and force you to watch Westham Play football for 90 minutes. Thats like being locked up in a turkish prison

I hate football don't worry.

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

I hate football don't worry.

Yip typical West Ham supporter. Hate football

 

[zinfamous]

I hear that neckbeards and tweed are the current top fashion trends of the English people.

Do be sure to dress appropriately.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Gatwick may be closer but if your flight out gets cancelled you may have to wait much longer for the next compared to Heathrow.

 

[Mark R]

Go over to Kensington.
There are several good museums there. E.g., the Victoria and Albert, Natural History and Science museums.

I agree. It's very much worth going to the museums. London has some of the finest museums in the world, and they are free admission (voluntary donations accepted).

The British Musuem near Russell Square has a superb antiquities collection - probably the finest Egyptian and Greek collections on the planet. If you have an interest in history, this is an absolute must see.

There are 3 major museums in South Kensington
The Victoria and Albert museum: an excellent British history lesson. (Another must see).
The science museum, also worth a visit (can be missed if you don't have time).
The natural history museum. (Pro-tip: use the side entrance on Exhibition road, skip if you have more important things to see)
Churchill War Rooms - The old underground WW2 government bunker in Westminster (Entry fee payable)

Off the beaten track museums:
Something a bit different, and usually distinctly British. (Well worth visiting if you're in the areas)
Sir John Soane Museum - Lincoln's Inn Fields near Holborn. (Not only a beautiful building, formerly an architect's house, but an excellent collection of historical architecutre exhibits)
Charles Dickens Museum - Dickens' old house in Holborn, with a large collection of artefacts.
London Canal Museum - near Kings Cross
London Transport Museum - near Covent Garden - see the history the transit systems of London, including the history of the world's first subway
The Wellcome Museum - near Euston. A rather eclectic collection of medical/art exhibits. Quite unique and interesting.

Shopping (not really my area of expertise)
Oxford Street - All the big brands have their flagship stores here. If you like brands, you'll love this.
Harrods - in Knightsbridge.
Fortnum and Mason - in Piccadilly. (Food supplier extraordinaire)

Markets (weekends only)
Camden Lock - off Camden High Street. Very trendy/hippy stuff. If the weather is nice, then you can take a very pleasant walk West along the canal, past London Zoo and Regents Park, and up to St John's Wood.
Portobello Road - Vibrant street market on Fridays and Weekends, but a load of peculiar and antique shops open the rest of the week. (Warning: tourists are easily separated from their money here).

 

[HAL9000]

221B Baker Street!

 

[spacelord]

Agreed, about the Museums. Great stuff.. I saw the Rosetta Stone when I was there.. not sure if its a permanent resident there or not. The British empire was great at looting artifacts from other countries back in the day. at least they have it all free for view now.

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

The French looted Egypt for it not the British

 

[mizzou]

221B Baker Street!

i was pleasantly surprised with that one. They had some books in there that were a better deal then getting them on Amazon back in the states.

Just a fun quirky place to go in and mess around, not terribly expensive.

Plus you may run into some non-221B Baker Street associated roleplayers

 

[Carousel]

Excellent, excellent advice, thanks!

Also, how are Americans treated, in general, in London? I know we are heavily disliked everywhere else we go.

 

[HAL9000]

i was pleasantly surprised with that one. They had some books in there that were a better deal then getting them on Amazon back in the states.

Just a fun quirky place to go in and mess around, not terribly expensive.

Plus you may run into some non-221B Baker Street associated roleplayers

Exactly, I went there when I was younger to see if it existed after reading the books and I had an amazing surprise.

 

[mizzou]

Excellent, excellent advice, thanks!

Also, how are Americans treated, in general, in London? I know we are heavily disliked everywhere else we go.

honestly, it seemed like everyone was a foreigner. You will blend in easily until you open your mouth

its hard enough understanding their accents, but try it with a british-english as a 2nd language! impossible

 

[HAL9000]

honestly, it seemed like everyone was a foreigner. You will blend in easily until you open your mouth

its hard enough understanding their accents, but try it with a british-english as a 2nd language! impossible

 

[HAL9000]

Excellent, excellent advice, thanks!

Also, how are Americans treated, in general, in London? I know we are heavily disliked everywhere else we go.

I wouldn't say they are loved, but as long as you don't come here with the mentality that america is the best and everything different is wrong then you'll be fine.

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

If the ones that you do run into appears to be straight forward, mean and a sick sense of humor then dont worry. Theyre not mean or hate you. They are just being English. Its hard to tell if they are serious or if they are joking. 99,9 percent of the time they are taking the piss

 

[ElFenix]

I wouldn't say they are loved, but as long as you don't come here with the mentality that america is the best and everything different is wrong then you'll be fine.

 

[HAL9000]

If the ones that you do run into appears to be straight forward, mean and a sick sense of humor then dont worry. Theyre not mean or hate you. They are just being English. Its hard to tell if they are serious or if they are joking. 99,9 percent of the time they are taking the piss

Agreed. Sarcasm and the English Language are synonyms

 

[rsutoratosu]

Yip typical West Ham supporter. Hate football

I support west ham.. been to a few games

 

[Carousel]

I got back a few weeks ago, but I didn't have the time to give back my impressions of London.

Here are some things I found/liked:

• First things first. I LOVED Borough Market. Monmouth Coffee was the most amazing thing that happened to me. Simply delicious. The Pork Belly Sandwich with Apple Sauce from Roast To Go was amazing as well. Pricey, but the quality was great.
• I lived in The Tower Hotel which was by The Tower of London. EVERYBODY was jogging there. In the morning people jogged, in the afternoon, and at night. From what I could tell, it was an expensive neibhorhood and these rich folk like to keep in shape.
• Unliked the NYC subway, the tube was actually prompt and on time. In the week I was there, the train was delayed once. Also regarding the transit system: it is extremely easy to comprehend and very accessable. Even after 15 years of taking the NYC subway, I STILL get lost.
• Pricey, pricey, pricey. London is expensive. Nuff said.
• Generally, I found British people very friendly. I visited Paris a few days before London, and in France, people are arrogant and extremely rude to toursists, especially Americans. The police officers don't even look at you when you ask them a question; they simply ignore you. In fact, I was not even allowed into a restuarant because they waiter said it was closed. I stood outside just to see if this was true. I saw 2 French couples come in within 5 minutes of me not being allowed to enter. I didn't really take offense, just found it kind of funny.

There was a lot more impressions that I left out, but these are the ones that seemed to come to mind right now. All in all, I loved London. I might even move there in the future.

 

[HAL9000]

I got back a few weeks ago, but I didn't have the time to give back my impressions of London.

Here are some things I found/liked:

• First things first. I LOVED Borough Market. Monmouth Coffee was the most amazing thing that happened to me. Simply delicious. The Pork Belly Sandwich with Apple Sauce from Roast To Go was amazing as well. Pricey, but the quality was great.
• I lived in The Tower Hotel which was by The Tower of London. EVERYBODY was jogging there. In the morning people jogged, in the afternoon, and at night. From what I could tell, it was an expensive neibhorhood and these rich folk like to keep in shape.
• Unliked the NYC subway, the tube was actually prompt and on time. In the week I was there, the train was delayed once. Also regarding the transit system: it is extremely easy to comprehend and very accessable. Even after 15 years of taking the NYC subway, I STILL get lost.
• Pricey, pricey, pricey. London is expensive. Nuff said.
• Generally, I found British people very friendly. I visited Paris a few days before London, and in France, people are arrogant and extremely rude to toursists, especially Americans. The police officers don't even look at you when you ask them a question; they simply ignore you. In fact, I was not even allowed into a restuarant because they waiter said it was closed. I stood outside just to see if this was true. I saw 2 French couples come in within 5 minutes of me not being allowed to enter. I didn't really take offense, just found it kind of funny.

There was a lot more impressions that I left out, but these are the ones that seemed to come to mind right now. All in all, I loved London. I might even move there in the future.

Glad you liked it matey, come back anytime. I'm in London this weekend. Love it.