Originally Posted By u k fan I've used that sight before for discounts outside of London, but it looks like to use the offers on the link you gave you have to have valid train tickets which I don't think you'll have. If you buy your railcard from a mainline train station you may get a ticket you can use, but you need to buy it from the British Rail ticket office and not a machine. The FAQs say that the ticket needs to have the British Rail logo. The FAQs are here <a href="http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/faq.aspx#1" target="_blank">http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/faq.aspx#1</a>
Originally Posted By dagobert Thanks for all the help!!! Maybe I will do a trip report, if someone is interested, when we have returned. I'm so ready for that vacation. Yesterday my smartphone broke down and all my contacts and apps are gone. Unfortunately I've only partly saved them on my PC. Have a wonderful week!!
Originally Posted By Bolna Dagobert, sorry for the phone trouble!! I hope you have a wonderful time in London, it is one of my favourite places!
Originally Posted By Malin *** The M&M's store does feel like you are in Vegas rather than London. Though I do miss the Swiss Cookoo clock and dancers that it replaced :-( *** I have yet to check it out. But a tempory Vegas fix sounds alright with me. Like dagobert I'm in the capital for a couple of days soon. Mainly to see a Hyde Park Concert. But all this talk about the Tower of London has me considering a tempory detour to check this fantastic not to be missed attraction out once again. And Dave very disapointed to read the new Disney Store is a waste of time. I had hoped we would get something a bit more unique and special this time around. The most ironic thing is that at the D23 Expo the Disney Store had some nice items and collectables for sale including some 25th Anniversary items. I guess it was only a one time deal to try and get more merchandise out of the D23 Fans. Dagobert have a great time and I would love to read a trip report.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Have a great time guys. I am up to Yorkshire at 4:30 tomorrow morning. I wish I was looking forward to it. Oh well, at least I booked my next French foray yesterday.
Originally Posted By dagobert We are back from our five days trip to London. It was fantastic, but we had not enough time to do everything we wanted to do. We got to see "Wicked", it was a wonderful musical. I want to thank all of you for the advices and help and if you should be interesting, I will do a trip report. I'm currently sorting the pictures. Dave, of course we visited the Disney Store. The selection of merchandise was bad, except for the London items. But I liked the new interior of the store. It looked way better than most of the Disney Stores we have visited in the US. The former WoDS in NY is still my favorite, although Disney closed it. The M&Ms store was also nice and it looked a bit like the one in Las Vegas.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Glad to hear you had a good time, I am really looking forward to reading your trip report and looking at the pictures. I am glad you liked Wicked. What else did you get up to?
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>I am glad you liked Wicked. What else did you get up to?<<< We did the British Museum, Tower of London, London Eye, Camden Markets, Hard Rock Cafe, Canary Wharf, Greenwich, Soho and China Town. We also walked just around the city to see Buckingham Palace, Westminster Palace, Westminster Abbey, the MI6 Building, Trafalgar Square, Oxford Street, Leicester Square (although it was just a construction site) and Harrods. There was just not enough time to see all the museums you have recommended, but I'm sure we will return in the future.
Originally Posted By dagobert Here's my trip report: London - Day 1 We got up around 3am and after a cup of coffee we were on our way to Munich Airport. Our plane left at 7am and we arrived at London Heathrow Airport at 8am local time. After we gathered our luggage, we took the London Tube to King's Cross were we purchased the Travel Card. We needed to go there, because National Rail has a special offer for the Tower of London. It means that only one person has to pay for the admission while the other one gets in free. The only problem is that you need a London Public Transport Ticket with the National Rail logo on it. So going to that station was the easiest way for us. Later we found out that it was possible to buy that ticket at nearly every National Rail station. Afterwards we took South West Trains from Waterloo station to Wandsworth Town. The journey takes approximately 15 minutes. Our hotel was called "The Alma" and was conviniently located just across the railway station. We checked in and luckily our room was already available and we dropped our luggage off. Later we started our London vacation with a cold beer in the hotel pub. Afterwards we were on our way back to the centre. We had lunch at Benito's Hat and we both ordered the vegetarian Burito. Then we visited Covent Garden Markets and walked to the River Thames, passed the London Eye and stopped at Westminster Palace with Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. We mader some pictures and then walked to Vauxhall Cross, because I wanted to get a picture of the MI6 Building, which is prominetly featured in the James Bond movie "The World is not Enough". Since we had a dinner reservation at a vegetarian restaurant and so we drove back to our hotel to get ready for the evening. The restaurant is called "Manna" and serves only vegetarian food. It was fine, but we have already been to nicer vegetarian restaurants. Since we got up so early we decided to go back to the hotel and there we had a beer and a cider in the hotel pub, before we went to bed. <a href="http://s245.photobucket.com/albums/gg80/dagobert1985/London%20-%20Day%201/?start=all" target="_blank">http://s245.photobucket.com/al...tart=all</a>
Originally Posted By dagobert Photos will follow tomorrow. Unfortunately I have deleted my photo album.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Oh dear, as long as you did not delete your photos. FWiw, you still managed to visit my fav museum, what did you think?
Originally Posted By dagobert So here's the link to Day 1: <a href="http://s245.photobucket.com/albums/gg80/dagobert1985/London%20-%20Day%201/" target="_blank">http://s245.photobucket.com/al...Day%201/</a>
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>FWiw, you still managed to visit my fav museum, what did you think?<<< Since we have only visited the British Museum, I assume you mean that one. The museum was great, especially the Egyptian part and the mummies. We did it on our last day and so we were already a bit tired and didn't do the whole museum. It's just too big. The money exhibition was also interesting. I loved the architecture of the big hall. What kind of roof was there before the dome was built? I hope I don't hurt anyone's feelings, but what's wrong with all the people. Why can't they behave anymore in museums. It is prohibited to touch the objects, but so many just don't care and touch them anyways. I hate to say that but especially Asian people behaved terrible. I've always considered them respectful and polite, but they just didn't care about the other guests. At least the security team acted on them.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Lol, yes, I was referring to the British Museum being my fav. Before the roof was in the middle, if I recall, that was simply an open coart year? I can't quite remember, it has been there many years now. As for the touching, it drives me crazy too, and there is one large growing super power who have guests who do not seem to play by the rules. Then again, international travel is a hugely new thing for many of them.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo It was fun to see your photos, other than the food ones, it is like looking at a work day (I used to work very near some of the buildings you photographed). But it is always great to see it from a perspective of a visitor. Sometimes it is easy to take it for granted.
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>It was fun to see your photos, other than the food ones, it is like looking at a work day (I used to work very near some of the buildings you photographed). But it is always great to see it from a perspective of a visitor. Sometimes it is easy to take it for granted.<<< I'm glad you liked them. I'm currently sorting the picture for day 2. London offers a great variety of architecture. I like the old buildings, but the new area in Canary Wharf looks also fantastic.
Originally Posted By dagobert London - Day 2: Today we had planned to see a musical. After breakfast we took the railway to Waterloo and from there the subway to Leicester Square. There we lined up at TKTS to get our tickets. Since there was no discount available for either Lion King nor Wicked, we decided to watch Wicked, because it was completely new to us. Later we made a visit to the M&Ms Store which I really liked. We have already been to the M&Ms Store in Las Vegas, but the one in London looks nicer. I got a pin and then we were on our way to the Tower of London. We were surprised that there were nearly no lines and we got our 2FOR1 tickets. What a bargain! First we did the Tower Wall tour and then we got a coffee at the Tower Restaurant. The Crowne Jewels were next and in my opinion it was the most interesting part of the whole Tower experience. After that we walked through the White Tower where the Royal Armouries were on display. Then we just strolled around the Tower and visited the torture exhibition. Although I have already seen the Tower ten years ago, it was still very interesting. Just out of interest, do people live in the Tower, because from the Tower Wall there can be seen flats? We left the Tower around 2pm and had lunch at Wagamama, a fast food restaurant that serves Asian cuisine. I ordered a Noodle dish and my girlfriend a Noodle soup, both were really good. Later we took the subway to Hyde Park Corner and visited the Hard Rock Cafe. According to HRC it is the original one where everything started. We had a beer at the bar and I got a pin for my collection. We also wanted to do the Vault tour, but unfortunately they were already full and so we went to Marks & Spencer and got some snacks. Since it was already late afternoon, we drove back to the hotel to get ready for the musical. The evening had a bad start, because we went to the wrong theatre. We just read Apollo on the ticket and assumed that it would be the right theatre. I asked a Police Officer if we are on the right way to the Apollo and he told us that Wicked was shown at the Apollo Victoria Theatre. Great!!! At least we had plenty of time and 15 minutes later we arrived at the right theatre. We got a programme, bought some drinks and got seated. We had fantastic seats in the middle of the fourth row. The view was incredible. There we met a German couple who visited London for twenty years in a row just to watch musicals. What a great hobby. We loved Wicked! The music was wonderful, the actors were great and we had a fantastic time there. In 2001 I have already seen Cats in London, but Wicked was definitely as good as Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's classic. Back in the hotel we had a good night's drink in the hotel pub. Photos: <a href="http://s245.photobucket.com/albums/gg80/dagobert1985/London%20-%20Day%202/" target="_blank">http://s245.photobucket.com/al...Day%202/</a>
Originally Posted By dagobert London - Day 3: Like everyday we took the train to Waterloo and from there we walked to the London Eye just across the railway station. We bought our tickets already on the internet and had just to pick them up at the office. We got Fast Track tickets and were the first in line. I'm glad we decided to buy those tickets, because the standy by line was already very long and the attraction wasn't even open. We boarded the first gondola and luckily the weather was fine to make good pictures. After 45 minutes the round trip was over and we headed to Canary Wharf were we had a coffee at Starbucks. Later we took the DLR Line to Greenwich and walked to the Royal Observatory, but we didn't go inside. Then we visited the Old Naval College to see where Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean - On Stranger Tides was filmed. After a quick visit to Greenwich Markets we had a beer in a pub and waited for our water taxi which brought us back to the Tower of London. There we had lunch at Wagamama again and it wasn't the last time. I wish that chain would come to Austria, because the food is really good. Then we took the subway to Temple Bar and St. Paul's Cathedral, which is a fantastic building. We went inside, but it was not allowed to take pictures. Afterwards we headed to Oxford Street to visit the Disney Store. I have to say the new design looks better than expected and definitely a lot better than most of the stores we have been to in the US, except for the former World of Disney Store in NY. The merchandise selection is bad, but the store was crowded and people bought like crazy. I wanted to get a pin, but they only had a Stitch one which I didn't like. But a very friendly Castmember told me that they will get new ones on Saturday. So we went to Soho and had another beer and cider at the Clachlan Pub. I really liked the atmosphere there, because people were standing in front of the pubs and enjoyed their drinks. Afterwards we had dinner at Maoz's Falafel. The portions at Wagamama were huge and so Maoz was the right choice for us. It seems I have only bad luck at the moment, because last week the brakes of my car were broken, then my smartphone broke down and had to be sent to the manufacturer and on that evening the objective of my DSLR broke. I don't know what happened, but the auto focus didn't work anymore. At least it was still possible to make pictures. Today I have been to a retailer, but it is too expensive to repair the objective. So we have to get a new one. Since we had already planned to get a better one, it's not that bad. After Chinatown we walked to Trafalgar Square and via Houses of Parliaments to Waterloo Station. Back in the hotel we watched TV. The TV programme in the UK is very interesting. We watched a show about teenagers having problems with bodies and are examined by a doctor in a truck. Very, very intersting. Then it was time for bed. Pictures: <a href="http://s245.photobucket.com/albums/gg80/dagobert1985/London%20-%20Day%203/" target="_blank">http://s245.photobucket.com/al...Day%203/</a>
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Sounds like a very mixed day, but overall excellent. The Tower of London does indeed have inhabitants, it is still an active military establishment (my step dad's father was posted here just after WWII). As for the HRC, it is a bit of a tourist con, London did have the 1st Hard rock Cafe, but the current one is a new location. I think the old one is now offices. Glad you enjoyed Wicked. I must confess, I find CATS to have been a very much overrated experience. I have yet to try Wicked, but I think I might need to set that right. Lol. But there are always great shows to catch in London, and they are cheaper than Broadway or Vegas shows.
