London With Teens
Mar 9, 2010 15:13:39 GMT
Post by gertie on Mar 9, 2010 15:13:39 GMT
A lot of teens. This is my report on my trip to London last spring. Although I grant it is a bit late, I only just got to this forum and thought I would add in something.
Last spring break, I went as a chaperon for my daughter's class. We decided early on as many adults as wanted could come along as long as they were willing to pay the price. As it turned out, the price was not as high as it might have been, thanks to the lovely larger rooms in the Premier Inn London - County Hall which allowed my daughter and I to share a room with another lovely woman and her daughter. Although I suppose having one of the kids sleeping on a mattress on the floor might not be the optimum, there was more than sufficient space to move around without tripping over the extra mattress, the carpet was scrupulously and regularly cleaned, the mattress very comfortable, and the pristine white sheets and comfort quite acceptable.
The bathrooms in these rooms didn't disappoint either, with plenty of hot water, good pressure, a nice amount of floor space, and available ledge space for items making for very comfortable use. The room even featured a long mirror over a shelf with several electric outlets and the coffee, tea, and condiments for the electric pot provided were refreshed readily every day. If you are thinking I was really impressed with this hotel, you'd be right. The price on the rooms was extremely reasonable considering just those things but I was also impressed by the location.
Not only were we situated right beside the London Eye and a lovely park, there was also a foot bridge across the Thames just beyond the Eye which led to a tube station serving one line. If one traveled the opposite direction from the hotel, even closer was a large station serving a variety of travel needs. On top of that, a number of small eateries and some good old American fast food were available in the station. While I deplore eating American fast food on trips to foreign lands, I have to admit with a diverse group of teens it was nice to be able to eat our main meals at local places and send any dissenters to pick up a snack there as we passed through returning in the evenings.
We arrived early on Sunday morning and found the trip through customs went much faster than we feared, in fact it went so fast we had to wait for our bus to arrive to collect us, but it was a beautiful if brisk sunny morning so we didn't mind all that much. After dropping our luggage, we headed out to the road bridge in front of the County Hall building and picked up tickets that allowed us to board first a red bus tour, complete with mostly open upper deck. We did the loop back to the pickup point listening to the tour on provided headsets. Although it was a cool day, it was not uncomfortable in the warm sun. Perhaps too comfortable, a few of our party had been unable to sleep on the plane and fell asleep during this ride.
Next, those same tickets provided use a trip down the river on a tourist barge which we caught just over the road bridge, which thankfully provided a nice pedestrian sidewalk. While we were collecting our group to head for the boats, we were amused to see a group of scantily and amusingly dressed locals heading with great pomp to perform an annual spring polar swim in the Thames, followed by hearty warming drinks. We were pleasantly surprised to find the wait not at all unreasonable and scurried aboard to seats on the top with lovely views, though I do believe our pursuit was aided by the progress of the polar swim team as a good few tourists had headed out after the group to view the proceedings. A gentleman pointed out the sights and told us bits of stories and history as we sailed past the polar swim gathering and on down the river to the Tower of London.
Unfortunately for us, the reduction of tourists we had enjoyed at the boarding of the boat did not extend to the Tower, and we found it hard to get close enough to the guides to enjoy their funny accents and descriptions. After managing to allow everyone to each take a turn near enough to hear, we struck out on our own and completed the tour with the assistance of our most excellent tour guide. While I encourage most people to travel on their own, I do think a diverse group such as a school trip really benefits from some assistance from a professional guide. It is just a lot to ask of anyone to tend to the needs of 25 people of divergent tastes on spur of the trip. Thanks to his able direction, we even managed to gather at an excellent viewing point for a changing of the guards and then had time to roam the gift shop, pick up snacks, and relax in the area near the gift shop before it was time to ride the barge back.
Over a lovely dinner at a resto named "Giraffe" positioned on the other side of the London Eye and the foot bridge, our guide asked each of us to list out three or four items that we had seen on the bus and barge tour that most interested us, as although he had planned some interesting and packed days for us, there was room to wriggle in a thing or two, plus he would be happy to give each of us advice for viewing a thing or two off our list on the off afternoon he had included for self-directed touring or rest. While "Giraffe" is apparently a chain, the food was of a type I have been told commonly enjoyed by the locals and certainly was different than anything offered in any of our local chains, and we didn't have anyone who didn't find something to enjoy.
Our exhausted walk back to the hotel was much enlivened by the goings on in the park between the hotel and the eye. Near the lights, various costumed characters of all sorts were available for picture-taking for tips. Back, closer to the grassy park groups of buskers of all sorts performed. We were quite fascinated and took our time, as our group was a theater group, there was a great appreciation for the showmanship of some of the performers, which included a couple of bands, a juggler, a magician, and some young men break dancing. Under the foot bridge, groups of youths skated and skateboarded.
The following morning, everyone gathered and proceeded to breakfast in the hotel as soon as the buffet opened because we were boarding a bus to see Shakespeare's house as early as possible. Having read of English breakfasts, I must say I quite enjoyed creating my own from the provided fried eggs, beans, toast, tomatoes, sausages (are those bangers?), and bacon. Other than perhaps the eggs, nothing really tasted like home, but I was impressed with the fried eggs rather than the usual staple of breakfast buffets here, scrambled eggs. I found the food quite tasty and had my first taste of hp sauce, something I find I adore.
We boarded the bus replete and struggled not to nap our way across the fields to our destination. We found the tour of Shakespeare's house enjoyable, with most of our group quite amused at the fellow who headed our tour, who suited our image of a Brit bloke to a T. Sadly, the tour was completed rather quickly, so we gathered for a slightly early lunch at a cafe right across the street. Although I suspect many would pass it over as to touristy, we were very pleasantly surprised. I'm sorry I don't have the name, but there were two eateries right across from where we exited, and it was the one to the left and not the one with the large sign out advertising cream teas.
The proprietor chatted amiably with some of the adults in our group while our guide encouraged us to try one of a couple of meals he had enjoyed previously and most of us settled on the fish and chips. While I have my doubts this place is listed on any of the top ten of fish and chips, we were more than pleasantly surprised by the meal. Each of us received two generous fillets of fish which we were able to see the cook dip and drop in the fryer just for us. The fries were all hot and wonderful, crisp on the outside and wonderfully mealy inside, and though we tried to take our time, it was hard not to rush to enjoyment. Our guide chuckled how quiet it got as soon as the plates were served as we applied ourselves with enjoyment. After the meal, we allowed everyone to enjoy a roam of the town, after dividing into groups such that all the kids had an adult to roam with, with a time set two hours hence to meet back at the bus park.
Although I am not all that big on touristy trinkets, I do like to get a nice tee to wear occasionally and remember the trip fondly, or perhaps a coffee mug to use, so began my meander of the shops. As it turned out, daughter and I picked up a couple of t-shirts, a lovely handmade ornament, and a mug before we happened upon the candy shop. We finally settled on several small packets of handmade caramels and began our trudge back to the bus lot, as we had wandered rather far afield. I later wished I had picked up the tee I purchased for hubby there as well, the prices were the cheapest we saw on the entire trip at some of the shops there, though one did have to look around just a bit to get the best prices.
As we approached the lot and spied our group congregating as the bus driver had not apparently made it back to let them on the bus, we passed a small house with a yard sale. I had planned to pick up some "real Brit tea sets" but had been much saddened by the high prices we had seen the previous day in the gift shop at the Tower. While I assumed these prices were of course higher than average, I didn't see giving over some of my time in London to hunt down an average shop which sold such things. I was just so thrilled to discover they were selling off packages, each containing two or three tea cups with saucers or perhaps three or four plates in a classic rose pattern, all the same pattern but differing in the colors of the roses and rather mixed in the packets for one euro each. I eventually plunked down five euros and walked off with four tea cups, five saucers, six plates, and a cream and sugar, plus a used paperback, a beautiful little ceramic doll for my daughter, and a lovely spun glass perfume bottle, still new in the box.
Well, that seems like a plenty for this post, I'll add more and perhaps link up our picture pages for the next post.
Last spring break, I went as a chaperon for my daughter's class. We decided early on as many adults as wanted could come along as long as they were willing to pay the price. As it turned out, the price was not as high as it might have been, thanks to the lovely larger rooms in the Premier Inn London - County Hall which allowed my daughter and I to share a room with another lovely woman and her daughter. Although I suppose having one of the kids sleeping on a mattress on the floor might not be the optimum, there was more than sufficient space to move around without tripping over the extra mattress, the carpet was scrupulously and regularly cleaned, the mattress very comfortable, and the pristine white sheets and comfort quite acceptable.
The bathrooms in these rooms didn't disappoint either, with plenty of hot water, good pressure, a nice amount of floor space, and available ledge space for items making for very comfortable use. The room even featured a long mirror over a shelf with several electric outlets and the coffee, tea, and condiments for the electric pot provided were refreshed readily every day. If you are thinking I was really impressed with this hotel, you'd be right. The price on the rooms was extremely reasonable considering just those things but I was also impressed by the location.
Not only were we situated right beside the London Eye and a lovely park, there was also a foot bridge across the Thames just beyond the Eye which led to a tube station serving one line. If one traveled the opposite direction from the hotel, even closer was a large station serving a variety of travel needs. On top of that, a number of small eateries and some good old American fast food were available in the station. While I deplore eating American fast food on trips to foreign lands, I have to admit with a diverse group of teens it was nice to be able to eat our main meals at local places and send any dissenters to pick up a snack there as we passed through returning in the evenings.
We arrived early on Sunday morning and found the trip through customs went much faster than we feared, in fact it went so fast we had to wait for our bus to arrive to collect us, but it was a beautiful if brisk sunny morning so we didn't mind all that much. After dropping our luggage, we headed out to the road bridge in front of the County Hall building and picked up tickets that allowed us to board first a red bus tour, complete with mostly open upper deck. We did the loop back to the pickup point listening to the tour on provided headsets. Although it was a cool day, it was not uncomfortable in the warm sun. Perhaps too comfortable, a few of our party had been unable to sleep on the plane and fell asleep during this ride.
Next, those same tickets provided use a trip down the river on a tourist barge which we caught just over the road bridge, which thankfully provided a nice pedestrian sidewalk. While we were collecting our group to head for the boats, we were amused to see a group of scantily and amusingly dressed locals heading with great pomp to perform an annual spring polar swim in the Thames, followed by hearty warming drinks. We were pleasantly surprised to find the wait not at all unreasonable and scurried aboard to seats on the top with lovely views, though I do believe our pursuit was aided by the progress of the polar swim team as a good few tourists had headed out after the group to view the proceedings. A gentleman pointed out the sights and told us bits of stories and history as we sailed past the polar swim gathering and on down the river to the Tower of London.
Unfortunately for us, the reduction of tourists we had enjoyed at the boarding of the boat did not extend to the Tower, and we found it hard to get close enough to the guides to enjoy their funny accents and descriptions. After managing to allow everyone to each take a turn near enough to hear, we struck out on our own and completed the tour with the assistance of our most excellent tour guide. While I encourage most people to travel on their own, I do think a diverse group such as a school trip really benefits from some assistance from a professional guide. It is just a lot to ask of anyone to tend to the needs of 25 people of divergent tastes on spur of the trip. Thanks to his able direction, we even managed to gather at an excellent viewing point for a changing of the guards and then had time to roam the gift shop, pick up snacks, and relax in the area near the gift shop before it was time to ride the barge back.
Over a lovely dinner at a resto named "Giraffe" positioned on the other side of the London Eye and the foot bridge, our guide asked each of us to list out three or four items that we had seen on the bus and barge tour that most interested us, as although he had planned some interesting and packed days for us, there was room to wriggle in a thing or two, plus he would be happy to give each of us advice for viewing a thing or two off our list on the off afternoon he had included for self-directed touring or rest. While "Giraffe" is apparently a chain, the food was of a type I have been told commonly enjoyed by the locals and certainly was different than anything offered in any of our local chains, and we didn't have anyone who didn't find something to enjoy.
Our exhausted walk back to the hotel was much enlivened by the goings on in the park between the hotel and the eye. Near the lights, various costumed characters of all sorts were available for picture-taking for tips. Back, closer to the grassy park groups of buskers of all sorts performed. We were quite fascinated and took our time, as our group was a theater group, there was a great appreciation for the showmanship of some of the performers, which included a couple of bands, a juggler, a magician, and some young men break dancing. Under the foot bridge, groups of youths skated and skateboarded.
The following morning, everyone gathered and proceeded to breakfast in the hotel as soon as the buffet opened because we were boarding a bus to see Shakespeare's house as early as possible. Having read of English breakfasts, I must say I quite enjoyed creating my own from the provided fried eggs, beans, toast, tomatoes, sausages (are those bangers?), and bacon. Other than perhaps the eggs, nothing really tasted like home, but I was impressed with the fried eggs rather than the usual staple of breakfast buffets here, scrambled eggs. I found the food quite tasty and had my first taste of hp sauce, something I find I adore.
We boarded the bus replete and struggled not to nap our way across the fields to our destination. We found the tour of Shakespeare's house enjoyable, with most of our group quite amused at the fellow who headed our tour, who suited our image of a Brit bloke to a T. Sadly, the tour was completed rather quickly, so we gathered for a slightly early lunch at a cafe right across the street. Although I suspect many would pass it over as to touristy, we were very pleasantly surprised. I'm sorry I don't have the name, but there were two eateries right across from where we exited, and it was the one to the left and not the one with the large sign out advertising cream teas.
The proprietor chatted amiably with some of the adults in our group while our guide encouraged us to try one of a couple of meals he had enjoyed previously and most of us settled on the fish and chips. While I have my doubts this place is listed on any of the top ten of fish and chips, we were more than pleasantly surprised by the meal. Each of us received two generous fillets of fish which we were able to see the cook dip and drop in the fryer just for us. The fries were all hot and wonderful, crisp on the outside and wonderfully mealy inside, and though we tried to take our time, it was hard not to rush to enjoyment. Our guide chuckled how quiet it got as soon as the plates were served as we applied ourselves with enjoyment. After the meal, we allowed everyone to enjoy a roam of the town, after dividing into groups such that all the kids had an adult to roam with, with a time set two hours hence to meet back at the bus park.
Although I am not all that big on touristy trinkets, I do like to get a nice tee to wear occasionally and remember the trip fondly, or perhaps a coffee mug to use, so began my meander of the shops. As it turned out, daughter and I picked up a couple of t-shirts, a lovely handmade ornament, and a mug before we happened upon the candy shop. We finally settled on several small packets of handmade caramels and began our trudge back to the bus lot, as we had wandered rather far afield. I later wished I had picked up the tee I purchased for hubby there as well, the prices were the cheapest we saw on the entire trip at some of the shops there, though one did have to look around just a bit to get the best prices.
As we approached the lot and spied our group congregating as the bus driver had not apparently made it back to let them on the bus, we passed a small house with a yard sale. I had planned to pick up some "real Brit tea sets" but had been much saddened by the high prices we had seen the previous day in the gift shop at the Tower. While I assumed these prices were of course higher than average, I didn't see giving over some of my time in London to hunt down an average shop which sold such things. I was just so thrilled to discover they were selling off packages, each containing two or three tea cups with saucers or perhaps three or four plates in a classic rose pattern, all the same pattern but differing in the colors of the roses and rather mixed in the packets for one euro each. I eventually plunked down five euros and walked off with four tea cups, five saucers, six plates, and a cream and sugar, plus a used paperback, a beautiful little ceramic doll for my daughter, and a lovely spun glass perfume bottle, still new in the box.
Well, that seems like a plenty for this post, I'll add more and perhaps link up our picture pages for the next post.
. I have often stopped at the Krispy Kreme shop and been persuaded to buy a box with a dozen doughnuts in it. 
Perhaps my only negative comment about venues such as these, and one really cannot blame them, is that they always exit via the gift shop. Ah well, the deed was done and daughter emerged happily with a bag of trinkets to share with a few close friends upon her return.
;D