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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2013 18:19:40 GMT
I put a general title on this thread so that perhaps other people could add to it rather than giving it a more honest title like "a few tiny Christmas things that I saw during one day in London." It might be wondered what I was doing there, but let's just say that I now have more sympathy for people on other travel forums who lament "I accidentally bought the wrong non-refundable ticket. What should I do?" Well, at least it was a very cheap Eurostar return ticket so it was not at all a major financial burden. Speaking of which, I read recently that all rail companies using the Channel tunnel (only Eurostar at the moment but soon also DB) must pay a 25€ fee per passenger -- which is why it is already a fantastic fare when you can get tickets between Paris and London for 35€. On top of that, this little trip allowed me to check out a hotel just off Oxford Street with a rate of £39 -- a pretty extraordinary deal for central London. It was very cute, spotlessly clean, cleverly decorated and for that rate, the room came with en suite shower and toilet, flat screen TV and refrigerator, as well as free wi-fi. So, what's the catch? The rooms are exceedingly small, but that is not at all a problem for me, especially since the hotel uses a nautical theme. Having crossed the Atlantic in the cheapest possible cabin of various ocean liners 9 times in my youth, I found the size of my cabin room quite adequate. I did think it was amusing that in the little leaflet in the room, it was mentioned that the beds were designed so that suitcases could be stored beneath them. I only had a tiny backpack with overnight items, so that was not even a problem. It should also be mentioned that breakfast was not included, but at £4.90 for an unlimited buffet of 45 different items, hot and cold, I thought it was a fantastic price. On top of that, you get a 5% discount on everything if you pay cash. Anyway, we're not here to talk about accommodations in London but to see the cheesy photos that I took yesterday.
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Post by htmb on Dec 9, 2013 20:34:43 GMT
This is going to be fun to read. I can already tell!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2013 21:38:41 GMT
I went to the hotel at check in time, but since the British taught the rest of the world to keep a stiff upper lip, I did not burst into tears when they told me at reception that I would have to wait for another two hours for the room to be ready. (I knew there was a reason that I generally stay in big chain hotels.) The girl (Greek or Italian?) cheerfully kept my bag until I returned. I continued in the same direction I had been walking to get to Hyde Park. Jeez, there was Speaker's Corner. This guy had the biggest crowd. Oh, I guess you'd better see him in action to understand.
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Post by mez on Dec 10, 2013 5:02:05 GMT
Great photos. I can't wait to see them in person. I am officially on the single digit day countdown. Must be a regular. He was there earlier this year and also had the biggest crowd. The fire and brimstone folk usually do.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2013 6:52:40 GMT
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Post by bjd on Dec 10, 2013 8:56:13 GMT
I'll have to get the name of that hotel from you one day. Last time I went to London (2005?), I stayed near the British Museum for £29/night (no breakfast either). People I talked to were surprised I even had a bed in the room for that price.
I agree with you about the street/shop decorations -- why do they have sponsor's names on them -- it makes them look so tacky. It looks as though you had good weather though.
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Post by patricklondon on Dec 10, 2013 10:36:36 GMT
I think it's traditional that people turn up their noses at the decorations in Oxford St and Regent St. It doesn't help that it's a large area to deal with, I suppose, but one year someone in Regent St allowed Marmite to plaster their name all over them. I love Marmite in its place, but there are limits, though it has to be said, the point of sponsorship has never been not to "let your left hand know what your right hand doeth".
I'll have to go and check out Seven Dials and Covent Garden, whose narrower and shorter streets in recent years have been much more in the right spirit (for shop windows, BTW, Harvey Nicks is usually the most inventive).
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2013 11:33:05 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2013 12:31:14 GMT
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Post by bjd on Dec 10, 2013 14:08:09 GMT
Didn't an old Agatha Christie book take place in Seven Dials. It seems to me that it was a rough area where you didn't venture at night. It must have changed.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2013 14:31:39 GMT
From what I could determine, it is part of Soho, or at least right next to Soho. Then I went back to the hotel for another 30-minute pit stop. However, that is the end of this specific report, so anybody going to London soon knows that a shot of the Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square is required, as well as some of the other fancy stuff. I will have a secondary report soon, however, which needs to be separated from this one.
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Post by tod2 on Dec 10, 2013 17:09:48 GMT
Fantastic Kerouac! You have me green with envy....never been to London in the cold months but if all those folks can survive, I guess so could I. Looking forward to more photos!
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Post by patricklondon on Dec 10, 2013 18:33:13 GMT
Seven Dials is between Soho and Covent Garden. Any association with downmarket criminality disappeared decades ago, and it is indeed very upmarket now, fortunately (so far) within the existing Victorian buildings and lots of small independent arty-crafty businesses.
I popped up there this afternoon to have a look, and I have to report that both there and in Covent Garden they're thriftily using exactly the same decorations as last year. Photos can be supplied on request (no need these days for plain brown cover and declaration that you are over 21 and a genuine lover of art).
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Post by Deleted on Dec 10, 2013 18:48:54 GMT
Well, of course we want to see your photos. You at least do not wander around London like a total idiot.
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Post by lola on Dec 12, 2013 2:36:35 GMT
Please do wander around London like a total idiot. These are wonderful photos. I'm glad you could get away from the Magic Hand of Obvious Capitalism and show us the beautiful lights elsewhere.
And, yes, please! Patrick.
My daughter's University has recommended among others a £40/night basic single hotel, including breakfast, just down from St. Pancras where I hope to stay my first four nights in Feb, before she stays with me in a slightly tonier joint off Russell Square for another week. I'd want to check them out before recommending, of course, though I peeked into the Russell Sq one when we were there in January and it looked just fine.
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Post by lola on Dec 12, 2013 2:43:26 GMT
Patrick, do you know what the deal is with the base of Picadilly "Eros"? They had a big (dare I say ugly) plywood structure there in January, similar to what K shows.
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Post by patricklondon on Dec 12, 2013 10:13:36 GMT
In this case the hoarding obviously provides yet another advertising opportunity, and something had to support the snow globe. I think they try to keep people off the steps at times when they're likely to be in party mood, just in case anyone takes it into their head to try to climb the statue, which is not the most robust, being made of aluminium; or maybe they do some kind of work behind there when the weather's not conducive to ordinary sitting-out.
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Post by patricklondon on Dec 14, 2013 16:12:31 GMT
Well, here are some more. I won't replicate kerouac's shots of Covent Gardens and Seven Dials, save only to point out one or two additions: and to underline how, even in the mild weather we're currently having, a well-lit and decorated pub looks especially welcome as the night starts to fall all too early: Trafalgar Square is much the same as ever. If the tree looks austere, that's because that's the taste in Norway, who have given us the tree every year since 1947: Nearer me, Canary Wharf goes a bit more to town, both outside: and in: though the eagle-eyed will notice that Canary Wharf management has, shall we say, its own idea of Christmas spirit: However, some people dress to add a bit of glitter to the otherwise mundane: and at least one of my neighbours is happily unconstrained by other people's idea of good taste:
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Post by htmb on Dec 14, 2013 16:49:21 GMT
Lovely photos, Patrick!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2013 17:28:44 GMT
Nice to see more photos of London since I really saw very little... Thanks for the additions.
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Post by tod2 on Dec 14, 2013 19:32:26 GMT
Great addition to Kerouac's photos Patrick! About that Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square given to London by Norway......do they also fly it in via a 747 with all the seats removed so it can lie lengthways down the aisle? I ask because I have seen the enormous 7 storey tree inside a shopping mall or hotel in Singapore( can't quite remember which) and it came via this method.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 14, 2013 19:36:07 GMT
The Christmas tree in Strasbourg is also always imported from Norway.
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Post by patricklondon on Dec 14, 2013 20:57:44 GMT
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Post by nycgirl on Dec 14, 2013 23:10:25 GMT
London sure looks magical this time of year. You're so lucky, you can pop over to England much more quickly, easily, and cheaply than I can to Canada.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2013 1:21:00 GMT
Great Christmas photos Patrick and Kerouac!
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Post by lola on Dec 15, 2013 3:08:23 GMT
Wonderful, Patrick.
Those pubs look almost magically welcoming. And I'm afraid your neighbor's yard would pass for moderation in my neighborhood.
I'm also afraid we were taught next to nothing about WW2 history in school. Suspecting Norway sends the Trafalgar Sq. tree in gratitude I had to look up specifics I hadn't picked up from watching Foyle's War. Lots of people owe a lot to the UK's fortitude.
One can see how Piccadilly Circus needs more square footage for advertising.
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Post by lola on Dec 15, 2013 3:33:35 GMT
That's an especially great shot of the tree, the column, and that familiar-looking clock tower.
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Post by mez on Dec 15, 2013 5:05:17 GMT
Lovely photos, Patrick.
The Canary Wharf area looks nice decked out for the holidays.
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Post by bixaorellana on Dec 15, 2013 5:17:55 GMT
Oh god ~~ I love this I love this I love it, I do! Like Tod, I am also spruce green with envy. Even though I live in a perpetual state of bah humbug, who can resist zillions of teeny lights teamed with all kinds of other great shiny stuff? And it's in England, the place I most want to visit!
Super-dooper pictures Kerouac. Your hotel looked wonderful. As far as the advertising goes, if it means more lights & sparkle, it must be okay, right?
Ditto your pics, Patrick. Canary Wharf ~~ ooooooooo!
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Post by fgrsk8r1970 on Dec 16, 2013 19:13:05 GMT
Absolutely wonderful photos from both of you !!! Wish we had time and ability to do a quickie to London while in Paris, but I can't really complain now can I LOL - I love London, but have never been there in the Winter. I love how inviting the pubs look I hope ya'll had a pint at least !!
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