Thoughts and Tips About My London Journey!

The Food Was Great!!: It's now been my fourth time over and England has an amazing array of fresh veg and fruits available all the time and at really good prices compared with my first trip over in 1997. Dairy products are some of the best anywhere. British Food is unfairly maligned and i just can't tolerate that. Rachel Fuller is so right when she mentions PG Tips as life's blood. I brought back 125 bags with me and I love tea once more-but it must be PG tips!!

Skype Online Phone Call Service: Anyone with a laptop should download this amazingly inexpensive way of calling internationally. Even if you can afford to call anywhere from your mobile or hotel phone why let the phone companies and hotels get rich off of you by jacking up fees just because they can? You download the program, pay a small fee, plug in a headset and make any international calls at great rates. A 20 minute call to California from London was about $2.00. Also the headphones give this unique clarity that allows you to really hear who you are calling in an intimate manner that cell phones and regular phones cannot.

Earl's Court: This is the part of London you go to for the cheapest Internet access, phone cards that work and the best accommodations at the lowest price in central London. You can stay farther North (Camden Town) or South (Fulham) but what you spend in time and money to get to where all the sites are is not worth it. Thieves work this area often but if you don't space out you should be fine. It's not the most glittering part of London but people are very friendly and all the kids on holiday and work visas have blessed the area with an infectious energy.

St James Club and Hotel: My friend Robin booked us for about a week into a five star hotel in London and because we had an incredible deal and it was so worth it. We were literally ten minutes away from EVERYTHING and the service was fabulous. This is one of London's only residential fine hotels so it felt very cozy. The 78 At St James restaurant was insanely good as our breakfast was included. Umbrellas were available if we needed them and the night concerige is a big fan of Pete Townshend.


Richmond: Kew Gardens is where I plan to stay when I go back to London. The area is quaint, friendly and not too pricey for BnB's. You are close to Heathrow and central London but far enough away to be in the green, green countryside in about ten minutes. I liked sleeping in and then walking about ten feet and going to the organic grocery store and friendly photo shop with internet access. Tube stations were closed on the Richmond line but should be reopening soon and British rail service is always available.