Usagi Yojimbo DojoBoard

It's not confirmed, but it looks like Sharon and I will be going to London after the Gijon Comics Festival in Spain.

We will be in Gijon, in the Asturias region of Spain, October 8-14.

We will fly to London the evening of October 14, and leave on the 16th. We'll just have one full day there. Any suggestions as to what to see, where to stay (a convinient hotel, not too expensive), and what to eat, would be appreciated.

Stan,

Hyde Park is always great for a scenic stroll, as long as the weather's pleasant. The Royal Albert Theatre always has something classy playing (I managed to catch MADAME BUTTERFLY there the last time I was in London), although seating can be expensive. You could also try the Museum of National History (admission is free!). And then there's FORBIDDEN PLANET at 179 Shaftesbury Ave., although you might want to wear a fake moustache and glasses to avoid being recognized . Of course, if you really want a legitimate London experience, try to see a performance at the Shakespeare Globe Theatre. There should be something good playing at the Globe by the time you and Sharon are in London.

When it comes to food, I'd try a good, hearty plate of Toad-in-the-Hole. Classic English meal.

Sadly the Globe season finishes about a week earlier than Stan will be there!

I'm really pleased to hear that you will be coming Stan, and I hope we can meet up if possible... this might also start the request for those hardcovers heh

There are plenty of decent hotels in London, it's all a question of location and price. Two nights stay is likely to cost anywhere between 100-200 GBP total (or at the current exchange sadly about $200-400), depending on where you choose. If you'd like I can do some research based on my own staying in London experiences, and if there is any area of the city you'd prefer to be in. You CAN get really cheap places (by that I mean perhaps 25 GBP a night) but that depends if you want to slum it or not!

I assume you will be flying out on the 16th directly back home from Heathrow or Gatwick?

Knightsbridge and South Kensington area offers a lot within short distances... Natural History musuem and Science Musuem, plus Victoria & Albert Museum. Also the same road my old university (Imperial College) is located on. Lots of shops going north (along Kensington Road) or south (Harrods etc), and Hyde Park is reasonably close by.

Leicester Square and Piccadilly for many theatres and cinemas, plus close by to Oxford Street and Regents Street for shopping. Also as mentioned the large Forbidden Planet store is near there too.

Well, it's been a long time since I've been to London, so my information may be out-dated.

Since you've only got one full day (and since I don't know what you are interesed in especially), it should be just one, maybe two museums.

There's a quite useful online guide to London:

http://www.alondonguide.com/

I remember visiting the Science Museum when I was just preparing for my A-Level (some 20 years ago) and finding it really worthwhile; the hands-on aspect is aimed mainly at children, but has a certain appeal for so-called grown ups as well....

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/

Victoria and Albert was interesting, though my memory fades a little when pressed to say what they exhibited exactly. I think it was just a little too much of everything for me...

http://www.vam.ac.uk/

The British Museum is very good as well, but you should either know what you want to see or plan to spend several days in it (well, of course the staff will shoe you out at the end of the day, but... you know what I mean...). They seem to have some very interesting theme exhibitions while you are there:

http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/

Covent Garden was very nice to just stroll along or sit down to have a little snack while watching various street performers, some of them extremely good (How often do you see a man juggle with suitcases? I mean willingly and skillfully, not accidently on his way to the plane/train... ). I've been there several times to relax after exhausting tours through some of the larger museums.

http://www.coventgardenmarket.com/cgm_m ... x_main.htm

I'm hoping to be of service here;

On another note: It's just an idea, but my daughter's Autumn Holiday starts on that weekend and I think she might want to spend some time with her dad in a foreign town/land....

I haven't planned anything yet, but if it's not an importunity for you...How about meeting there?

The British Museum!

Mayhem wrote:Sadly the Globe season finishes about a week earlier than Stan will be there!

My bad.

The only other decent play currently being performed in London that I can think of is THE WOMAN IN BLACK, at the Fortune Theatre on Russell Street. I managed to see it late last year, and trust me, you could learn a lot about how to properly scare your audience from this production! Stan might get a kick out of it, but I don't know about Sharon...

We haven't made any reservations yet, and we're still working out the basics--where to stay, what to see, etc. We've never been to London, so we're thinking of hitting the usual sights--Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, tea with the Queen--that all first timers go to.

I think I'll fly to London on the 13th of October and return on the 16th; I'm still undecided about airports: Gatwick or Luton?? Or Stansted???Which one is more convenient??

Dear English UY fans, help me please!!

I'll be staying with my daughter at a nice little youth hostel near St. Paul's Cathedral,
http://www.yha.org.uk/find-accommodatio ... index.aspx

but it's a choice based on budget (and memories ), although they have been quite good 20 years ago and I believe they still are...

I'm definetly looking forward to going to London again!

All airports take a while to get you into the city of course... though at least Heathrow has the express, Stansted goes to Liverpool Street and Gatwick goes into Victoria. Not sure about Luton, that really IS a bit far out.

I actually work just around the corner from St Pauls, so you'd be right on my doorstep... possibly. Depends if I'm working in the office that week or from home...

Stan, you should go on one of the open top bus tours. You get to see a lot of London that way. You can get on and off at a ton of stops all around the city. The tickets are about £20 pounds though ($40), but they are valid for 24 hours.

You might want to check out the London Eye near the Thames, if it interests you, but it's not very interesting - you just sit and get to see the Thames from bigger heights. Well, that was my impression when I went on it, anyway...

Stan, If yourself and Sharon can get tickets then I would recommend going to the exhibition of the Terracota army at the British Museum. They have, I think, a dozen of the famous China Terracota figures plus some additional items. It's a fairly rare chance to get up close and personal to the figures.

If you cannot though I'd go with the following suggestions that others have made: London Eye (you'll need roughly an hour) to get panoramic views of London, an open top bus tour (it's the quickest way to see all of the sites without actually going in), get yourself a zone 1 & 2 travel card and take the tube and centre buses (cheap and easy way to get around if you don;t want to walk).

If yor struggling to get things booked then I'm sure us UK dojo members can help you out.

The Terracota exhibition would be an excellent idea. There was a feature on it here last night on TV, probably first time anyone publically will be able to actually properly look at examples of the statues.

I really loved the London Eye. It's well worth going on the thing, if the weather's reasonable. During sunset's particularly good—if you time it right, you see London at dusk on the way up, and in the dark on the way down. The new Tate's main exhibition space is also worth checking out, assuming something's being shown there. The rest of the gallery's not so exciting, however, bar the architecture.

The British Museum's a bit of a nightmare, however—you could spend days in there and not see everything. It's right opposite Gosh, though, which is a decent comic shop!

Just to say I'm incredibly tired but happy... expect a few pictures tomorrow when I get some energy back heh...