EEEEEEEE!!!!
I just booked our Stratford B&B.
*squees in a thoroughly undignified manner*
Now we just need to choose a hotel in London for the week before. Where would you stay if you were going to be in London doing touristy things?
(Ideally we want something centrally located, near a tube stop, and with two beds and an en-suite bathroom. And, um, not horrifically expensive. *frantically saves money*)
I have no idea where to even start looking. I’m just finally starting to realize that this is real and we’re actually doing it!
Current Mood: 
dorky & 
giddy
15 Responses to “EEEEEEEE!!!!”
Cheesygirl on August 4, 2008 3:16 pm | Link
I can’t believe it won’t be too much longer before I’m on my way over there too! Eeeeeee!!
In London I’m staying in Bayswater, which is out by Hyde Park. My hotel is just a couple blocks from a tube stop (Bayswater) and I’m pretty sure some of the main bus lines go by there too. I’ll be at Vancouver Studios, which has small studio rooms of various sizes (all en suite with a wee kitchenette) and apartments. It’s gotten fabulous reviews at Trip Advisor and other places, and it was very affordable for London. I like the idea of having a little fridge and microwave for fixing quick meals and snacks. Hopefully that will help me save on food expenses (I’m not big on eating out anyway).
Tripadvisor.com is always a good place to look. I’m getting a bit nervous about the place I booked in SuA now, though, because the last few reviews on Tripadvisor weren’t very favorable.
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queenofattolia on August 4, 2008 7:54 pm | Link
I’ll second Bayswater – there are many tube stations about and a couple of train stations nearby, plus it is no longer a scary neighborhood (being contiguous to also-no-longer-scary Notting Hill). Bayswater is also close to Regent’s Park, the Central Park of London (very nice for strolling), plus there still may be a bunch of vegetarian Indian restaurants in the neighborhood.
However, if I were going to London NOW (haven’t been in about 15 years), I’d stay in Islington or Primrose Hill, both North(ish) London neighborhoods. I have a special fondness for the former, and the latter sounds fab.
Don’t forget to visit the street markets, particularly Camden Lock (N, for reasonable, trendy clothes and jewelry) and Barnstaple (S, for the food). And Top Shop! Cheaper and trendier clothes than practically anyplace in London (and by cheap I mean practically Target cheap, even with the crappy dollar exchange rate).
When I was traveling in the UK as a young person with limited funds, I often stopped into local delis for wholemeal (whole wheat) bread and fruit (cheese and taramasalata, too, but obviously you won’t eat those) and had picnics in the various parks and squares. Lots of fun. If you can afford it, see if you can get into Food for Thought in Covent Garden – it’s vegetarian, but they have vegan food. Also a place I remember fondly. Wagamama noodle shops are also vegan-friendly and relatively cheap. There are also a bunch of Greek, Lebanese, Cypriot and Turkish cafes and delis around and their mezze and bread are all vegan.
If you’re a museum hound, find out which days/evenings are free at the British Museum or the Tate — I never paid entrance fees at either, so I know there are some free days.
EEEEE — I’m so jealous! Tennant AND London!
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queenofattolia on August 4, 2008 7:59 pm | Link
DUH – I meant Burrough market for food in London – Barnstaple is in Devon!
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queenofattolia on August 4, 2008 8:00 pm | Link
And it’s actually “Borrough” – brain farts o’rama today!
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Paratti on August 5, 2008 4:02 am | Link
The BM, National Gallery, V&A etc are all now free.
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rusty-halo on August 5, 2008 6:06 pm | Link
I’m pretty sure they were free when I was there in 2004. I remember being awed by that fact, since museums in NYC are definitely not free!
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rusty-halo on August 5, 2008 6:08 pm | Link
Thank you so much for all the ideas!
I think I went to Food for Thought last time. I definitely tried out a bunch of places in Covent Garden, since the most vegan options were concentrated there. I ended up relying mostly on Thai and Indian places, though, because the English food was soooo bland.
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rusty-halo on August 5, 2008 6:05 pm | Link
Thank you so much for the info!
Tripadvisor is awesome; I’ve become totally reliant on them. (Just, thank god for Adblock Plus, though!)
If your B&B situation is looking bad, could you cancel it and switch to a better one? You’ve probably got enough advance notice at this point that you could cancel without penalty and find an opening elsewhere. (We were choosing between two B&Bs, Salamander and Avonpark, and went with Avonpark because the rooms seemed nicer and the guy seemed more accommodating about the vegan issue. Last I checked, they both had openings.)
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Circe on August 4, 2008 3:25 pm | Link
I would look around Russell Square, which is my hood. Plenty of hotels all the way across the pay range, walking distance to oxford street, the west end, covent garden, major train stations, regents park, the southbank, the british museum, charing cross road, etc. etc.
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rusty-halo on August 5, 2008 6:08 pm | Link
Awesome–thank you for the info! :)
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Circe on August 6, 2008 4:41 am | Link
The postcode prefix is WC1 — when you search for anything in London, it generally goes by postcode as a location indicator!
If you have any questions BTW, about visiting London or trains or whatever, just ask :)
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trepkos on August 4, 2008 4:35 pm | Link
http://www.londontown.com/NearByHotels/Hotels/23075/Directory
I have used these guys – they were fine!
Do not travel from the airport with Dot2Dot – they suck.
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rusty-halo on August 5, 2008 6:09 pm | Link
Awesome, thanks!
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txvoodoo on August 4, 2008 9:38 pm | Link
When are you going? My friend elemsee is heading over, too – 2nd week in Sept, I think? She’s looking at this hotel: http://www.easyhotel.com/
Not the most atmospheric, but good location and price.
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rusty-halo on August 5, 2008 6:10 pm | Link
Cool, thanks for the info. :)
I’m going in the middle of October.![[info]](http://stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
jaydk and I are spending a week in London first, then seeing LLL and Hamlet on October 20 and 21.
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