So!

[telophase]

In two weeks, we shall be in London! Woo! I know I said something earlier about not meeting anyone for lunch or whatever, but myrialux says he's OK with that as long as whoever we meet is OK with him sitting in a corner not saying anything. So if you're in London from the 7th to the 10th* and want to get together for a lunch or dinner, let me know! We might not be able to work the times out, but hey.

Also: anything you think we should definitely see/do/buy in London, Tenby, Cardiff, or Brighton? We will be geeky dorks in Cardiff and go find the Ianto Jones shrine, provided it's still there, and probably be shameless tourists and do the Doctor Who Experience. We're only one night in Tenby, as we've hired a guide for the day who will pick us up there and go around bits of western Wales, including Carmarthen where I spent a semester, before depositing us in Cardiff.

Anyway, woo! (need to check a few more things off the list, including getting flu shots before going...)


* We're there from the 6th to the 11th, but on the 6th will be staggering around like drunks as we attempt to stay awake long enough to go to bed at the proper time for the UK, and thus not good company, and we're heading out to Wales on the 11th.

Comments

[rydra_wong]

Where in London are you going to be?

[telophase]

Anywhere we need to be! :D We're in a hotel not too far from Marble Arch*, but have nothing specific planned on any day or time except for visiting the Dennis Severs House on Sunday.



* I splurged on the accommodations this trip, because I like to go for three weeks, but myrialux only gets two weeks off, so I compromised by merely spending three weeks' worth.

[green_knight]

I don't know whether I'll be able to make London during that time - but I'm hoping you'll have an absolutely fabulous time.

As for 'what do I want to see' I can reccommend going on Flickr, typing in your location, and seeing what appeals to you. If you're in Wales, you need to do Castles. Cardiff Castle is a Victorian reconstruction, and worth as an item in its own right, but the real thing gives you a good sense of history.

Shame you're not planning to visit Oxford!

[telophase]

I definitely want to do Cardiff Castle - it was closed on the day I had time free in Cardiff, lo these many years ago.

Re: Oxford, maybe next trip! I got to spend a day there a few years back, and want to go again.

[vom-marlowe.livejournal.com]

I absolutely adored Lord Leighton's house. It's been recently restored, includes lots of amazing art, and is an architectural gem with one of the most beautiful ceilings I have seen in my entire life.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[cawingcrow.livejournal.com]

Camden market for sure (wish I could go back there): http://www.camdenlock.net/

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Thanks! (and the Meaningless Slogan T-shirt stall looks exactly like something Toby would like!)

[chisotahn]

Ooh, have fun! The only things I can recommend in London are things you'd probably think of anyway (museums and things) - and I think I mentioned London Walks walking tours to you already back when you were first talking about the trip. :)

Though I will tell you not to buy a hot dog in Harrods' food court. >.>; Or anywhere in Europe, really.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Hee, thanks! XD

Things to See

[chomiji]

The Victoria and Albert museum (V&A). Lovely decorative arts.

The Museum of London. Nuts-and-bolts history of the city and what it was like to live there.

Take a river tour boat to the Tower of London.

edited for formatting

Re: Things to See

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[fmanalyst.livejournal.com]

The exhibition of the princesses at Kensington Palace is really cool in an art installation sort of way.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Cool, thanks! *adds to list*

[wordsofastory.livejournal.com]

I second both the London walks (all of them are cool; I particularly liked the Jack the Ripper one I went on) and the princesses at Kensington Palace.

The Tower of London is really cool (and you get to see the Crown Jewels!), but it's very long. It'll take up probably at least 3-4 hours, so I'd skip it if you're not particularly interested in it.

London's Natural History museum is REALLY cool and free, and you should definitely see the British Museum if you like archaeology- all sorts of Egyptian and Mesopotamian and Anglo-Saxon and so forth stuff. Also free!

You should try to go see a play in the Globe if you like Shakespeare; they only do plays during the summer, so I'm not sure if they'll still be running in October, but if it's not too late, go! :)

If you like Indian food at all, you should definitely have a meal on Brick Lane. Best food in London! And pretty much all the restaurants there are good; I didn't have a bad meal on Brick Lane. Speaking of food, there's also a neat open-air market at St Katherine's Docks (http://www.skdocks.co.uk/st.katharine-docks-good-food-market) in Central London every Friday- amazing sandwiches and fresh cheese and fudge and sausages and all sorts of good stuff.

In Wales, you should check out Bug Underground tour (http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/bigpit/tour/), where they take you 300 feet underground in an old coal mine.

If you want to meet up in Cardiff, I will be there then! I could show you the Ianto Jones memorial, but it's really easy to find on your own.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

We've got the 13th-15th free in Cardiff (have the guide for a second day on the 12th as well, to show us stuff outside Cardiff that we normally wouldn't be able to get to via train, and heading to Brighton on the 16th), so would love to meet up at some point!

Er, screwed up my dates there. XD We get to Tenby on MOnday the 11th. Tuesday the 12th the guide takes us from Tenby to Cardiff, and we've booked him on Wednesday the 13th as well. We've got Thursday and Friday the 14-15th free, then on Saturday the 16th go to Brighton.

*phew* I'm getting so mixed up every time I have to write the dates down...

[weirdquark]

The British Library has some cool book displays and also That Really Cool Art Thing, which I remember being at the bottom of some stairs.

There are also stores that sell many Doctor Who objects including Daleks full of bubble bath. Which are very dangerous and you have to check them because they have more than three ounces of liquid in.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Hee! XD Thanks!

[fuchsoid.livejournal.com]

Seconding the recommendations for the Victoria and Albert Museum (lovely cafe as well!) which is next door to the Natural History Museum (a fantastic building), as well as the British Library and Lord Leighton's house. You could easily manage Leighton's house and Kensington Palace in one day, as they are pretty close together. I wouldn't recommend Camden Lock, as it gets mobbed with teenagers at the weekend, but Spitalfields Market, near Liverpool Street Station is worth a visit, and also very near Dennis Sever's House (http://www.dennissevershouse.co.uk/), a beautifully reconstructed 18th century house set up to look exactly as if the family living there have just gone out of the rooms. You will need to book in advance for that, I think.

If you were in Tenby a little longer I'd say to definitely visit Caldey Island, which is just off the town and has a monastery and a colony of seals on it. Otherwise, it's a very pretty bit of coast just to walk around. In Cardiff, definitely see the castle, which is an astonishing bit of mad Victorian Middle Ages fantasy. The outdoor Welsh Life museum at St Fagans is only a couple of miles outside Cardiff, and well worth a look too.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I remember visiting the Welsh Life Museum back when I was in Wales for a semester in undergrad, and it really struck me, especially the row of miners' cottages/houses that were each set up to reflect a different period. I'd love to go back.

[inkblot14.livejournal.com]

Cardiff is pretty fun, but down by the bay it can get pretty cold and windy. Bundle up. Also, check out http://www.doctorwholocations.net/ if you haven't yet, helps you recognize all sorts of filming locations.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Cool, thanks!

[arcly.livejournal.com]

Seconding everything fuchsoid said - would add also that it only takes 20 mins to get to Caldey Island and boats are every 15 mins, so it is doable in a couple of hours if you fancy it. In London, if you have Sunday free, I'd also recommend going to Columbia Road Sunday flower market - http://columbiaroad.info/shops.html - which is full of interesting little shops, including Beyond Fabrics which sells lovely fat quarters and trimmings. L'orangerie is lovely too - a tiny shop with 20 bay trees on trestle tables covered in fantastic hand-made jewellery, hats and all sorts of fun things. You can walk from there to Brick Lane market in 10 minutes (infinitely more interesting than Camden and with much better food) and from there it's a short hop to Spitalfields market.

Also, if you wind up in the Charing Cross/Covent Garden area, there are several decent second-hand bookshops on Charing Cross Road and on Cecil Court, which is just off it. And not far from Marble Arch there's Gray's Antiques market - http://www.graysantiques.com/ - which is fun to look round, and has the only open stretch of one of London's lost rivers in its basement.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Awesome, thanks!

[tirwen.livejournal.com]

Harrods for shopping. I'm sure you already plan on hitting the British Museum, the Tower, and V&A for sightseeing...

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :) (Toby wants to see the Crown Jewels and I want to show him the ravens, so the Tower is definitely on the list - I suspect we'll aim for it right at opening time, to avoid as much of the crowd as possible.)

[estara.livejournal.com]

If you haven't had a chance to see Broadway theatre I highly recommend going to a matinee at one of the West End theatres. The production value is quite high and it's just such a great experience. They tend to have a nice mix of old shows renewed and Andrew Lloyed Webber or new stuff on try-out.
Or - if they're playing - go see stand-up comedy by Eddie Izzard or Lenny Henry.

Matinee's of musicals are still not cheap but more affordable than going in the evening - but there will be fewer people in the audience. On the other hand it's still the stars playing and not their understudies - or it used to be when I did it the last time in 1991 *cough*.

[estara.livejournal.com]

Also, take a tour around the Globe theatre!