JoeG

We returned on Tuesday from our long anticipated trip to London. Much thanks to all the terrific advice that I recieved from this forum. Starspinners (Judy) was particularly helpful, also elaine and patty. there were many others and I'm sorry for not remembering the names - It's the end of the day, I'm in my office and I have all my notes at home.
BA flight to Heathrow was unremarkable. The driver from Justairports car service was waiting in front of the Hertz counter with a sign with my name on it. How great was that. His name was Colin, he had a white shirt, tie and sportcoat. I'm guessing he was about 65 years old and talked non-stop until he dropped us off at The Morgan Hotel. Very entertaining. Incidentally, the vehicle was a Mercedes - nice touch!
We checked into the hotel about noon and David Ward took us up to our room #15 on the top floor. Most of the rooms have been refurbished as was ours. Very clean, large comfortable bed and really quiet. I slept like a baby. I wanted one of the refurbished rooms and stated in my request that high floors were okay. There is no lift and there are 60 steps from the ground floor, 75 from the basement breakfast room. Not to say that we didn't like it here - we loved it and loved the location.
I simply can't sleep on the plane and we napped for about an hour upon our arrival. then we ventured out and got on the Original Big Bus tour. I thought this would give us a quick overview and orient us to London. We did get the overview but the bus went in so many circles I had no clue as to the direction of anything.
Because the the British Museum was open late we spent a couple hours wandering about almost by ourselves - it was great. Then we went to the Noth Lake Fish Co. on Leigh Street for Fish 'n' Chips (thanks Judy) Very cozy, mostly local place with great beers and wine too. We loved it.
Friday started out with brekfast at the Morgan then shopping at Harrod's and most of the places in that area. We really liked the Food Hall the best. It piqued our appetite for lunch at Gordon Ramsay's which didn't disappoint. We started out with Roederer Champagne and things quicky got out of hand after that. They have a prix fixe 3 course menu at 35GPS, an ala carte three course at 65 GPS and a tasting menu at 80 GPS. We opted for the ala carte. Lynn had sweetbreads with sherry wine sauce and I had scallops with a cooked cucumber sauce that was fantastic. For the main course I had grilled sea bass served with beef layered with a thin pasta. There were so many great flavors - I can still taste it. Lynn had monk fish with a lobster cream sauce and diced peppers.
We also ordered a bottle of Australian wine which was fairly reasonable. The sommelier was young, very helful and friendly. The waitstaff was very attentive but not stiff or snooty. In fact the Maitre'd actually (and very discreetly) lit a candle with our dessert and sang Happy Birthday to Lynn and kissed her on both cheeks. I was very impressed with this small detail because a month earlier when I made the reservation, I mentioned in passing that it was my wife's birthday and dining here would make it very special. Speaking of dessert, I had a orange parfait that was a creme ball coated with diced pistachio nuts with a chocolate center filled with Grand Marnier. Additionally it had a chocolate sauce and was served with two warm chocolate cake Madelines. Unbelivable! Lynn had pineapple ravioli with diced mangos, fresh berries and mint sorbet.
We finished with coffee. We noticed it was raining and for our final indulgence we asked for a taxi and were soon whisked away to our Hotel. This was when I decided that a pound = a dollar and I stuck with this philosophy for the duration of the trip. We spent another hour at the British Museum.
Next up was Jerry Springer the Opera. The Cambridge Theatre was a short 10 minute walk from the Morgan. I could do a whole separate report on Jerry but suffice it to stay that we laughed a lot. The ending number was tremendous. The show ended around 11:00PM and we were a little bit hungary and thirsty. I remembered that people had suggested Belgo Centraal. Well it was right down the block. What a different place. It was packed, very loud and raucous. We were probably the oldest people in the place by twenty years but nobody seemed to notice but us. We had the steemed mussels and frites and a couple of great Belgian beers. Finally calling it a day. What a day.
Saturday we tarted out a little more slowly. Thanks to those that encouraged me( mainly Judy) we marched into the Tottenham Ct. Tube Station and bought 2 week-end passes. We headed to the Bourough Market, this is a great place for food, unfortunately we were saving our appetite for lunch at the Tate Modern. Lynn enjoyed the art more than I but we both really loved the lunch at Cafe 7. Spectacular views, really good food, great wine list and reasonable prices. Rested and refreshed we walked over to St. Paul's. We hiked up the 560 odd steps to the top. I remember the number because the wisenheimer 8 year ols behind me was counting all the way. Plus we had to hurry because we were the last group going up. This kid kept running in front of me looking at me like I was was going to have cardiac arrest(well the thought did occur to me). We had only a few minutes on top (great vie) and then were quickly herded back down. We took the tube back the the Morgan and this is when i began counting the steps.
I wanted a live music experience and we ended up at Ronnie Scott's and saw the Mingus Big Band. 15 members strong - awesome.
Sunday we went to the Camden Market and walked around for a couple of hours then back to The National Gallery. At 4:00PM we went to a matinenee of The Complete works of William Shakespeare Abridged. We bought this tickets on line for 10GBP each - 3RD row Center - what a deal! I was surprised that the 3 performers were American. Very funny. We laughed a lot. It was more Comedy Club Schtick than Theatre but very worth nonetheless. I do regret not seeing a dramatic performance - oh well next time.We went back to the Hotel and were trying to think of a dinner spot. I remembered that so many people recommeded Wagamama, I was thinking of something maybe a little nicer. But then I thought, no one let me down on recommedation yet. So we went to Wagamama's. It fit the bill perfectly. 1/2 block from the Morgan, great food reasonable,plus at 8:00 sunday night not crowded at all.
Monday we went to Courtauld Museum when they opened at 10 (Admission is free on Mon from 10-2)This place packs more wallop, work for work than any other art museum we saw. I liked it the best. And we had the place to ourselves. Next we ventured to Westminster Abbey and just made it in time for the last tour. From there we tubed to Oxford Circus and shopping at Selfridge's. to be honest we liked this place better than Harrod's and bought alll kinds of food items to take home - teas, jams. chocolates.
Our final indulgence was 5:30 Tea at the Ritz. I only have one thing to say about this - Scones, Strawberry Jam, and Clotted Cream!!!!!
We spent our last night and the next morning walking about. We went through Covent Garden which we somehow had managed to bypass. We had lunch in Russell Square and then hurried back to the Morgan just in time as our driver from Just Airports was arriving. Back to Heathrow. Back home to reality.
Cheerio,
JoeG

JoeG

Hey,I just spent about 10 minutes correcting typos and spelling mistakes and when I posted it came up uncorrected. No big deal but I do try to take pride in at least spelling correctly. For pounds I meant GBP not GPS. Anyway, sorry.
JoeG

WillTravel

Sounds fabulous.
I like your monetary philosophy .

janis

GREAT report! Good variety - from Wagamama to tea at the Ritz to Gordon Ramsay's. That's the way I like to do it too.

About "The Complete Works . . . ." The play was written by, co-produced by, and is acted by a troupe of young Americans.

BarbaraS

Sounds like a great time. What is Russell Square? Thanks

StCirq

Thanks for a wonderful report, JoeG. My daughter is flying to London tonight to play lacrosse all over the country for the next 12 days, and after hearing her obsess over how she was going to figure out the exchange rate without dragging out a calculator every time she wanted to buy something, we both agreed on your solution: Don't even think about it. England is expensive, so figure a pound equals a dollar. I might as well have given her a vacuum hose as an ATM card to empty my account.

rj007

JoeG

Great report. So how was the weather? I remember you were asking about it and we said, It shouldn't be a factor and I noticed just one reference so I am guessing it was OK for you.

Welcome to Fodor's London Traveller Club - now you can start planning another trip!

Bob

just_me

Thanks for the trip report. I really appreciate the level of detail. It was so much fun to read about your experiences!

The amazing thing about London is that you can never run out of interesting things to do or see. You can plan a completely different itinerary for each trip, and yet have an equally exciting time.

starspinners

Joe,
Wow, I am honored that you say my suggestions helped you enjoy your trip to London.
London is a wonderful town to explore , I hope that you make plans to return soon.
As I was reading your trip report, I would pause and close my eyes for a moment, I could picture each place that you mentioned.
And my, you do have a way with prose when you describe meals... I could almost taste the scones/seabass/lobster/sorbet.
See.. we all told you that you would be able to navigate the Tube. =D>

JoeG

You were right Judy, the tube was no big deal to navigate. I just needed a kick in the pants to do it. Your advice to march down the entrance in front of the Dominion Theatre and walk right up to a real live person at a ticket booth gave me the visual motivation that I needed.
The dollar = a pound philosophy worked well on the trip. Now, as the credit card and ATM charges come filtering in, it will be a real dose of reality.
My fears of the weather were unfounded.
Apparently it did snow the night we arrived, but as John Ward at the Morgan said "it didn't settle." There were some periods of rain of course but we were well prepared. Saturday was gloriously sunny and Tuesday it was upper 50's and sunny as we left. We walked about as much as we could stand.
Russell Square is a block or two north of the British Museum. Some of the flowers were starting to bloom and the grass was green. There is a little coffee/sandwich place right in the park and it was fun to just sit outside in the sun and drink in the experience prior to our departure.
It is really incredible how all the tips from posters on this site make these trips really incredible. People keep asking me, "how did you find out about all that stuff?" I'm sure that you could just show up in London and have a good time, but the level to which it can be experienced with advice from this forum is just amazing.
JoeG

mvor

JoeG, I'm glad that you and your wife had such a terrific time in London and that you enjoyed the Tate's Café 7. I'd read that the Courtauld was doing construction, so I'm glad that you were able to view its fine collection (even if you had to climb a few more stairs).

We leave on Thursday so we may just have to try your (and Judy's) fish-n-chip recommendation. Thanks for the great report!

Maureen

JoeG

Maureen,
We did love the Courtauld Gallery. Only one room was closed. I don't think that we missed much. Also the Cafe 7 at the Tate Modern was a great spot for lunch. Food was excellent and they had a decent wine list as well and all at moderate prices (for London.) Views were fantastic. The name of the seafood restaurant on Leigh St. is The North Sea Fish Co. This was one of my typos and mistakes that weren't corrected.
JoeG

Sue_xx_yy

Joe, I love your currency exchange rate.

I am nominating 'Bank of JoeG' as official bank of Fodors forum.

JoeG

Sue,
The Bank of JoeG received the Visa bill today for Gordon Ramsay. 222GBP=$401.82!!!!!!! Yikes!
JoeG

mvor

Thanks for the update on the Courtald and North Sea Fish. I also love the view from Café 7; now I think I'll have to go and toast my good fortune to be back in London!

mclaurie

Very enjoyable read Joe! So glad you had a great time. I leave on Thurs. too. Despite limited time in London, your report has made me move the Courtauld toward the top of my list.

BTW, I've always said what costs $1 here costs a pound there, so your exchange rate is totally accurate.

Kate

Thanks for a great report JoeG, and I'm glad to researched your food well. You clearly enjoyed the wine menu at Gordon Ramsey by the look of the bill...

JoeG

mclaurie,
You are correct about the dollar=pound theory. It seems to allow you to adjust to prices if you simply view it that way. Irrational as it is.
The Courtauld Gallery is small,my suggestion would be to get there when it opens at 10:00 - no crowds.
Kate,
As someone else mentioned, the wine list at Gordon Ramsay's has selections that cost more than a small automobile. However we opted for an Australian white which I think was @25 GBP - one of the "cheaper" choices. If you skipped the champagne,bottle of wine and coffee and stuck with the 35GBP prix fixe menu and a glass of wine you could do it for under 100.
JoeG

Giovanna

Welcome home JoeG. Have been watching for a report, thinking you should be due home, and very much enjoyed reading it this morning.

We made our first visit to the Somerset House/Courtauld in December and loved it. You covered a lot of ground on your first visit and it sounds as if you thoroughly enjoyed yourselves. I think you will be going back from the sound of your report. London has a way of hanging on to you and luring you back.

Glad the weather was decent while you were there, as I remember you were concerned about that before you left. Again, welcome home and thanks for reminding me a bit of our most recent trip to this wonderful city.

JoeG

Giovanna,
I think it was your London report that prompted us to put the Courtauld on the top of our must see list.
The pace must have been exhausting because we barely ventured out of the house this past week-end.
We knew that we could not possibly see it all on one visit, although if we do go back, I would really like to venture out in the countryside.
JoeG