Keith

It has been 6 weeks since our trip to London and Paris and I am long overdue with a trip report. The trip was almost canceled by the Ash cloud, but the London airports opened just 3 days before we were scheduled to depart. And it was still a concern during the trip - the airports in Ireland were closed the day that we returned.

It was my 3rd visit to London and 2nd to Paris. Linda visited London briefly when she was a teen and had never been to France, so much of our trip was my sharing some of my favorite places. Linda has family living in Hampstead doing a work assignment, so we stayed at their flat while in London and at the Hotel Brighton in Paris.

Highlights of the first half of the trip included watching the London Marathon, the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London, a day at Windsor, and seeing the new musical - Love Never Dies. I enjoyed Love Never Dies much more than I did the Phantom of the Opera.

My detailed first half of the trip report is now online at http://www.mightymac.org/london2010/10UK01.htm

but that may be longer than most want to go through. Specific pages of interest:

London Marathon http://www.mightymac.org/london2010/10UK02.htm
Guard change at Windsor http://www.mightymac.org/london2010/10UK06.htm
Rules (London's oldest restaurant) http://www.mightymac.org/london2010/10UK09.htm
Harrods http://www.mightymac.org/london2010/10UK10.htm

Still to come - Paris and a proposal.

Keith

avalon

What a great report. I love the pictures, which are great, interspersed with the dialogue. I may have to make a trip to Hampstead for the White Boar! Can't wait for Paris portion!

basingstoke2

I enjoyed the report and photos too - they bring back recent memories. We were watching the London Marathon at the same time and about the same place as you were.

texasbookworm

Enjoyed that thoroughly--looking forward to the proposal part!

rncheryl

Excellent; bookmarking for our first London visit next year.

Keith

THank you for the kind words. Paris will probably go up tomorrow.

irishface

ttt

Keith

The trip report and photos continue at http://www.mightymac.org/london2010/10UK13.htm

I still have the final two days in London to compltere the trip.

Keith

Lindafrompotch

Loved your trip report and all the photos!

Paris is my favourite city in the world and are visiting London and Paris in April 2011.

Would love to see the Phantom of the Opera's sequal.

Jayneann

Loved your report!!! We are going to London and Paris in September for the first time, so this was especially helpful!
Must admit though, I'm worried about not speaking French and eating out!! I'm not too adventurous when it comes to tasting new foods! Thanks so much for sharing!

tod

Jayneann - just to interupt here......You don't have to speak a word of French, but it is always appreciated by the French people working in restaurants, ticket offices, shops etc., or wherever you may encounter a Parisian, to always greet them before you carry on with what you want to say.
If its morning then say....Bonjour madam/monsieur! And don't forget to say thank you....merci, and goodbye.. Au revoir, before you leave their company.
What kind of food do you like? Besides some really good French cooking you can also eat Greek, Italian, North African, Chinese/Japanese/Thai etc. etc. as well as a good hamburger and chips ( and I'm not talking McD's here).

Jayneann

Thank you Tod!! You are always so encouraging and helpful! But how do I know what the menu says if it's all in French? I was planning on bringing a little translator so hopefully that will help! What do others do?

Keith

The last three pages of the trip report have been posted at http://www.mightymac.org/london2010/10UK27.htm

The highlights of the final day include worship at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, lunch at Andalucia Tapas Restaurant, the Psy circus, and supper at The Magdala.

Jayneann, sometimes the waiters can help, but that changes a lot from restaurant to restaurant and there can still be surprises. That is part of the fun.

It does help that many words are cognates - similar in both languages. But that can sometimes mislead.

Knowing a few key food words in advance can certainly help. For example: poissons - fish, frites - deep fried, fromage - cheese, boeuf - beef, viandes - meat, entrée - appetizer, la carte - menu, le menu - fixed price meal, service compris - tip included.

tod

Aah Jayneann, no worries......If you go to an authentic 'French spoken here' restaurant just be apologetic and ask them 'Excusez-moi, parlez-vous anglais?' pronounced like this: exkoo-zay mwah, par-lay voo ong-lay?
To which you will either get a conversation in broken English or even very good English OR a serious shake of the head with a 'Non!' Then you're in trouble......but all is not lost, as folks are so friendly so if you give the table next to yours a desperate look they may help.

Not may restaurants speak French only - I've yet to find one so don't worry too much.

basingstoke2

Keith, I thoroughly enjoyed your TR and great photos. Your idea of interspersing the photos in context of the TR enhanced them both.

The flowers in the golden fields are rapeseed. It is a crop used to make cooking oil, animal feed and some industrial lubricants.

Congratulations on your engagement.

Keith

basingstoke2, thank you so muych! I was hoping someone would enlighten me.

Keith