When to go to England?

[Daniel&family]

Royal Ascot is on in the middle of June (15th to 19th this year), although I'm not sure how easy it would be to get into the Royal enclosure.

I would definatley recommend a day's racing if you have any interest in the sport, you could also try the Derby (early June), the Grand National (1st Saturday in April), Cheltenham festival (mid March) or Glorious Goodwood (late July). All of these are an occasion and an interest in betting isn't necessary to have a great day out, although there is good racing at all times during the year.


Yours

Daniel

 

[ByTheSea]

Since you don't want to miss school, you might consider going over the Holidays. We went over Christmas this year and had a wonderful time. It was chilly but warmer than at home.

We split our London trip into two hotel locations, the Marriott County Hall (which is on the other side of The County as the Travel Inn and faced the Thames and Big Ben) and the Langham near the Theatre and Shopping areas.

Lot's of good sites already listed. Certainly don't recommend driving in the London area but we did rent a car for a few trips outside of London (through Windsor to Cardiff, to Devon area to visit family, to Brighton)

There is not much open on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, but most theatres were open Boxing Day, and we did a lovely Christmas Dinner Cruise on the Thames on Christmas Day. Overall the crowds were minimal, were able to walk through the Tower of London and see the Crown Jewels several times (a favorite for us) without wait. No waiting at Windsor Castle or anyplace else.

 

[RUDisney]

Vernon, now, you're talking! How long is the train travel to Disneyland Paris? That's definitely up my alley.

However, I am trying to start small with DH. Like I've said before, he was never much of a traveler until he met me. Other than going to Russia to adopt our kids, he's never been out of the country, except to the Caribbean and Canada. He doesn't consider those places foreign lands.

I've been talking to him about London for some time now. Primarily, because you speak English. He's intimidated by places where they don't speak English... even Puerto Rico freaked him out a little because of the Spanish street signs. I look at foreign languages as a way to learn a little of another language.

I can also seeing a trip to France in our future. I'd love to tour the wine country in Alcase.

 

[arminnie]

Hotels in London are quite expensive and with the exchange rate being what it is now you can really spend a lot of money. The rooms are often quite small compared to US hotels. Most of the double rooms that I've been in would not sleep 4.

So be prepared that you might need two rooms. I'm sure that there are hotels with 2 queen beds but don't make the assumption that a room with 2 beds would sleep 4. I used to go on business a lot and stayed in top hotels but the rooms had 2 twin bed or one double or queen.

I went last November. I decided to use Priceline. I bid $130 for a 4 star hotel and was delighted to get the Millenium Hotel Knightsbridge. It was a first rate hotel in a great location and would have been about $300 a night if booked directly.

I love London.

 

[Teris]

That's very true about the room sizes. Some of the Hotels offer 'family' rooms. These are a bit bigger. You might want to check with the Moat Hotel chain, and the Thistle Hotel chain. They tend to cater to tourists.

The dollar against the pound is not very good at all at the moment,, so don't expect too many bargains for quality these days. But I have to say, I thought I would save a bit once in London, and booked what I thought would be a cheaper option than what I normally book, and I ended up having to move hotels. There was alot of construction and I woke to sledge hammers around 8:00 am. It was so loud we couldn't hear each other in the room. We requested a move away from the back where the noise was,, and they moved us to a room with a single twin bed. Um,,, not good for two women who were sharing a room. So we went to the Thistle Hyde Park, and it was perfect. The room was huge, with two single beds(not doubles).

Definately dont' assume that the rooms will have 2 double beds. And FYI,, a kingsize bed here, is what a queen size is in the States. A Superking size is what you think of as a kingsize in the States.


You have some time to research and find a good rate with space tho


I was thinking about what shows would be around, and wanted to mention that ChittyChittyBangBang got wonderful reviews. I haven't seen it,, but have wanted to. Apparently the special effects of making the car fly are quite spectacular. It might be a good choice if it's still playing when you come to visit

 

[RUDisney]

Ooh, ChittyChittyBangBang is one of our favorite movies! The kids (and I) would love that! Hopefully, it will be in, or will move to Broadway by then.

 

[NMAmy]

Now I'm so sad! We were supposed to go to London this summer, but we bought a house instead! Not that I'm unhappy about this, but I do like to go visit the in-laws in the London area.

We're hoping to make the trip at Christmas but I'm sure going to miss the beautiful weather we had for our trip last July!

Hope you have a great time!