Dec 20, 2009

Spring Break in London, Part 1/3

Mother & Teen/Tween

By Lisa T. Bergren

After scoring a killer airfare into London and out of Paris, our spring break plan was real—our first mother/2 daughter trip! Tim and Jack stayed home because of expense, Tim needing to work, and the desire to make it a “girl thing.” (Jack was happy to  go bowling instead. He’s six!) I was excited to experience these two iconic cities, and to do so alongside me tween and teen, was about as great as it could be. We took off in the afternoon from DIA, and arrived in Heathrow at around noon the next day.

YOUTH HOSTEL: Family Friendly

We were to spend a week in London, and to save some moola, we began our stay with three nights at the youth hostel at St. Paul’s, once the dormitory for the boys’ choir. It has a great, central location and a mediocre (but pretty comprehensive) breakfast, and ran about $85 US a night for the three of us. I think it would’ve been fine, but they put us in a “family room” with five beds and assured us we’d be alone; our first night, when we were in that jet lag stupor, another mother and adult daughter arrived at 2am, turning on lights, making noise, etc. Such is the life of hostels…you just have to remember you’re not in a hotel. Our roommates were unimpressed with this hostel; they thought the one near Notting Hill was fabulous—two beds per room and bathrooms en suite. I think they were talking about the London Hotel.  (Have you stayed at either hostel? Please comment below.)

ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL

It was nice that we had a room key, however, and could leave our things behind. We walked right across the street to the historic St. Paul’s Cathedral, which was built 1675-1710 after the Great Fire of London. A church has stood in this location since the 7^th century! This is the place that London congregates to celebrate (100^th birthday for the Queen, Lady Diana and Prince Charles’ wedding) or mourn (Lord Nelson and Churchill’s funerals).

We climbed to the dome (the uppermost portion—the Stone and Golden galleries, where you can walk outside—were closed for renovations), but stopped and sat in the Whispering Gallery—where you can hear a whisper halfway around the dome. We returned to the main floor and settled in to listen to evening mass—the men’s choir voices echoed through the chambers and up into the dome in lovely fashion, nearly chasing away the draft cold of the place.

I tried to get pictures inside (without flash, it’s usually okay), but barking attendants practically had me dropping my camera to the marble floors below. I really like this video about St. Paul’s and the Whispering Gallery. It gives you a good overview of the architecture, as well as the haunting sounds of singing voices within. Check it out:

We returned later in the week to tour the crypt downstairs—pretty fascinating. But this first night, exhausted, we went across the street to an Italian restaurant, ate a great meal, then turned in at the hostel. Thankfully, this night, we had no additional guests join us.

GETTING OUR BEARINGS

The next day we wanted to get a feel for the city at large, so we elected to take the Fat Tire Bike Tour. We can’t recommend them highly enough. They have bikes for kids, tandem bikes, and run a very casual, but very fun tour. With them, we went to all the main sites (Buckingham Palace, Downing Street, Parliament, Trafalgar Square, Kensington Gardens/Palace, Princess Diana Memorial) and through several of the gardens (hard to see much of them on foot; much better by bike. You can see our full Fat Tire Bike Tour report here.)

What’s great about a tour like that is that you can get a feel for the city at large, and then can return to those sites that interest you the most. Here’s some brief footage from our stop by Downing Street/Whitehall, residence of the Prime Minister.

GETTING AROUND LONDON: The Tube/Underground

We bought Oyster Cards ahead of time (you can easily do so there). These preloaded transit cards, gave us easy access to the tube, with but a quick swipe as we passed by, making us feel like locals. This is the cheapest way to navigate London, and their subway system is extremely easy to use. Some basic things to know:

• Have a subway map handy, or download this basic one here (you can pick up a detailed one there, too)
• You decide on which train (or trains) you need to take by color/name of the line
• Trains are labeled by ultimate (end) destination
• Be aware the train goes in two directions; double-check your end destination before you get on!
• You get off your train and take another at the intersection stop of those two trains
• Just like any city, traffic increases during rush hour, before and after work

After spending our fair share of time on the tube, we’ll never hear the word “gap” without hearing the recording, “Mind the gap!” in our minds. (Which means, basically, don’t fall onto the tracks, Idiot!)

FOOD

We were pleasantly surprised by the good food in London, but never really scored the quintessential fish ‘n’ chips that most Americans think of when they think “London fast food.” Once home, London friends ContextLondon and HomeAwayUK recommended these three places for casual, nice stops (including a tea shop, an Italian cafe and National Geographic’s cafe), fish! for fresh fish (expensive for traditional fish ‘n’ chips), and Rock ‘n’ Sole for traditional fish and chips.

RELATED POSTS, Paris/London Spring Break:

London, Part 2/3: The Eye, Gastro-pub, Millennium Bridge, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Tower of London, Churchill Museum, Brass Rubbings

London, Part 3/3: Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor

Ferry vs. Chunnel: Paris via Calais

French People are Nice (and Paris is Safe)

Paris with Teens

Eating on a Budget in Paris

Versailles: Fat Tire Bike Tours

Have YOU been to London with Kids? Comment below with your favorites!