I am heading to London on Monday for a week trip. Just wanted to see if anyone was out there on H-T that could show me around. OR if anyone has already been there and has recommendations on things to do....

 

Drive a Lotus Elise.....for me

 

Say Hi to the Queen for me. I hear the food is nasty too so stock up on snacks.

Have fun and take pics of all goofy cars over there.

Oh yeah, be careful!

 

the food IS nasty.
when i went backpacking thru europe, england was one of my stops. i swear the food was horrible. it was so bad at this one place, i didn't eat a bite. and the waiter kept asking me why i didn't eat until i told him it was disgusting
i guess the only things worth seeing is big ben, the palace (or whatever the name is where the queen stays), the queen's "summer home" (forgot what that was called too..i'm thinking windsor castle). if u go at the right times to either of those places, you can catch the changing of the guards.
i didn't stay too long there... popped on over to paris. you should see if you can goto paris..it's only a train ride away if you got the time!

 

I think it's called Picadilly Circle. Around there you wil see a McLaren F1 next to a Porsche dealership. The next block down is an Aston Martin dealership(I saw a Vanquish and Bentley zoom out from that ally!) Don't forget to take pictures of RS4's and CTRs! SL55's are so common there.

 

Stick to pub food and lots of Guinness. You will have to get used to room temperature beer.

If you're into clubbing - check out the "Ministry of Sound" nightclub in South London- best in the UK - bring your dancing shoes and go early.



http://www.ministryofsound.com/home/

http://www.ministryofsound.com/clubbing/uk/

 

Mc laren is around the corner.
Also Brooklands is very impressive. Its the first closed racetrack in England (build in 1908). There is'nt that much left of it, but the old oval track is REALY big.

 

wow! Thanks for all the info guys! I am definetely going to check out all of your recommendations, especially McLaren I will report back with pictures at the end of January..... as for the Ministry of Sound, I definetely want to go but I have been told by a lot of people to not attempt to go there alone..

 

The food isnt as bad as they make it sound to be(then again half my family speaks with an english acent so i guess im biased)room temp beer is ok i found some english beer taste better that way.As for the sights to see London is great,if you can go outside the citys the country is beautiful.

 

A Tower of London tour is a must.


Modified by sackdz at 11:23 PM 1/6/2004

 

Well the first 4 days of my trip, I will be staying in Camberley, Surrey.. I know this is about an hour south of London so hopefully it will be more countryside I already have a list of internet cafes in London so I will pop online and check in with H-T next week

 

well i am in london now and arrived safely. \i took a red eye into town and am going on one hour of sleep only. very very tired.... and i have been working all day, hopefully soon to crash at the hotel. i will check in tomorrow.. i have my eye our for ctr's and itr's ;-)

 

Glad you got there safe, be sure to visit Amsterdam for me

 

Camden Market is pretty sweet. Its a giant flea market that happens on Sundays I think. Got my cousin a $150.00 Authentic Suzuki Jacket for his GSX-R (retail for 650 here) so try and get a bunch of those while you are there... make some cash. When I was there (for educational stuff) I saw a few plays at The Globe and Lester Square is pretty cool too. The Cheers bar was also pretty neat late night. The McLaren was the highlight though, car is simply stunning, cept the bitch running the place wont let you sit in it or touch it, even though I tried to bribe her. Enjoy the trip. Hit Paris (the city, not Hilton) by taking the chunnel, 3 hr ride and will cost you about ~100 to go first class. Enjoy the trip. Dont forget to see the McLaren!

 

if you are into sports at all, check out Lilly Whites, 7 floors of sports equipment.
While your at it pick an Arsenal shirt for me!

The food is only bad because Americans think fast food is good.

 

Yeah Camden market is cool, was there a week or so ago with my other half. Also check out the Tate Modern, I know it sounds a bit ghey, but its got some nice stuff in it, if you see people lying on the floor taking pictures then you know you have the correct place.

Also its prolly a good idea to get a 1 day travel card, that will let you travel in London on all tubes and buses and trains, so getting around should be well easy, mine cost just under £6.

Places to go:
Oxford Street, Leicester Square, Covent Garden dont forget soho, best bet is jump on the circle line (tube) and pick some stops and have a look round.

Cant remember where I went TBH as was a little drunk.

Oh London can be a pain in the **** with all the tramps, best to try not to look like a back packer or you will be harrased by tramps all the time.

 

Gina, Awesome post! I'm headed to London on the 22nd. It''ll be my first time there as well. So, I'm gonna make use of all these recommendations. I'm looking forward to seeing that McLaren! But it sounds like I'm a week or so late or we could have met up somewhere. Bummer...

Enjoy your stay!

 

if in london, stay within zones 1 and 2 for the few days.... picadilly circus and leister square are good tourist attractions. good bars/clubs there too

check out the redlight district too for a kick...

the london eye is also a good site, as well as big ben, london dungeon...all touristy but fun places.

outside of these zones, if you can make a trip to manchester i think it would be an eye opener of how the uk really varies as you travel outside the center of london.

elephant and castle...i know that sounds cool, but i did not find much luck there

harrods and burburry's is a pretty nifty place to window shop...if your into that...completely different from the US "markets" that sell this stuff.

last but not least check out the museums in the center of the square...completely different from what you'd find in the states.

spent the 2.5 weeks there, and in that short of time i had my crotch grabbed on new years by a guy, got in the middle of a bar fight somehow and ended up getting in's to watch a nice lingerie photoshoot

AND STAY AWAY FROM MR. WU's...no matter what!

 

Stonehenge, crop circles? hehe

Have a good time and don't work tooooo hard.

 

On a serious note, don't forget to check out those alien stones.. I forgot the name.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Arsenal &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

The food is only bad because Americans think fast food is good.</TD></TR></TABLE>

No, it's because we enjoy flavor with our f00d.

 

1. Wake up early and watch the college crews row on the Thames - sublime.

2. Order a pint of Castlemaine XXXX beer, every pub will have it. The best tasting beer I've ever had, but impossible to import into the US anymore

3. Take a day trip or two... I recommend Oxford and Canterbury.

 

screw england and come up to glorious scotland home to some of the best roads in the uk and thats an opinion from alot of our car mags. We are more chilled out althought the weather is ***** the scenery is great, so i say sod the tower of london and come see the loch ness monster known as " NESSIE ". SCORCHIO

 

Shame it's not this week, as there's a Jap meet tonight in Reading - 45 miles west of London

 

I am home! Just got back from the airport.. had an absolute BLAST! Heading to bed to pass out now hehehe.. thanks for all the input guys it was fun as hell... more reporting to come tomorrow