Going to London ...

You should have no problem getting a ticket for almost any show at the half-price ticket booths on the day of the show. I would suggest spending most of a day walking around the Piccadily Circus/Trafalgar/Leicester Square/Soho/Covent Gardens areas. Last summer when I was in London, I took the underground across the Thames from Paddington Station to Waterloo Station, walked around over there near the Eye and back across the Millenenium Bridge and then back the Charing Cross area. Then saw the Phantom of the Opera sequel that night. Great day. On my first trip to London I took a boat ride down the Thames to Greenwich and the doubledecker bus tour that took you past many of the highlights. That may sound too touristy, but it gave me a real sense of the city. Depending upon where I'm staying, I try to visit the HMV flagship store on Oxford St. Are you flying into Heathrow or Gatwick?

 

Drive north, way north, into the scenic nation of Scotland.
Then, let him (and do it too if you like to), play golf on a links course. Go as a caddy if you don't play and enjoy the scenery.
Tunnel goes to France; expand your vacation for a day.

 

Agreed on savying Paris for another time. I did an overnight trip to Paris my first time to London and retained nothing from that visit, other than to say I saw it.
Suggested day trips out of London would be to Oxford or Cambridge, easily reached by train.
Beautiful architecture, some great pubs, and lots of history.

 

Great bass line. This joke? Well ...

 

Back from London! And it was freaking amazing. (Or as the Brits would say The trip was "quite lovely.")

Here is what we ended up doing (I hope I don't leave anything out.) And don't forget that the best part was that almost everything listed below was paid for as part of the trip.

The day we arrived, the charter bus took us on an extended tour of London on the way to the hotel. Upon arrival (at a very posh place near Hyde Park), we had a lunch buffet. Our rooms were not ready yet, so we walked down to the nearest pub we could find (Audley's). Had our first British beer (don't ask which one; we had so many different ones, I cannot keep the names straight) and fish and chips. Took a walk to Hyde Park Corner, then walked down the Princess Diana Memorial Walk to Buckingham Palace, then walked back to the hotel via the Hard Rock Cafe. That evening, met with a gentleman who rode the train in to meet us. He is a Facebook friend of the boyfriend and has the exact same name as the boyfriend. Drinks in the hotel, then we walked to a pub (The Marlborough Head) for a late dinner and more beer (this was one of the few meals we had to buy). It was pretty cool, as drink were bought for me by two men sharing the same name

The next morning (after breakfast at the hotel provided every morning by the company) we were off for a tour of Windsor Castle and St. George's Cathedral. That evening, we had dinner at The Dover Street Restaurant then went to see Wicked. I am pretty sure we went to another pub after getting back from the play to have more beer.

The next morning we got to partake of our London Pass and our free travel card. We went to Westminster Abbey, then to the Winston Churchill Museum and War Rooms (this was amazing.) Stopped at a pub on the way back to the hotel for another beer (or two.) That evening was the Pub Crawl, which began with dinner at a pub in the financial district of London proper, accompanied by several beers matched to each course of the meal. Then, we walked to the next pub. Then across London Bridge to the next pub for more beer. Then walked to the next pub for more beer (this one was near the fire monument.) After all that beer, we all literally crawled back to the hotel for more drinks in the bar (which consisted of at least one Pimm's Cup, which is my new favorite drink.) Then, we walked down to the Marble Arch, where we hopped on a bus for a ride to the famous Abbey Road Crossing. We arrived just after 1 a.m., as planned, so that folks back home could watch us cross on the live web cam. Per the request of my daughter, I laid down in the road, since by that time, was damned near falling down drunk. But what the heck, you only go to London once, right?!

The next day, we continued doing what we wanted, utilizing the London Pass and more of the travel card. This day, we chose to ride the Tube, which was quite an experience for someone not used to public transportation. We went first to St. Paul's Cathedral, then off to the London Tower. I wish I had more time to see it, as we didn't get to see everything there I wanted. But oh well, then we were off to see the Freemason's lodge. Somewhere along the way, we stopped at a cafe and had hot tea and a light lunch. After all of that, on the way back to the hotel, we again walked by Bucking ham Palace, Hyde Park Corner and the Hard Rock Cafe. Then it was off to get gussied up for the farewell gala put on by the company. Which, of course, consisted of more Pimm's Cups. At this point, I wanted nothing more to do with British beer.

The next morning, up at 5:45 for the return trip home. We arrive back at home at 5:30 local time, which was 11:30 p.m. to our bodies. I managed to stay awake long enough to watch the Texans score their first touchdown of the 2011 season, after which point I promptly fell fast asleep. I woke up hours later, not knowing if they won or lost, and, for the first time in my life, not caring.

All in all, a mighty fine trip. We never did get to see and do all that we wanted, but there never does seem to be enough time on a vacation to do all that one wants. We did get to see and do many things, so we left with no regrets.

 

No time for riots? Sheesh.

 

One of the couples we hung out with took a bus in the wrong direction and ended up in the riot areas. Said the carnage was awful. They both felt lucky they made it back to the hotel in one piece.

 

Did you not bring any Pimms back from Duty Free??

I have been to The Marlborough Head... wise choice...

 

Sounds as if you hit a bunch of the high spots and ate/drank the right stuff in London.

And as you said, you did not see it all - - - meaning that you will have to go back and check out lots of the GREAT things in London that you missed. That is the great thing about traveling; you get to see great stuff AND you get to realize that there is more great stuff for you to see almost regardless of where you have gone.

 

Looks like you had a great trip, hit a lot of high points, and made it back in one piece. Now you need to go back a few dozen times to catch the REALLY good stuff

 

I brought back the maximum amount allowed through customs