Visiting London

[Josh]

Oi mates, going to London May 3-8 for some Engadget biz. So, a couple things.

 

First, those of you who live there -- fancy a pint or something? Would love to meet up.

 

Second, surprisingly, I have never been. What are the must-sees? Keep in mind I live in NYC and am more into the unusual things. Big Ben, Trafalgar -- I'm not terribly concerned about those unless I'm there for something else. I want to see Carnaby street and the Tate and have some Indian food. That's about all I know so far.

 

Oh - I'll be staying in Piccaddilly (sp?).

[Angry the Clown]

Piccadilly will leave you nice and central for things to see, do and eat without ever needing to take a taxi. You've got two Tate galleries in different locations (Modern on the South Bank and Britain at Millbank - both on the Thames). The National Gallery is also nice and is in Trafalgar Square which you could walk to in about half an hour from Piccadilly. The Globe Theatre is down on the South Bank near to Tate Modern as well. Carnaby Street is an easy walk from Piccadilly too.

 

If the weather happens to be good (it’s been incredibly erratic here lately. Today for example we had a huge thunder storm this morning, but now its warm, blue skies and sunny) then some of London’s parks – particularly Regent’s Park and St Jame’s Park – are worth a look if seeking some peace and tranquility on an early evening.

 

I should certainly be able to meet you for a drink and/or bite to eat. Funnily enough I was going to start a similar thread myself as I may actually be invading New York towards the end of July. Since I've not visited in nine years I’m after all sorts of tips.

[Josh]

Excellent. I love the notion of walking to places.

 

Am more into modern art. My main goals are: work, food, drink, stalking Paul Weller.

 

Really, though -- I take it you work during the week? Do you work in London? Could do a post-work hang one night depending on location (and anyone else who wants in).

[Angry the Clown]

I do various bits on the side from home actually (most of my time is taken up on a new film project these days) so I can free myself up to pop into town at whatever time of day. I can't be doing with the stress of working in London. I live about 45mins north of the city (by train) in the Buckinghamshire countryside so I have direct and easy access into central London. I think iainl, and now Magness of course, are the only other active Brit residents on the forum now so hopefully we can all meet up.

[James T]

The first thing you should get is an Oyster Card. It's something like ?4 one way from zone 1-2 or ?34 for a weekly pass. I recommend putting a few extra pounds on the card in case you travel outside your zone.

 

I was in London a couple weeks ago.

The big bus Original Tour should be a first stop. It takes you around the tourist sites of London and you get off when you want and when your ready to go they'll be a bus waiting (comes by every 15 mins or so).

 

The highlights (at least for me) include:

-Sherlock Holmes home on (where else) Baker St...something like ?6 entrance

-Spamalot. My sister and her friend aren't much of a Monty Python fan, but loved it. Price was decent too at ?30 for first level centre seating.

-Jermyn St. If you can afford it, there are some really nice clothing shops

-If you like comics and movie replicas/props, find your way to The Forbidden Planet.

-There's also a 5-story toy store, although I cannot for the life of me remember the name or the tube station

-Cambden Town is a Amy Winehouse hangout (busy during the weekends). It's kinda

like a flea market with a huge variety of things to shop for

-try to get tickets to a BBC taping. It's free and anything that's free is good, right?

 

Even after visiting some spots, I found myself coming back to Leicester Square/Trafalgar Square/Cambden Town near the end of my day to unwind a bit.

[Josh]

Cool, thanks. Good options, but: Already saw Spamalot on Broadway, we have a Forbidden Planet in NYC (a block from my office, too). Oyster Card is an excellent idea, as is the bus tour. Will try to do that on my first day there (Sunday).

[Ryan FB]

I'll be in London May 1-July 31 or so...my work schedule should be fairly relaxed the first couple weeks, so I'd be fine hanging out. Of course, then the americans would bizarrely outnumber the brits.

[Angry the Clown]

Excellent. This is turning into the first London LCVG get together. Pity SEGA World no longer exists. NAMCO have a games centre near the London Eye though (not that it’s too good an idea to spend time pushing precious pounds into arcade cabinets).

[Josh]

Excellent. This is turning into the first London LCVG get together.

 

Indeed. Love it. I arrive Saturday night around 8:30, which should put me at my hotel by 10 I would guess. Could be late for you locals, but I'm down for whatever. Or Sunday night. My only booked night is Tuesday.

[Angry the Clown]

I'm tempted to suggest we all go for a decent meal somewhere..

[Josh]

I'm tempted to suggest we all go for a decent meal somewhere..

 

Fish & Chips and beer! Fish & Chips and beer!

 

Or Indian.

[Angry the Clown]

Lots of Indian options in the area. Iainl might have some personal recommendations, but Mela (http://www.melarestaurant.co.uk/) may be worth considering as it is rather popular. I've not yet tried it out myself. Sitaaray could be an option too with its less formal atmosphere (http://www.sitaaray.com) but whatever the case, we wont be short on choice.

 

If it's Fish n Chips you want then we'd best find a good pub.

[Josh]

Lots of Indian options in the area. Iainl might have some personal recommendations, but Mela (http://www.melarestaurant.co.uk/) may be worth considering as it is rather popular. I've not yet tried it out myself. Sitaaray could be an option too with its less formal atmosphere (http://www.sitaaray.com) but whatever the case, we wont be short on choice.

 

If it's Fish n Chips you want then we'd best find a good pub.

 

I'm easy like a Sunday morning. Both sound great to me.

[Angry the Clown]

I've fired off a PM to Iain and Dave so they don't miss this thread.

 

A weekday evening is probably going to be best for me as my plans for Sunday are still up in the air at the moment.

[Ryan FB]

Don't know what I'll be up to Sunday, but either of those places are quite near where I'll be working during the week (Drury Ln.).

[Magness]

I can get down into London but, my wife made plans for us this weekend. So, depending on the day you guys settle on I may not be able to join you but, I would love to meet up with everyone though

 

Are we leaning towards the 3rd of May? Lets see, what else to do here... Iron Man is out this weekend Theres a ComicCon in Milton Keynes if I remember right, The London Dungeon/Jack the Ripper tours are fun - Lots to do here this weekend...

[Angry the Clown]

Iron Man could be fun now that you mention it. It’s playing at the Odeon Leicester Square which is one of London’s best cinemas (traditional, very large screen/auditorium single screen establishment) – albeit one of the most ludicrously priced [the equivalent of $40 a head for the best seats, and about $25 for seating elsewhere].

[Angry the Clown]

So with all the good word of mouth, is that what we should plan do you all think? Round of drinks somewhere and then a viewing of Iron Man - or are those ticket prices just too daunting a prospect?

[Ryan FB]

Sounds good to me, "see something at the Odeon" is on my checklist anyway. It sounds like Josh is going to be in late on the 3rd, and I was thinking of checking out some "live" dubstep at DMZ that night...I don't have anything at all planned Sunday if that helps.

[Angry the Clown]

You're flying out tomorrow, yes?

 

Will you have web access to keep up to date on plans in this thread seeing as you'll be over here for a while, Ryan? How about you, Josh? I can PM you my mobile phone number either way.

 

There's a decent pub right next door to the Odeon where we could all meet once we decide on a day and time. If we do all agree on going to the cinema then the Iron Man showing times are 11:40, 14:40, 17:35 and 20:40 as of Thursday through to all of next week. It's a 2K DLP screening I believe.

 

Upstairs in the rear circle we'd be looking at ?14.50 a seat, or the Royal Circle which are the auditorium's prestige seats (where the cast/crew and yes, royalty, sit for premieres) it's ?19 each. Downstairs in the stalls it is only about ?1 cheaper than the rear circle upstairs, and frankly it is best to be upstairs at the Odeon for the best sound.

 

It was only a few years ago that Royal Circle tickets were a respectable ?13.40...

[Ryan FB]

You're flying out tomorrow, yes?

 

Will you have web access to keep up to date on plans in this thread seeing as you'll be over here for a while, Ryan? How about you, Josh? I can PM you my mobile phone number either way.

 

There's a decent pub right next door to the Odeon where we could all meet once we decide on a day and time. If we do all agree on going to the cinema then the Iron Man showing times are 11:40, 14:40, 17:35 and 20:40 as of Thursday through to all of next week. It's a 2K DLP screening I believe.

 

Upstairs in the rear circle we'd be looking at ?14.50 a seat, or the Royal Circle which are the auditorium's prestige seats (where the cast/crew and yes, royalty, sit for premieres) it's ?19 each. Downstairs in the stalls it is only about ?1 cheaper than the rear circle upstairs, and frankly it is best to be upstairs at the Odeon for the best sound.

 

It was only a few years ago that Royal Circle tickets were a respectable ?13.40...

I fly out this evening and arrive ~noon tomorrow. I'm staying/working at King's College, so I'd imagine internet shouldn't be a problem.

[Angry the Clown]

Excellent. Have a good flight!

[Josh]

I fly out Saturday and will arrive late-ish that evening, planned landing around 8:30pm local.

 

So what's the current plan? Sun night? Mon night? Late Sat night? Where's this DMZ place you speak of? I may have a bee in my bonnet when I arrive and could come meet you.

[Angry the Clown]

I've asked Iainl to drop in on the thread. Once we know if he is up for meeting we can settle on plans I think. I probably can do Sunday now by the looks of things, so Sunday or Monday for me I think works fine.

[iainl]

Summoned, I appear. I hope I can do Sunday or Monday - it depends on what day of the weekend I'm coming in to East London (Greenwich, actually) to meet my brand new Niece that arrived yesterday! So make your plans and I'll join when/if I can (it may involve me hopping on the DLR after Greenwich, or on the Met with Daniel, we'll see which). As long as you're doing interesting stuff as well, I could descend during proceedings - things are a touch hectic here, as I'll also have a bunch of tiling to do at some point over the holiday weekend, and I already know I'm out elsewhere on Saturday night so definitely can't do that.