ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Travel to London - My Vacation Trip

Updated on August 2, 2017

London - Ready to Go Again

Westminster Abbey, London, England - site of the Royal Wedding of William and Kate!

I've been to Europe twice and I want to go again.

Specifically, London, England. I was there in 2007 for about 10 days, and it wasn't nearly long enough!

Yes, that's Westminster Abbey in the photo, where the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton was held in April 2011.

I'd go on the open top, double-decker bus tour again in a heartbeat. This tour lets you get on and off the bus as much as you want for one fare, so if you see something you want to visit, you can hop off, then get back on and ride further along the route.

The tour features a sassy guide who makes the site seeing fun. It was brilliant, as they say.

If you've seen the Harry Potter movies, or Masterpiece Contemporary on television, you'll know some of the different words they use in England. For example, clock time. We say, "Nine thirty." They say, "Half nine."

My list for my future visit includes tea at Harrods, Roman London, the V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum) and Borough Market, the big farmer market on the south side of the Thames.

There is so much to do in London that even lifelong residents have to work at seeing all the sites.

Photos by kimbesa.

Parliament building from the Thames
Parliament building from the Thames

Highlights of My Trip

An Exciting Adventure Across the Pond

My trip to England was a highlight overall. It's another country. There's the history. And... being a fan of certain television shows set in England (both historical and contemporary) and authors like Jane Austen and JRR Tolkien, it was great to have the opportunity to set foot in this country.

In addition, there were more enjoyable elements to my trip:

  • Taking both the bus and boat tours was a lot of fun, and gave an overview of sights in the city
  • Staying at the home of my sister and brother-in-law was very comfortable, and a chance to see home life in London
  • Shopping - in department stores for new items, and charity shops for vintage goods
  • Eating different foods, like real English fish and chips, and home style dinner in a pub. British food is not as highly regarded as some cuisines, but we found lots of good things to eat

My passport's still good, so I'm ready for another trip!

Street Sign in Central London
Street Sign in Central London

Tips for Travel to London

Balance the Factors and Have a Wonderful Time

I visited in late February, not the best time of year as far as weather, but great for cheap airfare. Here are my tips for travel to England, any time of year:

  • Consider shipping your luggage. It's even more expensive than when I went to take your stuff. Whittle down the list of necessities, and if it works for you, shippers will take your luggage door-to-door
  • Get a body pouch for your valuables. Wear your stash of extra cash, your ID and passport. A crowded big city has its share of pickpockets
  • Learn the ropes regarding money. Plan to use your ATM card in safe locations to get the best exchange rate. And get enough cash in each visit. Especially if you're shopping in small shops, you'll need to use cash. And study the bills and coins so you know which are which
  • Dress for changeable weather. There's a reason the Brits wear a lot of wool. It's warm in cold weather and breathes in warmer weather, which can change several times a day
Even if there isn't an Olympics or a royal wedding when you visit, you will still have a fantastic time, with a little preparation for the basics of travel in a foreign country.

Some Links to Background on London - The More You Know, The More You'll Want to See

London is a city just bristling with history. The bus tour took us around Trafalgar Square, which features fountains and four of these lion statues.

Get a good travel guide, and make some plans for your trip. If you have a list of your highest priority sites, you can visit those first, and add others as time permits.

A good balance of touring and exploring make for a more relaxing trip!

My photo shows statue of Boudica, with Parliament building in the background. Location is the north side of Westminster Bridge.

London maps guidebook
London maps guidebook

I Thought They Spoke English

Oh Yeah, There's The Slang

Besides maps and guidebooks to help you navigate the geography, there is also the lingo!

The link below will take you to an online resource, Dictionary of Slang, which is one of the best sites I've found to help you understand the differences in terminology. I knew some of these, but ran into some others.

If you learn all the words in this dictionary, you'll be well prepared to understand the Brits, even with their accents.

British vs. American Lingo on Video - Via YouTube

Informative and entertaining!

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)