Since I was a little girl in the 5th grade at St. Joseph‘s School in New Paltz, NY, I have been fascinated and obsessed with the idea of traveling to Europe. As an expeditious reader, when I finished my work, I read the books on the shelf near my desk. There was an assortment of books about twins in different countries. From reading those books, I knew that I wanted to go to England, Switzerland, Netherlands, and France, to name a few. I didn’t even finish the book on China or Japan... They just did not move me. Almost 50 years later, I am proud to be among those who had a dream and fulfilled my dream because I have traveled to Europe since the early 80’s over 50 times. The $ was strong when I started. Now the value is miniscule. Subsequently, for Summer 2008, I researched my favorite American cities because I am in a “city mood”.

On line I checked various travel sites that combine flight/hotel. I started this search in early June and found that at this time Expedia had the best combinations. A 3 star hotel would have been fine. Suddenly, a 4 star hotel, the Thistle Charing Cross, now a Guoman hotel, popped up with extremely reasonable prices including a full, hot, English breakfast. For 11 nights the price of flight/hotel was approximately $2700 per person in a deluxe twin/double room. Mind you, this 4 star hotel is so centralized,30 meters from Trafalgar Square, that we would be able to walk to all our favorites within a range from St. Paul’s Cathedral to Harrods! The theatre section was in breathing distance and so were the best of pubs, including Gordon’s Wine Bar. Walking saves transportation expenses. Then, I checked comparable deals in Boston and New York City. These hotel/flight combinations were between$2500-$3000 . I adore London. For a few hundred more or less, it was “tally ho, mates, we are off to London.”

“A hah“, you exclaim, “what about the remainder of your expenses? Well, take a seat and read this closely.

First, purchase a London Oyster Card which saves 2/3 of the fare and time waiting on line, the queue, to purchase tickets. We each bought one for 25£ and have more than ½ of the amount remaining on the card for the next trip because this card does not expire. The Oyster Card facilitated the use of buses, the underground and some boat rides. We went to Hampstead Heath and Primrose Hill to see a different, more rural section of London. Moreover, both locations featured spectacular views of London. An Oyster Card, once purchased for 3£, can be re-charged for more usage, Now my card is inside my passport for the next trip to London.

There are always a plethora of activities that are free. If you like museums, several museums including the London Museum, Victoria & Albert, the British Museum and the National Gallery are free. There is a place for a donation in all of these museums, but no pressure about the amount of the donation. I usually leave a dollar or two in USA currency. There are always private art shows. For example, we saw Linda McCartney’s photos at James Hyman galleries. I have to digress and mention that there was a picture of Janis Joplin in her late 20's. As a high school teacher, I would like to see a picture of her in every school as an anti-drug usage icon because she looks like a worn out,unkempt, version of a senior citizen. When I get tired of being inside of a museum, I depart and go to the outdoor museum. Where is that?

This is one of the oldest cities in the world. The outside museum is called LONDON! They just found a section of a statue, Hadrian’s head in the Thames. Everywhere you walk in London features a memorable view. Architecture ranges from classical columns to the modern “gherkin” building in London’s financial district. Walking in London is a viable, aesthetic, activity due to it’s numerous pedestrian zones, six large parks and many smaller ones, Squares and very quaint old alleyways like the path from the Strand to Dickens location known as The Curiosity Shop. My favorite walk is along the Thames River. Let’s start with the North side under Big Ben. Walking east you pass Cleopatra’s Needle, Embankment Park which has a quaint cottage/café, the Regal Somerset House with it’s outdoor patio, the Temple area which reclaimed fame after Dan Brown’s novel, The Da Vinci Code, then take the stairs at Blackfriars Bridge, walk north of the river, pass St. Paul’s Cathedral, the magnificent baroque Church designed by Christopher Wren in1673,turn right and cross over the Thames on the pedestrian Millenium Bridge. Or you can keep walking on the north side of the river, pass the Tower Pier Tower of London and cross the bridge at St. Katharine’s Dock. On the South side, you pass through many quaint passages, walk by The Anchor bar where Samuel Pepys witnessed the massive Fire of London in 1666, the London Dungeon, the Southwark Cathedral, the rebuilt Globe Theatre, Tate Museum and a boardwalk which features art work
pubs,restaurants ,the Royal National Theatre, and near the Westminster Bridge, The Brirish Airways Eye, the largest ferris wheel in the world. Now this is one route among hundreds of fascinating walks. Furthermore, one can depart the central area of London and go to Hampstead Heath or Primrose Hill.

“Man does not live on bread alone…”, but let’s face it, eating is of paramount importance on a vacation. Mind you, our weak $ is worth less than 50%. Ask yourself before you continue reading this, ”How much do I spend at home when I go out to eat? How much do I usually spend on vacations when I go out to eat?” While we were in London, the exchange rate was $2.05 to 1£. Fortunately, I have studied, visited, or lead student groups in London over 20+ times and as the $ began to decline severely, I walked around London looking for the best places to eat for a reasonable price. I can tell you, that if you want to visit Canary Wharf, go with a full stomach and a bottle of water. Two hamburgers, a small glass of wine, ice tea, and one order of fries came to 25£! We stayed at The Thistle Charing Cross Hotel-a Guoman Hotel and the north side of this hotel was on Villiers St. Most of the restaurants on that street were very reasonable and quite comparable to the restaurants in Broward County, Florida, where we live, as far as food and wine prices. One can also leave our hotel, walk east on the Strand, take a left into Covent Garden, pass up all those restaurants, as far as budget is concerned, and follow Monmouth or Neal Street to 190 Shaftesbury Avenue and find The Farmhouse Table. This has been a treasure to me since 1995. They always have about four specials ,which include two courses for 8£. I never pass up The Farmhouse Table! One can select anything from the menu ,but I always like at least three of the four specials and the food is delectable and the restaurant has charm. If one continued down Shaftesbury, one would find a variety of cozy restaurants on the same side of the avenue as The Farmhouse Table, that serve really good food from 4-10£. If you go shopping in Camden, look for Strada on 40-42 Parkway. We had a late lunch/early dinner there with wine for a total of 12£. Moreover, we had a great conversation with our friendly server Marco. Marco was attentive, kind, handsome, and very thoughtful. We will definitely return to Strada which according to VOGUE “makes excellent pizza” and the London newspaper THE GUARDIAN states, ”Notable for yummy retro Italian food and restrained prices”. We ate outside and after lunch we noticed how beautifully it was decorated on the interior of the restaurant. In total, with the exception of Canary Wharf and the night we craved steak and ate at The Scotch house for 40£, for very little food, [our lunches were small because we had English breakfast included in our hotel price], dinners for 2 with drinks totaled 17-20£.

For inhabitants of the United States who are Europhiles, these are “hard times” for European travel. Moreover, it’s not easy to find a bargain here! One must extend some effort. Today all travel requires an inordinate amount of research. I love London and if you love London, as this article features, London is available and affordable. I invite you to follow the path that I just walked, ate, drank, and now have subsequent satisfaction and joy!