Madge is going to London/France, can we say hi or something?

Non-neopets general discussion.
Madge
Posts: 1596
Joined: 19 Jan 2006 05:05 am
Gender: Female
Location: Perth, Western Australia
Contact:

Re: Madge is going to London/France, can we say hi or someth

Post by Madge »

On the whole museum thing; we absolutely love museums and zoos. I'm a dinosaur nut and the Western Australian museum has very little in the way of dinosaurs. Went to the Melbourne Museum last year and absolutely LOVED the dinosaurs they had on display; I am pretty sure they had an amargasaurus mount, which is actually one of my all-time favourite dinosaurs! I'm just a sucker for sauropods in general. I also love gift shops. (is that weird?)

What's the difference between the British Museum and the National History Museum? I'm not much of a fan of seeing anything from within the last few hundred years (our museum has a whole section on early settlers; ugh). I like animals and paleolithic human society stuff :P

So, I guess things I want to do:
- Eat curry for EVERY MEAL, especially breakfast
- Go to the zoo(s?)/aquarium(s?)
- See dinosaurs
- See The Lion King
- Science Museum (looks fun!)
- Gelupo (do they sell sorbet? Paul only likes gross flavours like mango or blood orange or lemon. I like REAL flavours like ferrero rocher, rocky road, cookies and cream, etc)
- Paul likes art so we'll probably go to an art gallery
- Observatory is a maybe, mostly because I'm scared of light pollution. I keep on meaning to go to the Perth Observatory but laziness prevents me.

Things for me to bring:
- Tim-tams
- Milo for anyone who wants it
hebdenhippy
Posts: 640
Joined: 14 Apr 2007 10:18 pm
Gender: Female
Human Avatar: 235278
Location: UK
Contact:

Re: Madge is going to London/France, can we say hi or someth

Post by hebdenhippy »

Hey I know I've been in lurker-mode and I haven't posted in a gazillion years but if an NC meet-up is happening I would like to come! I live in Halifax so it'll take a good 5 hours to get there but whatever meetups are fun and so is London.

Madge for dinosaurs you need the Natural History Museum, it's literally next door to the Science Museum so it's common to do both. British Museum is more the human side of history, I haven't been in ages but I remember it being huge and having lots of ancient Egyptian stuff. Also right near the Science and Natural History Museum is the V&A Museum which is my favourite art and design museum in London and worth a look I reckon (even if just for the gift shop). All the museums are free so you can just pop in places for a quick look.
Jazzy
Devil's Advocate
Posts: 2037
Joined: 04 Jan 2006 06:06 pm
Gender: Female
Location: a g-orbital
Contact:

Re: Madge is going to London/France, can we say hi or someth

Post by Jazzy »

Definitely come along :D

Madge- gelupo sells blood orange sorbet, but also awesome icecreams like tiramisu flavour. I think Miguel had banana icecream and something like peanut butter icecream. The flavours rotate so they sell different ones each time - they display today's here: http://www.gelupo.com/todays-flavours.php

The British Museum is mainly history about people - you can see the sort of things it does on the gallery map:
http://www.britishmuseum.org/visiting/f ... floor.aspx
The best thing about the major London museums is that they're all free to get in, so if you literally only want to see the Egyptians or whatever, you can go in, see that specific bit, and leave again, because you don't have to justify getting your money's worth out of an entrance fee. Oh, two more free museums not yet mentioned, the Horniman, which is another natural history museum, and the V&A - near the Science Museum and Natural History Museum, it's basically a museum of girly stuff. Pretty clothes, musical instruments, doll houses, sculptures, etc.

(The only non-free museum I can think of is the London Transport Museum, which is decent, but unless you have a massive dose of nostalgia for London's transport, I don't actually think it's that interesting if you aren't British.)
Tom
Posts: 845
Joined: 21 Feb 2006 02:00 am
Gender: Male
Human Avatar: 231218
Location: England

Re: Madge is going to London/France, can we say hi or someth

Post by Tom »

I actually study in South Kensington and live a sweet 15 minute walk away. May does mark my final year and the traumatic exam season, so I guess I'll see closer to the time. I did go to the second Subeta meet-up in London, though, and was pleasantly surprised by how not-awkward it was.

Re: London things. I have to say Greenwich is fantastic. It's probably one of my favourite places to go in London. The time line - eh, overrated, and you have to pay to stand by it so I've never bothered - but the views are pretty stunning from atop the hill, across the city, and it's always had a really separate feel to me. It just seems so removed, like a quaint village amongst this sprawling city. Nice to watch the sunset from. They also have some decent food there - my friend and I ate at a delicious Chinese, where I got a huge portion of Singapore Noodles for £5. I remember it fondly.

I actually went to the Science Museum today as uni is adjacent, my friend was bored and we had 3 hours to kill. It was absolutely teeming with school children though. :P I don't remember it ever being so busy but it was pretty horrendous. So I'd probably recommend going in the early afternoon (depending on how much time you want to spend there - there are lots of things to see) to avoid the rush. I'd also recommend against seeing an IMAX film there as they're pretty expensive and not that interesting imo. My friend fell asleep while watching one about Hubble, heh.

In terms of other things? Hm. The Wellcome Collection, near Euston, is pretty interesting, and you can definitely kill a couple of hours there. They have an exhibition on death at the moment which was worth a look. It will have changed by the time you visit but I'd say to keep an eye on it. And as a bonus, there's a string of Indian restaurants close by. I've been to one called Chutney's a couple of times and they do a really nice buffet which is reasonably priced. Everything is vegetarian but don't let it dissuade you. It's pretty easy to spot thanks to the slew of awards stuck on the door.

The main curry destination would be Brick Lane. There are so many curry houses dotted along it, so stroll along there, or look at reviews, and see what interests you I guess. There's also a large number of vintage shops in the area if that's your thing. I've spent a few afternoons trailing through them and found some nice things despite my impractical build (was nobody tall and thin before?). East London as a whole has a reputation for being more alternative. Time Out is great for seeing what's happening in the city (and as E mentioned, snagging deals!) and you can check out what's happening in terms of 'things' or areas, so have a peruse and see if anything grabs your attention I guess!

(my recommendation would be going to see Wicked hahah. Not to be a stereotype or anything. ;) But I totally want to see it for the third time.)
Subeta: Thomas
Madge
Posts: 1596
Joined: 19 Jan 2006 05:05 am
Gender: Female
Location: Perth, Western Australia
Contact:

Re: Madge is going to London/France, can we say hi or someth

Post by Madge »

Tom - Paul's vegetarian and I'm flexitarian (... VERY flexi, but still) so when you said everything is vegetarian at the amazing curry shop my eyes lit up, rather than being dissuaded.

As far as the whole family thing; my family in Kensington is living in the west of France these years, so I'm not sure I'll have connections to a place to crash in London. May have to start looking into recommendations for hotels (I like serviced apartments, personally). I have some family in Southhampton but I think London will be so much better for touristy stuff, right? There's so much that you guys have suggested already that I'm not sure we'll have time for it all! :D
Last edited by Madge on 30 Jan 2013 04:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
Kantark
Posts: 1927
Joined: 18 Jan 2006 08:59 pm
Gender: Male
Location: UK

Re: Madge is going to London/France, can we say hi or someth

Post by Kantark »

I might be able to pop along too depending on things, London's only about an hour by train from here.
Image
Neopets: sparkygoesforth, decommissioned, nightfall, LiveJournal:kantark, Last.FM:Kantark
Tom
Posts: 845
Joined: 21 Feb 2006 02:00 am
Gender: Male
Human Avatar: 231218
Location: England

Re: Madge is going to London/France, can we say hi or someth

Post by Tom »

Heh, Southampton is actually the closest major city to 'home' so I've been there a lot. And I can't say it's anything special. It serves as a decent base, I suppose, for seeing neighbouring towns and attractions. But the city itself is pretty residential, with the centre having nothing you wouldn't find on any other high street.
Subeta: Thomas
Madge
Posts: 1596
Joined: 19 Jan 2006 05:05 am
Gender: Female
Location: Perth, Western Australia
Contact:

Re: Madge is going to London/France, can we say hi or someth

Post by Madge »

After getting in contact with my family in London it looks like I'm not going to be able to scam free accomodation so we're going to have to cough up a nice pile of cash! Oh well :P

I've looked at our options on airbnb and I have to admit I'm completely bewildered at what is located where. Based on my rather terrible shortlist, do any locals want to give me a little hand? I would be ever so grateful!

This behemoth of a search is what's currently staring me in the face:

http://tinyurl.com/awryd6z (such a behemoth that I made it a tinyurl)

If someone could be so kind as to let me know which areas of London will be good to stay in I would be much obliged! (If you could recommend particular apartments based on their location, so much the better!)

I'd like, if possible, to spend less than 70 pounds per night (AU$100); I have a feeling this might be a bit of a dream though, so we can do 100 pounds. I notice there's decent selection in that range so hopefully we'll find something to suit!
Jazzy
Devil's Advocate
Posts: 2037
Joined: 04 Jan 2006 06:06 pm
Gender: Female
Location: a g-orbital
Contact:

Re: Madge is going to London/France, can we say hi or someth

Post by Jazzy »

Camden has some dodgy bits (less good to walk around after dark, etc), so I probably wouldn't stay there, ditto St Pancras. I'd probably also avoid Brixton. Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster are all nice areas (but ought to be expensive). If you want to save money, centre your search on East London - again a little further out, but much much cheaper than Central or West London. Just have to be a little careful of where it is.
EofS
Posts: 1741
Joined: 07 Jan 2006 09:16 pm
Gender: Female
Location: In your mind, eating the mental chocolate

Re: Madge is going to London/France, can we say hi or someth

Post by EofS »

We stayed in the Holiday Inn Express in Limehouse a few years ago (that's East London - Docklands). Then a couple of years ago we stayed at a place near Swiss Cottage which was shabby, but ok for a night and well located for what we wanted. But probably not so good for you.

For apartments though, I'm not really sure. We looked into them for the Olympics last year, but ended up with a b&b - but we were anyway looking in really random locations because the event we were going to wasn't actually in London.
Image
Madge
Posts: 1596
Joined: 19 Jan 2006 05:05 am
Gender: Female
Location: Perth, Western Australia
Contact:

Re: Madge is going to London/France, can we say hi or someth

Post by Madge »

Airbnb is looking, on the whole, cheaper than hotels and with better amenities (full kitchen, wifi). I'll have to do some proper comparisons with hotels from agoda or wotif when I get a chance. (I remember when we stayed in Melbourne, we stayed for a week in an apartment and we managed to get it about $500-$600 pp, staying right across the road from the big station in the middle of town with free wifi. it was gorgeous when friends we knew were paying almost as much to stay in a youth hostel; but we got to split it 5 ways which will help....)

Thanks for the tips on the shady parts of town, Jazzy; Perth has some shady parts but I would imagine that the shady parts in a city the size of London will be proportionally shadier.

But yeah, we basically want something that we could hopefully walk to most places from. I've heard the underground is surprisingly slow and hard to use, but that's from my future father-in-law who might be the wrong person to ask.

If there's a good public transport app or google maps public transport integration (here, if you get on a bus, google maps will vibrate your phone before your stop and stuff like that) we'll probably be peachy.
Wingsrising
Posts: 2682
Joined: 18 Jan 2006 09:31 pm
Gender: Female
Human Avatar: 157670
Location: Iowa, USA, trying to stay warm

Re: Madge is going to London/France, can we say hi or someth

Post by Wingsrising »

Well, the London Underground map is a classic of the genre, you could always use that. :-)

I didn't find the Underground slow or hard to use but I'm an American so functional public transport is largely novel to me. (I certainly recall it being better than thte NYC subway.) One thing to remember, though: the Underground maps aren't to scale, so be sure to check an above-ground map to see if it will be faster to walk to a stop than to change trains to get there.
Image
EofS
Posts: 1741
Joined: 07 Jan 2006 09:16 pm
Gender: Female
Location: In your mind, eating the mental chocolate

Re: Madge is going to London/France, can we say hi or someth

Post by EofS »

Madge wrote:If there's a good public transport app or google maps public transport integration (here, if you get on a bus, google maps will vibrate your phone before your stop and stuff like that) we'll probably be peachy.
I'm not someone who's across apps and so on, but the Underground is very easy to use - in fact London public transport in general is. You'll need to get yourself an Oyster card, but there's tonnes of information out there about that. tfl.gov.uk is the site you want to look at - I'll bet there are apps, I just don't know what they'll actually do.

On the Underground you'll always be told the next stop, some of the newer trains have screens showing you the next stop, and all the trains are plastered with maps of the network and of that particular line. As long as, like Wings says, you remember it's a diagrammatic map (there are some famous examples of journeys which are quicker to walk than take the Tube because stations are so close together). Google Maps, if you turn on Public Transport, will overlay the routes of the tube lines so that's cool.

As someone who generally hates taking buses in unfamiliar locations/unfamiliar buses, I will now happily use London buses because they're so easy. You just swipe your Oyster as you board and they have nice friendly screens showing you the names of the next few stops. And then there's the Docklands Light Railway in East London which is fantastically fun - if you sit at the front it's like you're driving.

I would in general recommend East London as having some really interesting places to visit, and you get to use the DLR to get around them. Canary Wharf is as close as this country gets to American style skyscraper cities, Greenwich has already been mentioned (we went a couple of years ago and I can recommend it - and now you can play "spot the streets of revolutionary Paris" there because, hilariously, they filmed Les Mis at the Royal Artillery Barracks!) And just generally the Docklands is a really interesting area. Obviously the Olympic regeneration has helped a lot. Unfortunately the Olympic Park hasn't been opened to the public yet - there's a period coming up where it will briefly be opened to coincide with something, but I'm not sure when that is.
Image
Madge
Posts: 1596
Joined: 19 Jan 2006 05:05 am
Gender: Female
Location: Perth, Western Australia
Contact:

Re: Madge is going to London/France, can we say hi or someth

Post by Madge »

It sounds similar to Perth's system; we've got a smartrider and you just tag on and off your services so you don't have to worry about how much the fare is.

We'll also probably get SIM cards; does anyone know a nice cheap, prepaid SIM we could get for minimal usage in London that is freely available at shops? (bonus points if it will work cheaply and whatnot in France/Switzerland as well)
Jazzy
Devil's Advocate
Posts: 2037
Joined: 04 Jan 2006 06:06 pm
Gender: Female
Location: a g-orbital
Contact:

Re: Madge is going to London/France, can we say hi or someth

Post by Jazzy »

What exactly do you want to do with the mobile? If it's UK to UK calls and texts, you'll want a Giffgaff, Asda Mobile or Ikea Mobile SIM card, ideally. If you want to make overseas calls, someone like Lycamobile is probably better. These are not the main UK networks (EE, O2, Vodafone, etc), which are complete and utter ripoffs for pay-as-you-go customers, but service on all of them is fine because they piggyback off the main networks. You can either get a "SIM-only deal" which is a repeating monthly topup with free calls and texts thrown in, or a "pay-as-you go" SIM where you have credit and use it up as you make calls, texts, etc.
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 26 guests