LondonCalling



=Dog Calling London or London Dog Calling or ....= I'm headed to London for some meetings in August 2010, and it's my first time setting my paws ashore in the U.K. Since I have a few extra days (August 19-21) planned to explore London or surrounding areas, I'm seeking help in crowdsourcing my visit. What should I see, do? Where should I stay? What should I not miss? Thanks for helping out!

="When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life." via @BryanAlexander = http://www.samueljohnson.com/tiredlon.html

A friend set up http://www.londonforfree.net/, its got a lot of stuff on it.

What Should I do in London?

 * Neal's Yard, near Covent Garden @http://www.londontown.com/LondonInformation/Restaurant/Neal_Tearoom/7844/
 * Charing Cross Road. Bookstore heaven.
 * London Eye (really is worth it) ** I rode it at night! ** http://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog/4905774487/in/set-72157624634053489/
 * The Tate (Tate Modern's got an exhibit I didn't get to, but you might like: [|Exposed: Voyeurism, Surveillance and the Camera]) -Tate Modern is essential, Sir Dog. ** And it was- I saw a brief bit of the surrealism exhibit the forst day, but saw the Exposed exibit on my last day. Yes, it was essential! **
 * Have breakfast with the Queen (yeah right)--but tea at the [|Orangery near Kensington Palace] is devine, pricey, but totally worth it! ** She ignored my tweets! **
 * British Museum ([]). Yes!--most definitely!! ** This was close to the place I stayed, but I only managed a 40 minute walk through. The mummies are cool! **http://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog/4913896307/in/set-72157624634053489/
 * Covent Garden Market ([]) [|Camden Market]
 * Camden Market rocks.
 * St Kathrine Docks ([])
 * Monopoly pub crawl - most people I know have only managed 2 or 3 stops but this is a possible instead - [|http://www.londonaletrail.co.uk/Pubs/The-Red-Lion-SW1]
 * Theatres if you wish - [|Globe] or [|Menier Chocolate Factory] - you can get meal+play cheap tickets and take your drinks in with you
 * Some good curry places are in Shoreditch, one in [|Tooting] but its out of the way a bit
 * Drink a KilKenny! Found in most London pubs.
 * Picadilly Circus
 * Tower of London--[|Their new Fit for a King] amour exhibit was awesome, oh, yeah, they have the royal jewels, but I didn't care about that as much!! (Gothic goodness) ** I walked by but was too late to go inside; but wow, that is a CASTLE **
 * Walk along the River Thames - some great markets there
 * Take the 3 hour Chunnel ride to Paris
 * Go to Hyde Park, see Speakers' Corner. Speak! (Definitely do this, and have someone record it. Preach it, brother!) ** I walked by. Chickened out ;-) **
 * If you have time, take the train to Bath (2 hours) and look around. Amazing place. Climb up Solsbury Hill, just like Peter Gabriel.** I rode the train to Bristol for a meeting, and saw Bath... there was no place there to store luggage on the way back. It looked rather cool to explore. **
 * You must see a play while you're there. The New Globe is a great experience. Be on the lookout for smaller theatres too--check out the reviews and find the sleeper hits. We saw A Winter's Tale at a small theatre on the South Bank. Amazing actors, imaginative staging, very intimate theatre, very powerful experience. Autolycus the clown came and sat next to Jenny and sang to her.
 * Hamley's Toy Store is fun to visit.
 * Westminster Abbey tour. Poet's Corner is one of my favorite places on Earth.
 * Take the Quadrophenia Tour in Brighton: []. Ah well, looks like they don't do it anymore. Perhaps a self-guided tour?
 * Eat bangers and mash. Shepherd's pie. Pub food is the food to get--or Indian. (Indian for taste, pub for... the experience) ** Toured a few pubs in SoHo, missed the bangers **
 * Visit the British Library--usually a cool exhibit there.
 * Trafalgar Square is how I know I'm in London. Spend some vibe time there. The National Gallery is right across the street, and the Tower of Big Ben/Houses of Parliament/Westminster Abbey are down the street from there.** Agreed! It was a human spectacle! I also managed to walk through at 12:30AM at night, a whole different crowd. **
 * A boat ride on the Thames is great fun, especially at or near sunset. ** It was! Road the taxi ferry to London Tower Bridge and got perfect light, also rode down to Greenwich ** http://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog/4902672755/in/set-72157624634053489/
 * Day trip to Oxford.
 * [|Tower Bridge] (it is right next to the London Tower if you do it) ** I walked by but was too late to go inside; but wow, that is a CASTLE **http://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog/4903324438/in/set-72157624634053489/
 * Consider getting a one or two day[| London Pass] to do things cheaper
 * I've liked the [|Imperial War Museum] both times I've visited (this year & two years ago)
 * [|Buckingham Palace] will be open/available for tours while you are visiting; I enjoyed the [|Queen's Gallery] (right next door) with the[| Victoria & Albert Love & Art exhibit]; I also enjoyed [|the Royal Mews], next door to the QG. (London pass makes Queens Gallery & Mews free!)
 * The [|Churchill War Rooms] are definitely worth a trip. An underground bunker, used by Churchill during WWII as a command center. It's set up, as it was found, and looks as though they all just left and will be right back. Really interesting.
 * Take a boat ride on the Thames to Greenwich, visit the national maritime museum and stand on the Prime Meridian. ** Got there too late to stand on it! **
 * See St. Paul's Cathedral ** Saw it in great light; returned to go inside, but it was mobbed. Plus they said no cameras ** http://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog/4899517684/in/set-72157624634053489/
 * free bike hire for first half hour available now, shiny new bikes: [] ** My instincts to look in the wrong traffic directions made this a dangerous idea **
 * Nice atmosphere and drinks at Jrink Soho (now Nighthawks) - http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/pubsandbars/jrink-soho-review-17968.html

Where Should I Stay?
Got locations for a not to pricey but not too shabby a dog house? Something with character and not chain like?
 * http://www.laterooms.com is a good place to start with regards to rooms (narrow location down to London W1 in search)
 * http://www.club.goodenough.ac.uk/ is lovely but not easy to get a room
 * I stayed at http://www.lsevacations.co.uk/residences/northumberland.htm - it's the hall of residences for the London School of Economics. The rooms are basic but cheap (I think I was paying 45 pounds a night) and REALLY central - it is literally half a block from Trafalgar Square and the tube. The small drawback was that it doesn't appear to have free wifi. Otherwise I'd totally recommend it - Scott
 * We've stayed at The Avalon a couple of times. Friendly place but a bit run down. Good prices.

//**UPDATE: Thanks for suggestions- Scott I was close to going for Northumberland, but found a nice hotel/B&B in Bloomsbury on Laterooms.com with wifi and less than 100 Pounds per night.**//

Anyone Want to Hang Out with the Dog?
Meetup? contact me cogdogblog at gmail dot com or leave a contact/twitter handle/swiss bank account number
 * be good to meet up for a beer and I could probably round up a few folk - had a good night with Brian and Scott after UKOER10 @jukesie
 * @jukesie - there's a meetup being planned for the 19th Aug (ping @GianninaRossini if you fancy joining us!)