Trip Across The Pond...almost :(

[Finepics]

If you want Ghetto, go to these areas (or parts of them anyway) Brixton, Stockwell, Dalston, Shepherds Bush.

For fun, go out around Old Street - on the northern line (underground) or on a few bus routes. Good range of eclectic bars, clubs and restaurants.

The boat trip is great - I'd really recommend it if you had the time.

Enjoy!!

Brixton - ghetto - are you serious? Yes you are - I live there on the "Hill".

Tate Modern is free (charges are only for the visiting exhibitions, same in the National Gallery as well).

Oxford street is absolutely the worst place in London and I would advise you to stay miles away from it - it really is absolutley [censored]. It is very very crowded, smelly, full of litter and burger shops and the retail shops are nothing special apart from Selfridges Dept store at the top end.

If you're only there for a day then spend it in Knightsbridge. Harrods is there and you could practically spend a day just in there - the fine watch dept is always worth a peek and watches of Switzerland is just around the corner from there in Brompton Road- good selection of PAM's. Loads of nice really places to eat as well - a little pricey but better than anything you could find in Oxford St (unless you really know where to look). You also have all the top designer names there (Prada, Armani etc etc) and you might glimpse a celeb doing the shopping!!!

[Chronus]

Ken you should try chicken korma.... absolutely no spices in that... very tasty, only problem for everyone else is the best version of that is made by my mother!

There is also a restaurant in north Finchley in London called 2km that has a great starter which is chicken something... but it is cooked in butter I think and the meat is so soft and tender and tasty! They also do mixed grills there and the fish tikka is ok too. I don't normally have fish so that's saying something!

Anyway I love spicy (hot) food as well as tasty food

[KB]

Yep Maya makes a very nice Chicken Korma too, but it was my love for spicy food that was the reason I met my wife in the first place.

Ken

[Highflyingclive]

Don't miss the famous echo in the British Museum Reading Room!

[Pugwash]

If you like curry, and want to make it at home, I picked up a copy of this on eBay. Mrs Pugwash and I spent a day making restaurant-style sauces. Top stuff.

[thomasng]

@finepics

You live quite close to where I used to live. I stayed a year in London during 2000 and was in the area near Sloane Square. Still searching for an apartment in London, and looks like I'm close to sealing the deal on a Sloane Street flat, but it ain't gonna be cheap.

[docblackrock]

@finepics

You live quite close to where I used to live. I stayed a year in London during 2000 and was in the area near Sloane Square. Still searching for an apartment in London, and looks like I'm close to sealing the deal on a Sloane Street flat, but it ain't gonna be cheap.

How very 80s of you

There are far better streets and areas in which to invest your cash Admin - even within your favoured mile or so of Harvey Nicks

[docblackrock]

y the way "Ferry Across the Mersey" is about Merseyside which is in the north-west... where Liverpool (my team) are !

Yeah I was going to pick him up on that, dear old Ken directing a poor unsuspecting Yank tourist on a London stopover to take a ferry over 200 miles away!

Still we must remember that to some Aussies, 200 miles is practically your next-door neighbour

[docblackrock]

Still we must remember that to some Aussies, 200 miles is practically your next-door neighbour

Which reminds me of a joke....(apologies Ken et al. for the dodgy accent )

A Englishman gets fed up with his life as a banker and decides to cash in his City bonus and buy a dairy farm in the Outback of Australia.

He's been there a month and spoken to no-one (except swear at his feckless cattle) in that time when finally one scorchingly hot afternoon, the phone rings...

"How are ya, mate, Jocko McCabe's me name, yer neighbour two hundred klicks south of yer main paddock...."

The Englishman is a bit taken aback by surprise but manages to reply...

"Er, pleased to meet you Mr McCabe, errr, my name is ....."

The voice cuts him off...

"Thing is mate, I'm 'aving a little get-together tomorrow arvo and wondered if yer'd like to come along y'know. Nothin' fancy like, just a welcome party if you will. How's that sound eh chum?"

The Englishman starved of human contact for so long wastes no time in acccepting..."That would be absolutely delightful, err....Jocko. What's the plan?"

"Wellll, we'd crack open a few tinnies first off, then a bit of banter, then a few more beers, everyone gets to know everyone then the shagging begins. Usually these things go on like that, more beers then some real hard shagging. Bet that sounds just the thing for a lonely Pommie eh mate?

Now excited at the thought of this unexpected gathering, the Englishman can't contain himself before reverting to type and asking a final question of etiquette...

"One last thing Jocko, what should I wear?"

The voice replies....

"Strewth mate, wear whatever the bloody hell you like, it'll just be the two of us...."

[KB]

Well done old chap

And you're correct we can cover 2oo miles just going for a Sunday drive, when I was still working my area of responsibility was over a 1000 sq Ks and it was still suppose to be a normal 8hr a day job.

Ken

[buckeye]

Neb:

My wife and I try and go to London at least every other year....we swear by London Walks (www.walks.com)

Our two favorites are the Jack the Ripper walk where you visit the sites where the ripper killings took place (Make sure you get Donald Rumbelow as your guide...because the ripper was never caught, it is still an open case for Scotland Yard and Rumbelow was the detective assigned to the case)...and... Along the Thames Pub Walk...the guide was a Shakesperean actor and we drank beer and visited pubs (including the oldest in London) and he told about the history of the town (including why the English drive on the right)....the walks are fairly cheap (around 5 pounds)...the British Museum tour was great: all the highlights in 2 hours....

enjoy

PS: if you're a scotch drinker Milroy's in Soho wuld be a great place to buy me a gift for these great suggestions!

[docblackrock]

(Make sure you get Donald Rumbelow as your guide...because the ripper was never caught, it is still an open case for Scotland Yard and Rumbelow was the detective assigned to the case)

err, so this bloke Rumbelow must be around, what 160 years old?

[Pugwash]

(including why the English drive on the right)

Except we drive on the left ...

[Nebakanezzar]

-bump for update-

[docblackrock]

Except we drive on the left ...

Nice spot Puggy

Christ, this guy's gonna have a ball, what with attempting the most lethal curry known to man, a personal murder scene tour from a real Victorian ghost, a 400-mile round trip to take a 20-minute boat ride around some docks, and finally a spell in one of our lovely NHS hospitals when he looks left instead of right crossing the road

Hell, why not go the whole hog and on your way back through Heathrow, tell the nice man from HM Customs that you have accidentally swallowed the swap package to the one you smuggled through on your outbound leg, oh and that you prefer KY to vaseline if he doesn't mind, and that he shouldn't worry about needing an epi-pen as you're not allergic to latex.....

There, you don't get that from Lonely F*cking Planet do you???

[Finepics]

@finepics

You live quite close to where I used to live. I stayed a year in London during 2000 and was in the area near Sloane Square. Still searching for an apartment in London, and looks like I'm close to sealing the deal on a Sloane Street flat, but it ain't gonna be cheap.

How about that - I don't think it's 80' to live in Sloane street these days. It just means you gotta be fukkin loaded - Admin I can come and clean for you in my lunch breaks!!