v2london

+4408702429988 : The London Pass direct to your camera phone via upcomm.net on your phone for a free download

I think these passes are fantastic value for money especially if you are on a tight budget or are touring in a group or in a family. Costing twelve pounds a day-the London Pass can be a more economical way of discovering London. The benefits of buying one gives you entrance to a choice of fifty attractions, access to many shopping,restaurant discounts, as well as other benefits,its great value for money and  allows you to go ahead of any queues. The purchase also includes a multi-lingual guide book and a special offers and money off coupons as well. There are eight categories of sights you can visit;Historic Buildings,Museums,Leisure,Places of interest,Shopping,Tours,Cruises and Walks,Places to eat and drink.

Historic Buildings: The Tower of London,St Paul’s Cathedral,Tower Bridge Exhibition,Kensington Palace,Royal Mews,Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace,Windsor Castle,Jewel Tower,Wellington Arch,Hampton Court Palace,Apsley House,Royal Albert Hall,Benjamin Franklin’s House,Eltham Palace,Eton College,Southwark Palace and Wernher Collection at Ranger’s House.

• Museums:Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms,Britain at war experience,Guards Museum,Fan Museum,Fire Power Royal Artillery Museum,Florence Nightingale Museum,Foundling Museum,Handel House Museum,Kew Bridge Steam Museum,Pollock’s Toy Museum,London Canal Museum,Twickenham Stadium,Docklands Museum,Old Operating Theatre Museum, Cartoon Museum, Alexander Fleming Lab,Royal Airforce Museum.
• Galleries:Courtaulds Institute of Art Gallery,the Queen’s Gallery,National Portrait Gallery,Tate Britain Audio Guide,Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art.
• Leisure:Theatre Tickets,Curzon Mayfair,Curzon Soh,London Nightclub Offers,Namco Station,Queen’s Ice Skating,Renoir Cinema,London Brass Rubbing Centre,Chelsea Cinema,Queen’s Ice and Bowl.
• Places of Interest:HMS Belfast,Shakespeare’s Globe,London Zoo,Wimbeldon Lawn Tennis museum,Cutty Sark,Chiselhurst Caves,Kew Gardens,London Wetland Centre,Chelsea Physic Garden.

Banqueting House Whitehall London SW1A 2ER Phone:+44 0844 482 7788

London is full of interesting and unique places to see and its has five historic palaces to keep any tourist occupied.They are the Tower of London,Hampton Court Palace,Banqueting House,Kensington Palace and Kew Palace. All of the five palaces which are in the care of a charity called ‘Historic Royal Palaces’  are highly regarded because they depict a historical journey spanning over hundreds of years culminating in their preservation as the nation’s heritage today.

These architectural masterpieces- all of which I have seen have witnessed peace,prosperity and considerable growth as well as war,civil unrest,revolution and political unrest. If you decide to embark on a historic tour and wish to visit the palaces then its worthwhile getting a membership to the charity because you can get unlimited visits to the palaces,have access to member only special events and ten percent discount on any purchases in the palaces gift shops and catering out-lets.

Only recently I visited Banqueting House and was amazed by this extension which used to be a part of the great palace of Whitehall. Designed by Inigo Jones in 1622,its claim to fame is the real life drama: the excution of Charles 1 which took place here in 1649. The building it self is an architectural masterpiece unsurpassed by anything I have ever seen in the United Kingdom. Inigo Jones was greatly influenced by the Italian Renaissance Palladian style and used this theme extensively making it the  first well-known classical building to be completed in England for that year. The whole structure is true to the design-representing perfect proportions of the main hall with its large windows and soaring columns calculated precisely in accordance with the Roman idea of perfection.

The most ironical part of visiting this palace is that Charles 1 -the only English king ever to be executed actually passed under Rubens magnificent painting on the ceiling of Banqueting House which he had commissioned to glorify the monarchy during his reign. Known as Ruben’s ceiling and something that you could not fail to admire is the fact that painted canvas has survived floods,fire and war.  Every-one  would enjoy looking at the painting in  its original form and setting. Peter Paul Rubens was actually paid a mere three thousand pounds for this-in today’s term that’s  actually paying some-one two hundred and fifty thousand pounds (250,000.00) to paint the ceiling.

During the tour make it a point to explore the Undercroft,originally designed by James 1 as drinking retreat where he could escape from the rigours of palace life and indulge in a glass of wine from his extensive cellars and enjoy some solitude and private moments with his favourite courtiers.

The palace does hold concerts from time to time featuring many classical musicians of our time .For a programme why not visit http://www.hrp.org.uk.

Queen’s Arms 171 Greyhound Road London W6 8NL +442073865078

Opening Times-Mon/Thursday12.00-23.00 Sunday 12.00-24.00 Friday/Saturday12-15.00

Dinner all days 18.30-22.00 except Sunday from 18.30-21.30

This little pub has recently undergone a major refit and virtually nothing remains of the grubby little establishment it used to be. The interior has been completely modernised to a great extent and I must say that it is very pleasing to look at. It has light wooden floors, a huge flat screen TV  to watch all the sports and is absolutely spotlessly clean.

The pub has a bar upstairs with an extensive choice of alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks as well as a bar menu. But the locals of the area tend to dine upstairs to eat in the posher dining area. Being on the edge of the surburbs it does brisk trade from the surrounding area attracting a smart and stylish clientel now that it has revamped its image.

There is a good choice of cuisines to select from ranging  Italian,Thai,French,Turkish and British. All the food that I have eaten there since its refurbishment has always been fine and intricate-but it tasted good and was satisfying.

The last time I ate there was only a two weeks ago and I started with the unusual starter of fried soft-shell crab with a brioche and tomatoe confit:it was intriguing and delicious. This was followed by smoked Haddock fish cakes which were thick,succulent and very professionally made. This was then by a main course of  high-quality lamb which comprised of the cannon,shank and cutlets served with a ‘Roquefort Tart’. My partner had roast Halibut with gnocchi worked into part of the flesh and some scallops wrapped in ham.

To finish it all we ordered the cookies and cream ice-cream and nearly died when we saw its enormous size because we were so full  we just did not know how much we could stuff into our stomachs.

The pub serves an excellent selection of wines out of which fifeteen are served by the glass. The staff were friendly,help-ful and knowledgeable about the menu.

Happy Eating!

London Duck Tours

55 York Street

London SE1 7NY

Telephone : +44207-928-3132

If you like your holiday with a lot of adventure then this is a really delightful little expedition that you will love. I went with some of my friends when I was in London a few days ago and thoroughly enjoyed it,because it is really something different to get into and not a bit dangerous. As I was to find out it was more that just a tour-it was an exciting road and river adventure and will appeal to all ages. The duck tour basically departs from Chicheley St and before the crafts hit the River Thames we were driven along many famous London land marks such as Big Ben, The Houses of Parliament,Trafalgar Square before  taking a dramatic launch into the Thames from the slip-way at Vauxhall for the amphibious  part of the seventy-five minute trip.

The adapted  crafts are something to be seen because they are garishly painted in bright yellow and decorated with   some very eye-catching livery which makes them stick out.

Although for this type of adventure only five vehicles have been converted,due to the immense popularity of the tour a few more are in the pipe-line. They are very safe have been converted to highest standards as set out by the D.E.T.R and the Mari-time and Coast Guard Agency. They have been fitted with most modern environmentally friendly 4.0L diesel engines,seat 30 passengers,have a public address system and regular safety equipment.

These road vehicles originally know as DUKWS were first used for the D-Day landings during the second world war when 21000 were built to takes troops ashore to Dunkirk. The DUKWS have been adapted by Londoners to resemble amphibious craft and bear little resemblance to when they were first created.

Buckingham Place

London

England’s most famous royal palace,Buckingham Palace opens it doors every summer to the general public-so they can have a look at some of the most treasured painting,gifts,jewellery and much more. It is the official residence of HRH Queen Elizabeth 11 and was originally acquired by King George 111 for his wife Queen Charlotte and since then it became increasingly know as the ‘queen’s house’ and fourteen of George’s children were born there.

When George IV became king he decided to actually convert the house into a royal palace for state occassions and employed a really famous architect John Noble to help him basically extend the building as we know it today. If British history-especially the Royal family is of interest to you then a tour of the palace is highly recommended-because it shows you the visitor the past and present-and how it reflects our modern culture,politics and British democarcy at its peak.

Just  so you know Queen Victoria was the first sovereign to live as there from 1837. She actually before she moved there had Marble Arch removed from the palace so that they could have more bedrooms for their family. The present state-rooms which all visitors have the opportunity of seeing are still used by the present members of the royal family-to receive and entertain guest on state and ceremonial occasions.

The highlight of the visit for any visitor that has an interest in art,paintings and ceremonial artefacts is a must . Its an opportun ity not to be missed because you can view paintings by Salvado Dali,embroidered silk scarf from Nelson Mandela,a grove of maple trees. The state-rooms are decorated in an elegant and lavish fashion and there are numerous painting adorning the walls from artists like Ruebens,Rembrandt,Canaletto,Vermeer and Poussin. There are exquisite samples of many fine porcelain figurines,some of the finest English and French furniture in the world.

Opening Times July-September

Adults £15.00

Children under 17 £8.50

Children under 5 free

Family Pass £38.50

The Porchester Centre,Queensway London UK W2 5HS

This is a dream of a spa to visit when in London because it is considered to be one of the ‘proper spas’ reflecting Victorian style of living. The good part is that you don’t have to be member to get in. For a mere £20.35 I was able to get a visitor pass for the day to sample some of the treats on offer. If you are resident of the borough its a lot less so if you intend to go to the spa often then its worthwhile signing up for one. This spa is such a delight to visit that it has been preserved as an English Heritage site and has many visitors throughout the year-although its not overcrowded.

Porchester Spa was opened in 1929 and was known under the name of Turkish and Russian Vapour Baths. Today it has undergone a major face-lift in so far as being a Grade 11 status will allow. The renovation brings the spa up-to-date with the following features: it has a new ventilation system,new showers, extensively retiled shower rooms,enlarged sauna and a total make-over. In my honest opinion its a great relic from the bygone era and an excellent place to end up having a decent budget type pampering. If you have touring all around London and then will go a long way in helping you relax and relieve the stresses of the day. Also it is so centrally placed that it is very easy to get to -is easily accessible by public transport from places like Oxford Street, Knightsbridge and High St Kensington.

The spa offers many types of beauty treatments,but if you don’t want to go for that you can jus relax in the huge marble and green-tiled on a comfortable lounger and indulge yourself at the bar either muching healthy tit-bits or even gorging yourself on a fry-up. Despite the fact that the spa has some of the old institutionalised lockers and curtained of changing rooms-it is still a lot of elegant features.

For such a small space you will be amazed as to how much it can contain: it has two steam rooms, a sauna, three Turkish  hot rooms of varying degrees of temperature and huge cold pool for plunging into afterwards or in between a s the case maybe.

There is a huge array of treatments available-the one that I had was the body scrub with a Morroccan mit costing £15.00 which was invigorating and very uplifting. But I think that the spa’s most popular feature is the adapted Victorian beauty treatments developed by Lee Balch who has been there for thirty-five years. She has adapted an unusual Russian birch-leaf treatment which involves being massaged with giant soap smothered raffia brush in a steam room-costing £25.00.

But there are many other modern treatments like testingout the firm massage with jasmine oil on a marble slab followed by hot-wraps again costing around £25.00.

Please note that Balch is only the premises during Men only and mixed sessions and it is advisable to book in advance.

If your are into transport and vehicles then London Transport Museum was recently modernised and considerably improved to incorporate the old and new. It was officially opened in November 2007 and I attended the ceremony so what you get in this piece is what I actually saw and feel compelled to write about.

The museum is located in the historic Floral Hall of Covent Garden Market and exhibits and highlights  behind the scenes activity of London’s transport system as we know it today. The new venue will be showing old as  well new  exhibits and is really popular with all age groups as well  as men and women. One of the best things to come out of this renovation is that there 25% more space to show more transport and transport related items-in realistic terms this allows for threefold increase in how many objects will be shown here over the next few years. “Best Train Set” in the world is one of the most popular items,especially with children:as well as items depicting the history of the London buses from the earliest horse-drawn omni-buses to the very latest “Bendy Buses”. Other than the surface transport system,there a grand display depicting how we came to have the present London Underground system.

The museum’s artefacts,exhibition galleries realistically unfold the complicated story of the development of the capital:its communities through the public transport system from the past,present and looking to the future.

Many of the old favourites like the very first underground steam engine is being exhibited alongside many fresh and new technologies-which tell us what the transport system will look like fifty years from now. The highlight of the visit in my opinion was the interactive display,plus simulators where you can experience what it is like to drive an underground train.

Artists and photographers will be delighted to learn that many of the underground advertising posters which have iconographic of London as a whole means that there will be more displays of items created by Man Ray,McKnight&Kauffer and Harry Beck’s original art-work for the world famous 1930s underground map.

One of the delights of visiting London is that as a tourist you can take advantage of its colourful history by sampling many events like attending a real  medieval banquet,which is not only informative but also very engaging.

The banquet which I have personal experience of attending because I was showing some friends around London came a quite a surprise and it takes place on Tuesday-Sunday lasts for three and half hours and costs 70GBP per person and trust me its money well spent for an evening of frolic and fun. The best site to visit to book for this adventure is http://www.alllondon.com. The tour departs from the East End of London from Ivory House St Katherine’s Dock at 19:45 and the actual show begins at 20:15 and the show terminated 22:30 and the doors of the venue close at 23:30.

The reason why I am emphasising this because you have to be well prepared for the adventure and not walk out half-way. The highlight of the medieval banquet is the four course meal with unlimited wine,or in the case of Henry VIII unlimited beer-and you as a guest will get to be a part of all this drama. You will dine as a part of his entourage which includes fire-eaters,jesters and ministrels to entertain you. After dinner and the intial show there is ample opportunity to mingle with other guests and also dance if you feel like it. If dancing is not your passion then  you and your party can take a short stroll along Tower Bridge for a breath-taking view of London by night-which is exactly how the post-cards depict it .

 To basically to go on the highlights for the seventy pounds you will get the following:

a. an evening with Henry VIII

b.Listen to wandering minstrels exactly as Henry did when he was king with all the costumes,scenery and music. There are also riddles,stories and rhymes.

c.Dine as Henry did with his entourage,being served by real dressed up wenches plying you with food and wine throughout the evening and you  will also get dessert.

d.Following on from this  you can watch all the knights fighting and numerous other feats of strength and masculinity.

e.The regal banquet is served by flickering torchlight in the huge vaulted cellars of Ivory House and if you have a camera then please take it along because it is well photographing-something for your album.

f.In case you are wondering about the meal,I can promise you won’t be disappointed, because you will get the following to eat:

Appetisers-cold roast meats,pate,fresh salad served with brown bread

Soup-made with a blend of market vegetables-with a splash of cream and sprinkled with fresh herbs

Entree: Roast chicken smothered in a special honey barbeque sauce,with fresh vegetables,roast potatoes tossed in butter,garlic and herbs.

Dessert: A buttery flan base covered in creme parisian topped with fresh strawberries and finished with a sumptous strawberry glaze.

For further information you can write to info@alllondontours.com