Hey you Londoners!

I second travellingfrog on taking the 15, especially if you can get an old routemaster! fyi though, you have to use oystercards on the old bus, they don't accept contactless cards () so I never take it anymore :-(

the 55 bus actually covers most of the same route as tourist buses. I've taken a couple of friends on that route when they're visiting.

Brick Lane is quite cool, and Fournier street, right close to it, is one of my favourite streets in the entire city. It's very old and has held refugees from the 1700s onwards. there's a gallery at one end (the opposite end of the mosque) with some really excellent old maps of the street; if you go in and ask the gallery owner they'll show you to the secret garden shed of old maps out back.
the ten bells pub is right around the corner, which is where jack the ripper found some of his victims. it's only slightly updated and quite enjoyable. and of course spitalfields market, across the street, has amazing food and interesting artisans selling their wares.

also a plug for the food market by goodge street tube station (i work a 5 minute walk away). all street food, some of the best lunches in london, for around a fiver. I especially like the peruvian chicken - it's to the right of the american church and all the way to the back, absolutely outstanding food.

if you end up in the starbucks across from the british museum and see a couple of nerd-types on laptops talking european regulations and data security...that may very well be me and my coworkers, stressed and offsite to try and wrestle some projects to completion :-D

I know you aren’t a big drinker Lyonaria but this just made me remember about how there’s a gin bus in London!


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I can actually drink now! I had a few drinks back in Colorado over turkey day with no ills effects! I was so surprised.

I second travellingfrog on taking the 15, especially if you can get an old routemaster! fyi though, you have to use oystercards on the old bus, they don't accept contactless cards () so I never take it anymore :-(

the 55 bus actually covers most of the same route as tourist buses. I've taken a couple of friends on that route when they're visiting.

Brick Lane is quite cool, and Fournier street, right close to it, is one of my favourite streets in the entire city. It's very old and has held refugees from the 1700s onwards. there's a gallery at one end (the opposite end of the mosque) with some really excellent old maps of the street; if you go in and ask the gallery owner they'll show you to the secret garden shed of old maps out back.
the ten bells pub is right around the corner, which is where jack the ripper found some of his victims. it's only slightly updated and quite enjoyable. and of course spitalfields market, across the street, has amazing food and interesting artisans selling their wares.

also a plug for the food market by goodge street tube station (i work a 5 minute walk away). all street food, some of the best lunches in london, for around a fiver. I especially like the peruvian chicken - it's to the right of the american church and all the way to the back, absolutely outstanding food.

if you end up in the starbucks across from the british museum and see a couple of nerd-types on laptops talking european regulations and data security...that may very well be me and my coworkers, stressed and offsite to try and wrestle some projects to completion :-D

Nice! We'll be around. I can never keep the museum names straight... Is that the one in Trafalgar Square?

British Museum. You could spend days in there and not see it all.

Or the Victoria and Albert, which is near the Natural History Museum.

Yes, I know. "Nobody does Museums anymore."

HAMILTON!  I love musicals and I love American history so this is my perfect show!  I still prefer 1776 but that might just be the Jeffersonian scholar in me.  We go next Tuesday and I cannot wait!  My cousin went to high school with Lin-Manuel Miranda (and knew him, it was NYC).  I have been desperately begging him to give him a shout but he refuses to indulge my fan-girl tendencies.  I mean, why wouldn't Lin want to meet Aaron Burr's cousin?  If you haven't checked out In the Heights, I definitely recommend it.

Most of my recommendations have been said already- Tower of London, Museum of London, British Museum, etc.  I am not an art person but the National Gallery and the Portrait gallery are worth a visit if you have not been before.  There are lots of relatively inexpensive walking tours around including Harry Potter, Jack the Ripper, Blue Plaques, etc.  I just love walking around and taking in all the history as well as the food!  If you are in the area, you could always stop into the Leicester Square box office and see if they have any inexpensive tickets for shows.  Hope you enjoy!

London is pretty expensive, but there are some good cheap things to do - I recommend the Thames Clippers River bus, a cheap way to hop along the Thames, under the auspices of the transit co-ordinator Transport For London, maybe from embankment to Tate Modern  contemporary art gallery(which has load of free exhibitions). Great views across the river to St Paul's, which is then just a short walk over the Millennium Bridge. You can book the tickets on line. The boats are super modern and not too crowded. Cheaper than a tour boat trip.

I also recommend a tour of the East end Markets on a Sunday morning :-  Columbia Road flower market, Spitalfields Market and Brick Lane market are close together by Liverpool Street tube...   a great bustle of people with loads of good food trucks and stalls selling everything from fruit to records and fashion.

London is pretty expensive, but there are some good cheap things to do - I recommend the Thames Clippers River bus, a cheap way to hop along the Thames, under the auspices of the transit co-ordinator Transport For London, maybe from embankment to Tate Modern  contemporary art gallery(which has load of free exhibitions). Great views across the river to St Paul's, which is then just a short walk over the Millennium Bridge. You can book the tickets on line. The boats are super modern and not too crowded. Cheaper than a tour boat trip.

I also recommend a tour of the East end Markets on a Sunday morning :-  Columbia Road flower market, Spitalfields Market and Brick Lane market are close together by Liverpool Street tube...   a great bustle of people with loads of good food trucks and stalls selling everything from fruit to records and fashion.

Thanks, we're not there on Sunday. It's Monday-Friday basically, her flight home is Saturday morning.

I can actually drink now! I had a few drinks back in Colorado over turkey day with no ills effects! I was so surprised.

Well, in case you're interested, this is the tour bus!! http://london.b-bakery.com/afternoon-tea/gin-lovers-afternoon-tea/ (I think it's probably expensive though! I hadn't seen the prices until I just googled the link! looks really cool though! haha)

Yes, I know. "Nobody does Museums anymore."

I definitely go and see museums! Sometimes I skip natural history ones as it all seems to be the same type of stuff, but I think London museums are amazing as the main bits are always free! it's a great, low cost way to spend the day! It's definitely something I've taken for granted and I realise it when I go home to visit or go abroad and have to spend LOADS on museum entrance haha

.

Lol yeah that's another good one! My husband is quite alright with all those things he's a regular Richard herring podcast attendee until we move, to give an idea of his sense of humour!

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haha not sure who that is (don't recognise the name at least), but I never like to assume! We (I) swear like sailors in our household unintentionally and we totally have no problem with rude content/jokes or immature humour. We both watch South Park so we knew what we were getting into given Trey Park and Matt Stone were behind BOM but I don't think some people necessarily knew haha. I never like to assume that everybody is okay with it so like to give a warning beforeeeee I talk about how excellent it was! I would feel awful if somebody went to see it thinking it was good and left super offended lol But yes, it was EXCELLENNTTTTT



Just thought as well, the Globe theatre tour can be nice if you guys are both Shakespeare people Not sure if they do performances this time a year, but could be cool if they did! (don't think the prices for day performances were bad at all, but it might be too cold to do them just now so not sure, haven't looked)

Hamilton is everything it is billed to be!

Bizarre coincidence : there was a group of 4 Mormon missionaries on the train this morning.  One of them caught me staring and I spent a few minutes staring at my Newspaper praying he wouldn't talk to me.

Bizarre coincidence : there was a group of 4 Mormon missionaries on the train this morning.  One of them caught me staring and I spent a few minutes staring at my Newspaper praying he wouldn't talk to me.

He got you to pray without saying a word!  That is the best missionary I've ever heard of!

Bizarre coincidence : there was a group of 4 Mormon missionaries on the train this morning.  One of them caught me staring and I spent a few minutes staring at my Newspaper praying he wouldn't talk to me.

Husband was outside cleaning his car one day when we lived in Reading near the city centre. Bunch of them from the US had just come over on a mission and were walking by and said "hey, cool car! Do you need any help??" he had responded "thanks. no thanks." and listened to them for a few minutes before getting on with what he was doing. After the fact he said that he totalllyyy should have said "yeah, sure you can help!" because if he had to listen to them anyways, he might as well have used the extra hands to clean hahah (although, in reality, I can't imagine him trusting strangers to touch his car and clean it the right way LOL).

(although, in reality, I can't imagine him trusting strangers to touch his car and clean it the right way LOL).

This!  Oh my gosh, that's the first thing I thought!

My brother always asks them if they believe they have been good enough to be entered into the celestial kingdom.... and then if their leader is good enough, etc.  Makes them squirm.  He enjoys it.  He's a minister.   

We've got some friends who are Mormon and we stayed with them last time we went to Vegas.  In the morning my wife asked one of the kids where the coffee was.  There's nothing like a kid to give an honest answer while I giggled away in the background.  They were totally cool but did keep trying to convert my daughter.  Since ornireness is a sin, she wouldn't last long.