A Tale of Three Cities - London

In August 2013 we took a cruise tour of the Easter Mediterranean and stayed in three of the major cities in Europe, Rome, Paris, and London.

Leaving Paris from the train station Gare du Nord, we took the “Chunnel” which was a very fast 135 min to get to London. If you intend to take this route, please ignore all of the recommendations to be at the station 30 min before the train leaves. You need a minimum of 90 minutes or you will be running for the train. To clear British customs at the train station, be prepared to show your passport, confirmation of the hotel where you are staying, and the tickets for when you plan to leave the UK. This speeds up the process considerably so you will only need the 90 minutes from the time you enter the train station to the time you are in your reserved seat on the train.

I cannot say that this is the very best hotel in all of London because I have not stayed at them all, but it is not in the top five I would be very surprised.
The Crown Plaza St. James is located two blocks from Buckingham Palace and a short walk to famous attractions including the British House of Parliament, Big Ben, Winchester Cathedral and Trafalgar Square. While we paid a little over $CAN200/night, the ambiance, room size and condition, staff attendance and amenities felt like we had only paid half price for this five star property.
Our first clue was “Iain”, the impeccably dressed, overly polite and ever-so-helpful doorman of the hotel that made us feel like royalty. If you judge by first impressions, Iain is just the tip of the iceberg.
The lobby and reception area is spacious and well decorated with seating for over 50 people comfortably without going into the bar area. Our room was large, clean and well maintained with a fully stocked mini-bar. Room service was much faster than they had initially indicated, and the food was tasty and served at an appropriate temperature.

The Bistro 51 restaurant where we had breakfast was a pleasure to attend, and the food was to a high British standard.  Although that sounds a bit like a slam on British restaurant food, we found that with very rare exceptions, British chefs tend to shy away from spices in their meals, far from the norm found in other parts of the world to which we have travelled (North, South and Central America, South Pacific, Caribbean, Asia and mainland Europe). 
The Chef at Bistro 51 breaks with tradition and added flavour to his/her meals which was a very pleasant surprise. The only thing I found strange, coming from Canada but seems to be the norm for Europe as a whole, was the constant need to ask for coffee. It seems that in Europe, a 1/2 cup of coffee should suffice for any meal. Once I explained to the server that I was Canadian, who inhaled black coffee (therefore appreciated a full cup with no need for cream room), it was a little better but refills were still a rarity.  Small things make a difference, such as cloth napkins, well dressed servers and bus-boys who took the time to fold napkins with duplicate accuracy at each table. Breakfast was a little pricey at £37 for two, but worth the cost for the extras.

We did not spend enough time in London (only three days) to appreciate the city, therefore we will need to return, and when we do, the Crown Plaza St. James will be seeing us again.

Since it was only a block from our hotel - and came recommended by the staff, we decided to try The Albert, a great little pub with excellent food and a variety of beer from which to choose. 
Being in England I wanted to support the British economy so I asked for a "British Beer" and the (new) server brought me a Fosters. Not a bad AUSTRALIAN brew, but not what I wanted. The barman provided me with a free taster of "London Pride" which is made 20 minutes away from London, and a couple of litres later we were both satisfied with the choice.

The first time we went, we both had fish & chips (I know - the ultimate cliché, but we were in a British Pub), and it was very good. Next time we had "bangers and mash" with a spicy gravy that was also very good as was the chicken & mushroom pie (perfect match to the London Pride).

If you are ever in London, the London Eye is a 'must see' attraction! We stood in line for ~ 45 minutes and it took another ~45 minutes for the gondola to make the full circuit, but it was well worth the 90 minutes for the view and the photo opportunity. If you have very limited time, spend the additional £10 each ($CAN17 each) to purchase the fast track tickets to cut out most of the queue, but as it was, there were buskers along the way, so the line did seemed to move faster. 
We had a clear sunny day and could see for several km from the top of the wheel. Next time we are in London we will do it again, in the evening so see the lights of London from above.
We were a little concerned that it might swing like a Ferris Wheel, but quite to the contrary, we could move about to take pictures from every angle. 

Just off the London Eye, another pub was recommended but we could not find it so we chose "All Bar One". Food was average for London (bland by North American standards), but they had as a condiment a chutney that made up for the lack of spices used in their meals. If you are there, ask for the chutney that comes with the Chicken Quesadilla to add to just about anything on the menu. Well worth it!

If you or any member of your family is a fan of the Harry Potter movies, you owe yourself to a visit to the Warner Brothers Studios (J & K) to enter the movie magic of Hogwarts. The sets are preserved as are the costumes, and with only two exceptions, you are invited to take as many pictures as you want without a flash.
Visit the Great Hall and see how they filmed Quiddich matches before having yourself filmed riding a broom. Have some Butter Beer (very sweet, but delicious) as you cross the Hogwarts Bridge and visit Privet Lane. See a not-so-small scale model of the School and stroll down Diagon Alley as a guide tells you about wand-craft, from a special effects point of view. If you saw it in the movie, you can buy a copy in the gift store – everything from Mad-Eye Moody’s staff, to edible chocolate wands, to Hogwarts school uniforms in all four houses (complete with ties), wizard gowns, books, movies, key chains, and Nimbus 200 brooms.

This attraction is suitable for all members of the family and at £29 per adult and £21.50 for children, with discounted family rates it is well worth the cost to any fan. NB: Tickets CAN NOT be bought at the studio – you need to pre-purchase them on line either on their website or through a tour company.

There are very few places we have visited to which we would return, but London is in the top five, if nothing else so we can see what we missed in the brief time we were there, but also for the ambiance, the architecture and mostly the people (but not for the food).

For now, back to Canada until next year when we head to the South Pacific for an 18 day cruise.