haraven Posted 18 July 2010 Posted 18 July 2010 So I got married a couple of weeks ago, and in a moment of "we gotta do something"-after the wedding we booked 5 nights in London. I even had an option from the wife to go to Leicester just to give Walkers Stadium a pat, but in the end I decided that a train trip to Leicester just to watch Walkers Stadium which I had seen 10 times before wasn't worth the time nor the money. Besides, the players was abroad so visiting Belvoir Drive training ground was also not an option. So this is a quick little report from a foreign tourist in London. We lived in Kensington, in a hotel close to Glouster Road tube station. Whenever I live in London I prefer to live in the Kensington area as it is close to most attractions, and also not too far from Heathrow. Day 1: Arrived early, checked in and decided to go shopping. Visited Harrods - bought nothing. What a place. Got tired real soon and headed back to Kensington and went out to dine. Strict guards. Went out to dine, and finally found a Nandos I had promised to show the wife. She enjoyed it as much as I did - we don't have Nandos in Scandinavia. A bit battered after getting up around 0400 so we crashed rather early, but not after having a few pints at the Stanhope Arms, one of my fav pubs in Kensington. Day 2-3: Something had hit the Haraven. I was getting a rash on my right arm and it itched like crazy. I was a brave trooper and we headed out to The Science Museum and the The Natural History Museum. Great places, lots of folks. After many hours traversing those grounds, both have free entrance (but you have to pay for the cool stuff like 3D movies and Deep Blue tours). A few rowdy boys were having a bit of fun and got a bot telling off from a teacher. I laughed inwardly when both turned around and wore LCFC away shirt! Recruitment looks good for the Blue Army! We then opted for a tour of Royal Albert Hall. We tried to get tickets for the BBC Proms but they had been sold out for ages. During the night the rash had spread to all over my body and I was in quite a bit of pain. We got up around 0600 and got a taxi to the closest emergency room - Chelsea something. Now as a tourist you always wonder how they will treat you, if you have to fill out lots of forms - checking your travel insurance and so on. Hell no - big applause to the NHS! Seriously, they took me in after 30 minutes, a nurse looked me over, then I was sent in to a doc that confirmed this was a bad allergy reaction and I was still exposed to it. It could be anything. I got allergy medicine, and were told to take it easy untill the reaction subsided. I was given medicine to last 5 days, and when on my way out I asked where to pay - they just laughed, said it was all free and wished us a happy honeymoon. Just to let you know, Norway is known for it's great health system, but Britain has probably a better one from my encounter with it. I saw lots of others in the emergency room as well getting fast treatment, and it didn't cost them a penny. Medicine made me big time drowsy, so I slept a lot on Day 2 and Day 3, but we got out a little, enjoyed some nice resturants and pubs, and did a little shopping in Kensington High Street and Shepards Bush. Day 4: London Eye! Stood in line for almost 1 hour - if you haven't tried it, do so! Great to see London from such heights. We then had a look at the London Aquarium, felt a bit sorry for the sharks being confined to such small areas of space, but enjoyed it none the less. In the evening we went out for drinks again. Day 5: Basically return to Heathrow and some quick shopping of stuff we don't have in Scandinavia. For instance Lemsip! We enjoyed London UK immensely. The Brits were as always friendly, helpful and polite - that is what we really love about UK. Yes I know there are muppets all over, but in general you feel very welcome in the UK - and people treat strangers in a respectable manner. The few times no one held a door for us it turned out to be ... Scandinavians. Next time I will bring the missus to Leicester - but there gotta be a match on. Tada! Uncle Traveling Haraven.
Narborough_fox Posted 18 July 2010 Posted 18 July 2010 Where did the Boys get a telling off if it was at the Science museum I might know him Oh, sounded like a blast as well.
haraven Posted 18 July 2010 Author Posted 18 July 2010 Where did the Boys get a telling off if it was at the Science museum I might know him Oh, sounded like a blast as well. it was around the outside the restrooms near the dining areas of the Natural History Museum. I was tempted to say "Blue Army!" but a 30-year old geezer walking along with his newly wed wife must behave somewhat, and I don't think the lads would be too impressed with a stranger coming to chat about Leicester City in a strange accent.
Narborough_fox Posted 18 July 2010 Posted 18 July 2010 Ah, might of known them I knew someone going to London last week to got to one or two of the museums My claim to fame.
davieG Posted 18 July 2010 Posted 18 July 2010 So I got married a couple of weeks ago, and in a moment of "we gotta do something"-after the wedding we booked 5 nights in London. I even had an option from the wife to go to Leicester just to give Walkers Stadium a pat, but in the end I decided that a train trip to Leicester just to watch Walkers Stadium which I had seen 10 times before wasn't worth the time nor the money. Besides, the players was abroad so visiting Belvoir Drive training ground was also not an option. So this is a quick little report from a foreign tourist in London. We lived in Kensington, in a hotel close to Glouster Road tube station. Whenever I live in London I prefer to live in the Kensington area as it is close to most attractions, and also not too far from Heathrow. Day 1: Arrived early, checked in and decided to go shopping. Visited Harrods - bought nothing. What a place. Got tired real soon and headed back to Kensington and went out to dine. Strict guards. Went out to dine, and finally found a Nandos I had promised to show the wife. She enjoyed it as much as I did - we don't have Nandos in Scandinavia. A bit battered after getting up around 0400 so we crashed rather early, but not after having a few pints at the Stanhope Arms, one of my fav pubs in Kensington. Day 2-3: Something had hit the Haraven. I was getting a rash on my right arm and it itched like crazy. I was a brave trooper and we headed out to The Science Museum and the The Natural History Museum. Great places, lots of folks. After many hours traversing those grounds, both have free entrance (but you have to pay for the cool stuff like 3D movies and Deep Blue tours). A few rowdy boys were having a bit of fun and got a bot telling off from a teacher. I laughed inwardly when both turned around and wore LCFC away shirt! Recruitment looks good for the Blue Army! We then opted for a tour of Royal Albert Hall. We tried to get tickets for the BBC Proms but they had been sold out for ages. During the night the rash had spread to all over my body and I was in quite a bit of pain. We got up around 0600 and got a taxi to the closest emergency room - Chelsea something. Now as a tourist you always wonder how they will treat you, if you have to fill out lots of forms - checking your travel insurance and so on. Hell no - big applause to the NHS! Seriously, they took me in after 30 minutes, a nurse looked me over, then I was sent in to a doc that confirmed this was a bad allergy reaction and I was still exposed to it. It could be anything. I got allergy medicine, and were told to take it easy untill the reaction subsided. I was given medicine to last 5 days, and when on my way out I asked where to pay - they just laughed, said it was all free and wished us a happy honeymoon. Just to let you know, Norway is known for it's great health system, but Britain has probably a better one from my encounter with it. I saw lots of others in the emergency room as well getting fast treatment, and it didn't cost them a penny. Medicine made me big time drowsy, so I slept a lot on Day 2 and Day 3, but we got out a little, enjoyed some nice resturants and pubs, and did a little shopping in Kensington High Street and Shepards Bush. Day 4: London Eye! Stood in line for almost 1 hour - if you haven't tried it, do so! Great to see London from such heights. We then had a look at the London Aquarium, felt a bit sorry for the sharks being confined to such small areas of space, but enjoyed it none the less. In the evening we went out for drinks again. Day 5: Basically return to Heathrow and some quick shopping of stuff we don't have in Scandinavia. For instance Lemsip! We enjoyed London UK immensely. The Brits were as always friendly, helpful and polite - that is what we really love about UK. Yes I know there are muppets all over, but in general you feel very welcome in the UK - and people treat strangers in a respectable manner. The few times no one held a door for us it turned out to be ... Scandinavians. Next time I will bring the missus to Leicester - but there gotta be a match on. Tada! Uncle Traveling Haraven. Congratulations, glad you enjoyed your visit to London, I was born less than 2 miles from Gloucester Rd.
haraven Posted 18 July 2010 Author Posted 18 July 2010 Congratulations, glad you enjoyed your visit to London, I was born less than 2 miles from Gloucester Rd. Cheers - Great area, if we ever would move to UK we have Kensington and Leicester (well I do at least) as places we'd love to live. I have a feeling Kensington is getting a bit pricey.
Webbo Posted 18 July 2010 Posted 18 July 2010 Glad to hear you enjoyed London. we're planning a couple of days in the capital ourselves in October. The science museum is definitely on our list of to dos.
Lillehamring Posted 18 July 2010 Posted 18 July 2010 glad you had fun harald, i bet it was the detergent for the bedding, same thing happened to me in san francisco....
haraven Posted 18 July 2010 Author Posted 18 July 2010 Cheers Gavin, that was our main theory too - the room basically smelled of chlorine.
ramboacdc Posted 18 July 2010 Posted 18 July 2010 glad we were hospitable for you always good to see a positive response to us aha. i loved the london eye when i went on it a few years ago. the museums in london are brilliant too! did you ever find out what you were allergic to?
haraven Posted 18 July 2010 Author Posted 18 July 2010 Cheers Brits always are hospitable! Still no answer, will have to do some tests once the rashes subside for good. Hope I am not allergic to UK - having to come as bubble boy next time would kinda put a damper on my moods
poopbutt Posted 19 July 2010 Posted 19 July 2010 cool shit, i like Kensington too, stayed there when i was doing some work in London a few years back (also stayed in Ealing Broadway...bit different )
Alexikokopops Posted 19 July 2010 Posted 19 July 2010 Hell no - big applause to the NHS! Seriously, they took me in after 30 minutes, a nurse looked me over, then I was sent in to a doc that confirmed this was a bad allergy reaction and I was still exposed to it. It could be anything. I got allergy medicine, and were told to take it easy untill the reaction subsided. I was given medicine to last 5 days, and when on my way out I asked where to pay - they just laughed, said it was all free and wished us a happy honeymoon. Just to let you know, Norway is known for it's great health system, but Britain has probably a better one from my encounter with it. I saw lots of others in the emergency room as well getting fast treatment, and it didn't cost them a penny. I stumbled across this article recently, which was a pleasant surprise. Cheers - Great area, if we ever would move to UK we have Kensington and Leicester (well I do at least) as places we'd love to live. I have a feeling Kensington is getting a bit pricey. I'd love to live in Kensington too, but I'd need to be earning about twice the amount I am doing at the moment! Glad to hear you enjoyed London. we're planning a couple of days in the capital ourselves in October. The science museum is definitely on our list of to dos. The Science Museum is the business. Especially the Launchpad.
Lillehamring Posted 19 July 2010 Posted 19 July 2010 cool shit, i like Kensington too, stayed there when i was doing some work in London a few years back (also stayed in Ealing Broadway...bit different ) i lived in ealing for a bit, really nice place to live and wasn't that expensive
purpleronnie Posted 19 July 2010 Posted 19 July 2010 Its strange. people who live in the UK often state that the english are rude but in my experiance everyone who has visited me from many other countries always tell me how polite the english are and having lived in a fair few different countries over the past decade or so, no question in my mind that the english are the most polite people I know. We do put ourselves down.
Lillehamring Posted 19 July 2010 Posted 19 July 2010 Its strange. people who live in the UK often state that the english are rude but in my experiance everyone who has visited me from many other countries always tell me how polite the english are and having lived in a fair few different countries over the past decade or so, no question in my mind that the english are the most polite people I know. We do put ourselves down. i think the english (as with the norwegians) are much friendlier to visitors than they are to their fellow countrymen.... i think this is one of the factors that makes it so great living in a foreign country, people here (norway) are interested in me just cause i'm english, when i'm in england people tend to be aggressive and impolite towards me, i guess there are good and bad examples in any country, just got back from rhodes and everyone was superfriendly.
DJ Barry Hammond Posted 19 July 2010 Posted 19 July 2010 Just to warn you - London is a different kettle of fish to any other major town in Britain, so if you were to venture out, especially from the centre you may find things a little bit different. Oh and by the time you come over here again, I expect our health system will be run completely differently so you will have to find a local GP to tell you whats wrong with you and then pay him! Oh and how rude - many congratulations.
Trav Le Bleu Posted 20 July 2010 Posted 20 July 2010 Nice tale The H. And for the record, for the same money that would buy you a one bed apartment in Kensington, you could buy yourself a luxurious house in some of the nicer areas of Leicester.
Wymsey Posted 20 July 2010 Posted 20 July 2010 Whats the nicer areas of Leicester then?... Oadby? Wigston?
Alexikokopops Posted 20 July 2010 Posted 20 July 2010 Nice tale The H. And for the record, for the same money that would buy you a one bed apartment in Kensington, you could buy yourself a luxurious house in some of the nicer areas of Leicester. I was looking at house prices recently. I'm looking to buy in Richmond-Upon-Thames and for the price of a 1 bed flat there I can buy a four bedroom detached cottage in my parent's village.
Ric Flair Posted 20 July 2010 Posted 20 July 2010 I was looking at house prices recently. I'm looking to buy in Richmond-Upon-Thames and for the price of a 1 bed flat there I can buy a four bedroom detached cottage in my parent's village. Fookin hell Marshall, you hit the big time down here or what? Looking to buy in Richmond? Absolute animal. Palace away, yes?
Alexikokopops Posted 20 July 2010 Posted 20 July 2010 Fookin hell Marshall, you hit the big time down here or what? Looking to buy in Richmond? Absolute animal. Palace away, yes? I'm looking to rent there with the missus, and was curious how much houses were. "Looking to buy" was a bit misleading, it's just an option. Not for another year or so at least anyway. Palace away is on.
DANGEROUS TIGER Posted 20 July 2010 Posted 20 July 2010 Here's wishing you and yours, a great life together.
OriginalRobboFOX Posted 20 July 2010 Posted 20 July 2010 You dont have lemsip in Norway?? Its a crazy world we live in...
Lillehamring Posted 20 July 2010 Posted 20 July 2010 You dont have lemsip in Norway?? Its a crazy world we live in... we don't get vicks inhalers either - criminal.
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