Trim the price...London

This new category aims at offering you the best snips and bargains there are, because traveling does not have to be pricey. 

So, as I just went to Londontown, the first will be about flying to, sleeping in and eating at the exciting capital.

All right, first things first: the flight. If you really want to save money and don't really care about comfort, chose Ryanair. If you like to have more space and free meals, chose either AirBerlin or Lufthansa.

If you want to go for a weekend, there are some really amazing offers. You can fly from €38 from Berlin to London Stansted with Ryanair and from €99 with Lufthansa to Heathrow.

Arriving in London, if you land in Heathrow you can chose between three different ways to get into the city: by tube, with the Heathrow express or with a taxi. It's £4 with the tube, which takes around an hour or 90 minutes, £18 with the Express and takes around 20 minutes and around £50 with taxi taking 35 minutes out of your time.

There are loads of cool hotels that don't take all your money and are really well situated. If you don't want to spend a lot on hotels, I recommend the Astors Hotel. There are several in London from which you can chose: there is one in Victoria, at Hyde Park, in Kensington, at Piccadilly Circus and in Queensborough Terace. Prices for a double room range from £30 to £50 a night, which is really reasonable, especially in a really pricey city like London. Eating out in London can also be rather expensive, but there are also loads of possibilities to eat at low prices. If you like Italian food I can recommend "Bella Italia" near Oxford Circus in 25 Argyll Street. It has great food like pasta and pizza, so real italian dishes. Furthermore, there's Jamie's Italian, Jamie Oliver's chain, which is also really really good. There are loads of indian, japanese and thai restaurants which are all very good and reasonably priced. Check out the Covent Garden area and The Strand as well as Camden. I just went to a Belgian restaurant called Belgo centraal, near Covent Garden, where I had really good mussels with tomato sauce. As you can really argue about taste I'll leave you to make your own choices, but if you have any questions just mail me.

So, all in all, with flight hotel and food for three days you can have a wicked weekend for just around £170. Mind you, that's the kind of money you can spend on a room in an exclusive hotel...for one night!! So why not just try to make the most with very little. That's "Trim the Price...London edition"!

Overview:

£  40,00 - flight

£  16,80 - public transport (£5,60 for a day Zones 1 and 2 for and adult off-peak)

£  60,00 - 2 nights in a double bedroom (breakfast included)

£  20,00 - lunches

£  30,00 - dinners

----------------

£166,80

Travels to...London: Style

So, as London is one of the most stylish cities imaginable, you have to adapt to it, of course without losing sight of your own style. As I went for a casual weekend, I mostly chose comfortable clothes, that would take me throughout the entire day, suitable for day and night. The only exception was the dressier attire for the Tea at the Ritz, which was directly after Camden Market, so I just changed shirt and trousers. Fortunately, the weather was supposed to be really good (which it was, actually), so I didn't really need thick jackets or coats and I could go out with just a tee and a blazer (well, and trousers, of course)

 So, this is my London style.

Portobello Rd. Market with
grey trousers, white V-neck tee,
braces, brown boots
and black jacket

Airport style, with grey blazer
with buttons, gray jeans and boots

At Camden Market with jeans,
navy suit, V-neck tee and
brown boots

Tea at the Ritz with navy suit,
black shirt and trousers,
red tie  and brown boots

Shopping on Oxford Street with
black jeans, military jacket and
brown boots

Customise your stay

Introducing a new topic, "Customise your stay" aims at improving your stay and make the best of your travels. Instead of only doing the "usual touristy" things,  I will give you useful tips, information and advice to make the most of your travels. You can find cool pubs, awesome shops, great restaurants, interesting museums and hints to have a brilliant night out to in each city that will make your journey absolutely unique. The first post will be out soon, so have a look and get inspired!

Travels to...London: Souvenirs

When traveling I always bring back gifts for my mates. I always try to keep it simple and coming from the heart as I don't think it's important that you bring something big and expensive but something personal.
This year for example, I brought a bracelet for my mate, with three coins on black leather, a leather book for another friend, bracelets and handmade candles, DVDs, toffee, tea, a silk kimono from Camden Market with matching earrings for my girlfriend and a big box of Ben's Cookies.
But of course, I always buy something for me, as especially London has such a vast variety of brilliant stuff.
So here's an overview of popular things right now.

- The Inbetweeners Season 3
- a vintage British military jacket from WW II from Camden Market
- red and white braces from Covent Garden
- a golden and leather spyglass from Portobello Road Market
- 2 for £10 Tees from TOPMAN
- a feather ring from Covent Garden
- EMPIRE magazine
- HMV's 3 for 2 CDs and DVDs
- an Abercrombie & Fitch sweater
- I <3 Camden Buttons

I especially love my new military jacket! It's absolutely awesome and it was really really low priced!
So, whatever it is you like to bring from your travels just post them!

Travels to...London: The Markets

So, a thing I'm really excited about London are the markets. I'm really torn to name a favourite. I used to like Portobello the most, but with time another market started to grow on me very very much and that's Camden Market. Covent Garden is also completely brilliant, but I think you can't really compare the markets, as each market is entirely different. Portobello is all about antiquities and food, Camden is about the crazy stuff, like military jackets and gas masks and Covent Garden is rather posh with the best cupcakes store in the world (and I'm not particularly fond of either chocolate nor sweets!).

So, if you want to spend you entire day going to the markets I'd recommend you to start with Portobello Market. Now, I don't know where you're traveling from but I'd say that if you go by tube, Notting Hill Gate is the one. Look out for possible interruptions in the Central Line, especially at the weekends, as the town council is improving the tube for Olympia 2012. This time I'll be staying at the Quality Maitrise Hotel Maida Vale (which I will talk about later). The nearest tube station is Kilburn Park, just around the corner, so I take the tube to Paddington, either with Bakerloo, Circle or District line and from Bakerloo I either take the Circle or District line. It takes me 20 minutes. I prefer getting up really early (well not THAT early, but still too early for some people to cope), so I'd say around 8. I have a quite bite to eat and then I start thus early to be at Notting Hill Gate around 9.45 am. From there it's just a short walk to Portobello Road. Another possible tube station is Bayswater, it doesn't really make a difference. So, I like to go there early before all the tourists come and havoc breaks. One thing you HAVE to do, and that's why I'd recommend you exit at Notting Hill Gate is a man and a woman with their little vending machine, where they make the best Iced Lemonade in the world! It's absolutely brilliant! Do go and try some! At the market I just like to stroll around, buy some rasberries or pineapples and eat them while browsing through some old furniture displayed in the shops around the street, which must not be missed! I also like to buy some street plates as gifts for my mates (you know, the street signs that say "Portobello Road", "Oxford Circus" and stuff). If you want to go all touristy, you can also buy a jumper with "I LOVE LONDON" embroidered on your chest.

If you haven't had any breakfast yet and if you have a sweet tooth go to Hummingbird Bakery and try one of their cupcakes they are really good. And if you like to buy some original souvenirs or if it's just for yourself go to Lush, where you can purchase all sorts of soaps, bathing bubble balls, shower gels and jellies (but do NOT try to eat them! I know, they look ridiculously like food, but don't have a bite, believe me, I tried..)

All right then, off to the next market, Camden Market. At Notting Hill Gate, you take the Central line either via Hainault or via Epping. At Tottenham Court Road you change to the Northern Line via Charing Cross. After a 29 minutes ride you arrive in Camden Town. You can also exit at Chalk Farm, but I mean, if you go to Camden Market you also have exit at Camden Town, common sense, easy as that. As you exit the station you simply follow the masses (well you can be lucky, there aren't ALWAYS that many people there). If you're into shoes check out the Dr. Martens store on the way, they have a great collection of boots in all form and sizes.

All right, Camden Market, here we come. Entering the market is like entering a completely different world. There are some places where you feel that you've just entered something completely new, like the New Year's Fair of Surprises on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh's Old Town. You have several markets combined in one: there's the Lock Market, the Stables Market, the Canal Market, each with their individual style. I particularly like the Stables one, they have really amazing stuff there (and also slightly crazy things, too). The military jackets are awesome and I'm not too sure I won't buy one this time.. just saying. The gas masks, as I've already mentioned, are really cool and a bit creepy too..but you can also buy "normal" stuff like jumper and shoes, clothes in particular. DVDs and records, CD's and books, scented candles (don't know if they apply as normal, though) and all kinds of esoteric things. Right at the canal, there are several little booths where you can buy your lunch. There's chinese food, turkish, indian and spanish things you have to try because they're really good! You can spent here as long as you like as it doesn't get boring at all, but that's just me. 

So, if you want to continue the "market crawl", it's off to Covent Garden. From Camden Town you take the Northern Line to Leicester Square and from there you take the Piccadilly Line to Covent Garden. It takes approximately 23 minutes. The market's right around the corner. It's posher than the other two, but equally great. As already mentiones, try the cupcake store, it's really good. Other than that, there are little booths where I once bought a great pair of shoes for just 4 Pounds and I still have them, so the quality can't be that bad. You can get bargains and rarities everywhere here, so just keep your eyes wide open while strolling around. I promise you, you won't regret it.

So, whether you're a Portobello type, a Camden crazy or a Convent Garden lover, in London, there's something for everyone. You just have to go out and explore.

Travels to...London: Introduction and City Sightseeing Hop On/Off

All right, so the first thing I do when I'm planning a travel (and when I do, I do it to the extreme) is being organised and have a plan! 

In contrast to my real life, where I'm rather spontaneous and laid-back, I need strict and elaborate plans for my journeys.

Usually, my plans consist of a chart, in which I say:

Date, Time, Plan, Duration, Price, Street, Tube, !!!! (for important information). 

I like to have every little thing checked, so that I can make the most of my travel.

Take my next trip to London, for instance. It's the 3000th time I'm going so I wouldn't normally do the stuff I am doing this time, because I've already seen a really great deal of it, but as I'm traveling with other people and they don't know London at all (yeah, I know, strange..) I had to work out a plan that includes the standard London things, like the Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Tower Bridge, but which also includes my all-time favourites like the Portobello Road Market, Camden Market and Covent Garden, the British Museum and a little shopping on Oxford Circus (which will be discussed in a later post). 

So, to be able to see all the interesting sights for tourists I decided to take the City Sightseeing Hop On/Off Red Bus Tour, which covers pretty much the entire centre of London, which can be seen in the City Sightseeing Hop On/Off Map.

We will take the bus at Haymarket, near Trafalgar Square. When I go with people and I have to do the "London essentials", how I like to call them (and which I'm slightly fed up with, like London Eye), and we go on the Hop On/Off, I would always recommend the Red Line. It starts at Haymarket and the first thing you see is Trafalgar Square, which I personally really like, because there are so many memories connected to it, like sitting on one of the lions, splashing water from the fountain with friends and a mate getting told off because she got into the fountain and just walked around. Great place. 

The bus continues via Whitehall, where you can see Downing Street, where the PM, lives, to Big Ben and the Parliament buildings. From there it goes to London Eye, Waterloo Station, St. Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and back to Big Ben via Embankment. From there it's Buckingham Palace, Victoria Station, Hyde Park and Marble Arch. The last leg of the tour consists of Madame Tussaud's, The Sherlock Holmes Museum, the Telecom Tower and Oxford Circus. After this you're back at Haymarket. I think this tour covers pretty much every interesting sight of London tourists might enjoy.

Travel Quote of the Day

I think that travel comes from some deep urge to see the world, like the urge that brings up a worm in an Irish bog to see the moon when it is full.  
~Lord Dunsany