beauty from Lonton’s Eye LONDON - You win some, you lose some might be what London tourism bosses are thinking today. A big loser, so far, is the much-touted and seriously expensive new Millennium Dome at Greenwich, whose chief executive has just been replaced by a man from Disneyland Paris. A big winner is the British Airways? London Eye, Britain's answer to the Eiffel Tower. The Eye, the world’s largest observation wheel, might have opened a month behind schedule, but Londoners love it. Even Fleet Street journalists, the world's most skeptical, have been moved to confess their approval. British Airways, sensing some geod PR, threw out a blanket invitation to media and in the first few days 700 press went up and around, with your agent being the first travel writer from Canada, and the U.S. for that matter. When I went, there was a line-up of people whose buok- ings had been affected by the postponement. Along with media and other guests they will be the only people to get on prior to the March 1 offi- cial opening. It was a grey day with rain threatening but there was a jolly mood like a summer picnic. One man said it promised to be a better outing than the Millennium Dome, which cost $50 compared to the Eye’s $20 and required taking public transport. This day he had driven up from the country and parked his car nearby without any difficulty. Just as well he didn’t park at the garage next to my hotel, I thought. It charges $90 for 24 hours. The wheel does not stop for boarding. Built by the French POMA company, it is like a big ski lift in that it comes by, the doors open, you get in, the doors close and off you go on a 30- minute ride. The beauty of it is that the experience changes as you go up, the movement being about a quarter of walking speed. BRITISH Airways’ London Eye — on a clear day you can see Windsor Castie. Michael Forrest invites his clients to join him at his new location « Call him at Travel Masters 904-8102 BC reg #3235-1 oy acre: Beste 3 EME Cll Cates 7-night Alaska cruise via the Inside Passage Aboard the Galaxy May - September departures Faong 1 9349cDN CRUISE ONLY Gavid Wishar? CAPSULE dead ahead is empty as the Eye rises over Londan. Built by the French POMA company, it is like a big ski lift in that it comes by, the doors open, you get in, the doors close and off you go on a 30-minute ride. I liked the way we started at about bridge level (the Eye is over the River Thames between Westminster Bridge and the Hungerford Bridge not too far from Big Ben but on the other side) because [ am a great fan of London’s bridges. Soon we were looking over the bridges and down on the Savoy Hotel, from where Monet painted the Thames 100 years ago. On a clear day you can see as far as Windsor Castle 25 miles away, but the best we could manage was a peek at Nelson's head in Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace through the mist. There was a lot of interest in 10 Downing Street, just visible over the Ministry of Defence and next to the Foreign Office. Then we were up and over and going down again. “Brilliant!” said a woman, and the young attendant in the cabin beamed. He explained there are 32 capsules with a capacity of 25 each, and you can rent an entire capsule fora family outing. The Eye will take 800 at a time, and 2.2 mil- lion people in a year. What’s more, it looks like doing that, no problem at all. If you’re up for more excitement try dropping into the Met bar at the Metropolitan Hotel in Park Lane. Pameia Anderson and Bryan Adams were there the other night, but be warned that security is tight and you’ve got to be a hotel guest or a magazine-cover celebrity to get in. Asking door- man Toby Ellis from Vancouver if you can leave your Ferrari outside may help. . On the other hand you can get 2 room there for around $500 a night, not bad in a boom city where you can pay a lot more for less style. i like the Metropolitan; it has a smart, friendly young staff, exceptional modern décor and the rooms are big and comfortable. The concierges know their stuff and one of them found me a good Italian restau- rant in Soho (Signor Zilli) at short notice. They don’t mind recommending an inexpensive café for breakfast in nearby Shepherd Market either. Another plus was that my room had a view of Hyde Park. On the other hand I only saw Pamela Anderson once, but hey, you can’t win them all. IN IEDIATE TRAVEL ‘GONSULTAN Experienced, enthusiastic, career oriented, sales and service minded Intermediate Travel Consultants required by a long established West Vancouver agency. We offer top salary, promo- tions and assistance for you to earn substantial bonuses. 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