Page BS, August 5, 1979 - Sunday News

LONDON IN SIX DA Ys”

London is one of those
cities where I would love to
live for a-few months. No
tourist ever gets enough time
to get to know the place -
_ although, Ill bet a lot of
residents are in the same

London”,
Friday, which gives me all
the up-to-date dope on
current happenings. I use
the same felt pen to circle
anything I really: want to see,

“boat. It’s such a complicated

city, full tiny alleys and

unexpected bits of history.

such as stage plays, special

exhibits and: festivals. -

The magazine also
outlines any walking tours
that are being held. by the

tourist board so watch for ~

them. They will come under
headings such as “Crime in
London” where they will

‘take you to places such as |

Jack the Ripper’s scenes of
mayhem or “Dicken’s
London” with an appropriate
commentary. Cheap, too!

yy Barbara
McCreadie

Walkers get the best
impression but few of us
have the time to spend hours
trudging around - there’s just
so much to see. If you plan

TI make a list of plays I
want to see and arrange for
gh the

hotel or through the nearest

booking office.

This next bit can be done
in any order. The only thing
to watch is Sundays and
bank holidays when some
things are closed. Check out
hours of opening and closing
in the magazine. I've
grouped things together that
“fir” because they are close
to each other.

DAY ONE:

ra ae sel

yoy

to do a bit of walking, learn
one rule: Always look to the
RIGHT when crossing a
street. From the time we
were kids we have been
trained to look. LEFT and,
although the medical care
you will be given is ex-
cellent, even an Austin Mini
can make a sizeable dent in
your frame.

The best time to see
London is in the rain! Given
any heat wave, the place
goes nuts. The garbage men
(dustmen!) usually call a
strike and the streets get
filled with more Glad Bags

than you'll see in a lifetime. .

Your hotel won't be air-
conditioned - in fact, you'll
have a helluva job opening a

window. They're usually
stuck tight’ with a few
generations of paint.

Let's assume that you have
allowed yourself a week to
skim the city. Your first day
is almost.a write-off - a long
flight, journey to the
downtown area by train and
cab, some sleep and dinner
will be enough to cope with.

One thing I always do
when guiding “first-time
in London is to take a cab i
the evening and get
Ee to do a@ circuit of

one a

“ft eae” Pinte:
bk ouses f Parliament,
} .cadilly, Trafalgar Square
and a few other landmarks
which are well-lighted and a
pleasure to sec.

Tell the driver that you
want about  five-pounds-
wo.th, He'll sce that you get
it. 1 find it helpful to take a
map and use a yellow felt
pen to mark the route.
(Ycllow is good because it
doesn't block out the marks
on the map).

Before 1 go to bed that
night, I] get out a copy of “In

passporr

while you wait.
Math Grate Darecagm

WAS oer Pine 988-9813

the?

S Cates 4

‘the 6.

Morning:

The Tower of London.
Watch for the changing of
the guard ceremony here as
it’s much better than the one
at Buckingham Palace. You
can get right up close. Every
hour, a famous “Beefeater”
in costume conducts a tour.
Ask at the gate when you
arrive. Just a note - the
Beefeaters prefer to be
known as “Tower Guards”.

Afternoon:
Take a cab to the “London
Dungeon” on Tooley Street,

just across the Tower.
Bridge. It’s commercialized,
but interesting. Food

Propositions in the area of
both the Tower and the
Dungeon are dismal. Since
you're almost assured of a
lousy meal anyway, I'd eat at
the little shop next door
from the Dungeon. At least
you'll get fed for a decent
price.

Evening:
All evenings hinge on
shows, concerts and

restaurants. I'll make a few
suggestions at the end.
!

DAY TWO

Palace. (at I prefer
after because 1 spend a lot of

WAIKIKI $369

8 Days, 7 Nighta, At & Hotei

WAIKIKI $439

15 Oaya, 14 Nights, At & Hotel

LAS VEGAS $189

5 Days, 4 Nights. Ai & Hote!

RENO $209

8 Doys, 7 Nighta, Aw & Hote!

RENO $179

5 Daya, 4 Nights, Ar & Hote!

DISNEYLAND $305

8 Days, 7 Nights, Aa & Hotel

CENTA Tours

1666 Robson Street
10507 K. Geo. Hwy. Surrey

689-7117

Reg. Travel AGent Ne. 147-3

published every |

Guard Change leaves me
cold. If you're a_ history
freak, don’t miss the special
area where. the tombs of
some of the real “greats” ar

located (you pay extra for
__this, unless you’ve bought an

‘Open ‘to View’ ticket |
through an agent).
Afternoon:

Shopping.. You’ve got to
do it sometime! Take a cab
to Harrods’ and walk around
from there. Don’t miss the
Discount China Shop, right
around the corner. Directly
across the street from
Harrods’ is a decent pub.
You can’t miss it - and I can't

remember thé “name. ~It

serves good pub fare such as
macaroni and cheese and
Quiche Lorraine. The name
“Crown and Scepter” keeps
haunting my mind but I am
probably wrong.

‘DAY THREE

Morning:

Head for Madame
Tussaud’s Wax Museum. It
takes aboiut two hours to see
from end to end. Then, walk
to the Sea ‘Shell Restaurant
on Lisson Grove, just past
Marylebone Station. Avoid
any vegetarian restaurants in
the vicinity like plague!
~~ Migawd, they're awful! The

time_in the Abbey and the

National Portrait Gallery -
This - place is well-planned
with guide papers to use on
every floor. I get a kick out

of seeing the faces of history.

___National War Museum. If

some member of your family
fought for home and country

in WW I or Il, this might be | ---

your bag.

The Victoria and Albert
Museum - They have some
nifty displays which. change
constantly.. Check

_A walking tour around
Soho. Suggested for daytime

6 J n .
. London” for current news.

but a lot of the really ¢

scrummy places will be
closed. It’s like the East End
of any city and a little
dangerous to promenade

after dark. You're OK if you.

get a cab to take you there
and bring you home.

The “Cheshire Cheese”
pub. You'll find it crammed
and the food is expensive.
Try a beer and get out..

The Sherlock Holmes pub. .

Food here is better and
cheaper but not so fancy.
With any luck, you may geta
table. It’s close to the Ad-
miralty Offices and the last
time J was there, I shared a
table with a retired officer
(nice old guy!) who bought

Sea Shell is closed Wed-
nesdays, but check before
you go - that may be

changed.

Afternoon:

Take a cab to the British
Museum. With limited time,
head first for the Egyptian
Section. Another place I
love is the section where
they keep the letters from
famous people. You can
read some of Nelson’s letters
to Emma and wish you were
that much in love. Don’t
miss the “rosetta stone”
which allowed scholars to
decipher ancient
hieroglyphs.

DAY FOUR

Take a cruise down the
Thames to Hampton Court. I
love the maze where Henry
VII chased Annie. Too bad
he caught her! Your hotel

can book it with no
problems.
DAY FIVE
Her is a choice -

depending on your
interests:

CRUISE

own

me a drink. All'1I had to do
was listen to an _ hour’s
recount of his war ex-
periences!

_ I teased my Mom that he
was really trying to throw a
pass in her direction and
looked upon me as a
chaperone. Mom came close
to cuffing me on the ear.’

Kensington Palace. If you
want to see where Tony and
Margaret set up
housekeeping (and closed it
down!) this is the place.
Gardens are nice and the
public _ rooms have in-
teresting furniture.

NIGHTS

If you're going to spend a
bundle on a_ «meal,
heaven's sake don't plan a
theatre outing on the same
night. Enough is Enough!
Theatres get out about ten-
thirty so you've got time’ to
get a sandwich at your hotel.
Forget pubs because they
close at cleven. Give
yourselves plenty of time.
Cabs are murder to get

outside theatres,

Bi hc gro Rt

*ieaieey YOUR DREAM

CRUISE COME TRUE

If you are interested in a cruise that takes you
AROUND SOUTH AMERCIA on one of DELTA
LINES four SANTA ships, come and see our

films at the

West Vancouver Community Centre,

Maple

Room, on Wednesday August 8 at 4:30 p.m.

Call HAGEN’S for your free film tickets.

There is a SANTA leaving Vancouver every two
weeks—year round—ready to take you around
South America in 2 months or only to San
Francisco in 3 days or between any ports on
their route The choice is yours

Phone 926-4304
1425 Marine Drive

HAGEN’S

for.

NO MATTER HOW SHORT your stay in London is
you will undoubtedly want to see the tower bridge over
_ the Thames. -

There are some excellent
restaurants: in London
should you have just won
Loto Canada. I’m scared to
recommend any! First,
because ["m afraid of
changes - and for that price,
you want something good,
and Second, because Ive
gone to so few!. Contrary to
popular belief, my bank
account isn’t enough in the
“black”.

If I have a real “star-
vation”, I take my friends
and family to the “Carvery”
where you can carve your
own meat (all kinds) and add
all the stuffing, Yorkshire
puddings, salads and
vegetables that your
overweight heart desires.
About $12 a person, plus
wine. Kids love this place -
but you pay full price for
them. I'd really love to take
my daughter's boyfriend who

‘has an appetite to match his

size-12 feet!

London theatre is fan-
tastic! Superb! Magnificent!

But, it can also be bloody .
awful. There’s a bar for
every level and if you’ve got
a thirst, you pre-order your
drink for the intermission so
you can barge right through
and get it. If your taste goes
to ice-cream and other
goodies, a seller will march
around and you can stay put.

Yes, I’ve seen the
“Mousetrap”. And, yes, .it’s
good enough to run thirty
years. See it! “Irene” isn’t
bad. “Oh -Calcutta” is a
dandy idea if you want to
seduce your husband later.
“No Sex Please, We're
British” is tame enough to
take. your ten-year-old
daughter - which I did, six
years ago.

The shows come and go. If
you're lucky, you'll get in on
one with it’s original cast
that will turn out to be a
classic.

London -

I hope
approve!

you

fd

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