The quick hotel review:
To start the day I got the underground to Waterloo, on the south side of the river. Along the river bank are many of the tourist attractions such as the London Eye, London Dungeon, possibly an aquarium and some other stuff. None of them were open yet but they already had lines starting to form - these people seemed to have already purchased tickets, so no idea how long you would have to wait if you just turned up on the day.
Just across the bridge was the Westminster buildings which I had seen before, but Jason was a first time visitor so seemed only fair to go past them again:
Between Westminster and St James Park probably every second building was undergoing some maintenance or renovations. Buckingham Palace and The Mall seemed quite empty compared to what I remember from last time.
Next it was on to Trafalgar Square, passing by 10 Downing Street and some horse guard place - which was actually the more popular attraction of the two. I found the 3 Mobile store which I had been looking for. I paid fifteen pounds for a pre-paid SIM card with unlimited data and some amount of calls and texts that I had no use for, all I really wanted was the data for GPS with Google Maps and some related web browsing (and maybe some snap chatting).
For reference, due to a poor Australian dollar the conversion rate at the time was about 1 Australia dollar to 0.45 pence. Six months earlier it would have been more like 0.55 pence!
We reached Covent Garden in time for lunch, where Shake Shack was the winner from the collection of cafes and restaurants. The only vegetarian burger they have is a mushroom patty (yuck) so I just got fries and a "concrete", which is basically a thick shake with even more solid ingredients thrown in, so you need to eat it with a spoon. The combination of price, size and execution was all a little bit disappointing - I think the original New York stores were better.
I started walking over to the British Museum next, but soon realised there wouldn't be much time when I got there, so abandoned that plan and visited New Oxford Street instead. I figured it might be newer (and better) than the original Oxford Street, but I was sadly disappointed - it was basically dead and most of the stores were shut and abandoned. Of the shops that were around, it seemed like they were being continuously repeated - as if a Pret A Manger and betting agency on every block was a council requirement.
I jumped on a train to Liverpool Street, then another to White Hart Lane, where Tottenham plays at a ground called...White Hart Lane. This was their first home game of the season, against Stoke City.
Because I had to wait until the public tickets went on sale about two weeks before the match there wasn't a lot of seats left, there weren't two seats together in any of the good sideline sections, but there was one directly behind another so that was good enough - too bad they didn't advertise on the website that I'd be sat next to a large woman who was too big for her own seat... The only other minor annoyance is that they still have a pole from the ground to ceiling which blocks your view slightly - mostly it just ruins your photographs.
Tottenham started the game better, as expected, and had the lead after 15 minutes. The crowd was starting to respond and helped to build momentum for the home side as they created more chances for another goal. Nothing came of it, but right before half time they stole one from a turnover to go up 2-0 at the break. In the second half they seemed happy to just maintain their lead, and the crowd seemed to lose a bit of interest as well. Superstar Harry Kane was substituted early without doing much, then Stoke City came alive thanks to a sightly questionable penalty goal. That left Tottenham nervously trying to hang on for the win, only to be disappointed by a late equaliser and the game finished 2-2.
We ran for the train station to avoid the crowds, but by taking the back streets behind the stadium we didn't get back on to the main street (always called "the high street" in the UK) soon enough and ended up at the next station further along - so definitely no problem with crowds. I spent the train ride back looking for restaurants in the City Of London district, but somehow even in a big city such as London just about everything nearby was closed on the weekend. I came up with some burrito place that messed up the credit card transaction so I never got billed for the meal!
- It seems like it might be near a loud street, but I was far too tired to notice
- The free breakfast was good - cereals, croissants, fruit, toast and yoghurt
- The TV has a better range of channels than Australia, but no sports channels available
- The location is otherwise alright, close to London City airport
To start the day I got the underground to Waterloo, on the south side of the river. Along the river bank are many of the tourist attractions such as the London Eye, London Dungeon, possibly an aquarium and some other stuff. None of them were open yet but they already had lines starting to form - these people seemed to have already purchased tickets, so no idea how long you would have to wait if you just turned up on the day.
 |
| The wheel! |
Just across the bridge was the Westminster buildings which I had seen before, but Jason was a first time visitor so seemed only fair to go past them again:
- House of Parliament
- Big Ben clock tower
- Westminster Abbey
 |
| Self explanatory. |
Between Westminster and St James Park probably every second building was undergoing some maintenance or renovations. Buckingham Palace and The Mall seemed quite empty compared to what I remember from last time.
 |
| The palace. |
Next it was on to Trafalgar Square, passing by 10 Downing Street and some horse guard place - which was actually the more popular attraction of the two. I found the 3 Mobile store which I had been looking for. I paid fifteen pounds for a pre-paid SIM card with unlimited data and some amount of calls and texts that I had no use for, all I really wanted was the data for GPS with Google Maps and some related web browsing (and maybe some snap chatting).
 |
| Trafalgar. |
For reference, due to a poor Australian dollar the conversion rate at the time was about 1 Australia dollar to 0.45 pence. Six months earlier it would have been more like 0.55 pence!
We reached Covent Garden in time for lunch, where Shake Shack was the winner from the collection of cafes and restaurants. The only vegetarian burger they have is a mushroom patty (yuck) so I just got fries and a "concrete", which is basically a thick shake with even more solid ingredients thrown in, so you need to eat it with a spoon. The combination of price, size and execution was all a little bit disappointing - I think the original New York stores were better.
 |
| Lunch. |
I started walking over to the British Museum next, but soon realised there wouldn't be much time when I got there, so abandoned that plan and visited New Oxford Street instead. I figured it might be newer (and better) than the original Oxford Street, but I was sadly disappointed - it was basically dead and most of the stores were shut and abandoned. Of the shops that were around, it seemed like they were being continuously repeated - as if a Pret A Manger and betting agency on every block was a council requirement.
I jumped on a train to Liverpool Street, then another to White Hart Lane, where Tottenham plays at a ground called...White Hart Lane. This was their first home game of the season, against Stoke City.
 |
| Outside White Hart Line, tiniest entrances ever. |
Because I had to wait until the public tickets went on sale about two weeks before the match there wasn't a lot of seats left, there weren't two seats together in any of the good sideline sections, but there was one directly behind another so that was good enough - too bad they didn't advertise on the website that I'd be sat next to a large woman who was too big for her own seat... The only other minor annoyance is that they still have a pole from the ground to ceiling which blocks your view slightly - mostly it just ruins your photographs.
 |
| Stupid pole. |
Tottenham started the game better, as expected, and had the lead after 15 minutes. The crowd was starting to respond and helped to build momentum for the home side as they created more chances for another goal. Nothing came of it, but right before half time they stole one from a turnover to go up 2-0 at the break. In the second half they seemed happy to just maintain their lead, and the crowd seemed to lose a bit of interest as well. Superstar Harry Kane was substituted early without doing much, then Stoke City came alive thanks to a sightly questionable penalty goal. That left Tottenham nervously trying to hang on for the win, only to be disappointed by a late equaliser and the game finished 2-2.
We ran for the train station to avoid the crowds, but by taking the back streets behind the stadium we didn't get back on to the main street (always called "the high street" in the UK) soon enough and ended up at the next station further along - so definitely no problem with crowds. I spent the train ride back looking for restaurants in the City Of London district, but somehow even in a big city such as London just about everything nearby was closed on the weekend. I came up with some burrito place that messed up the credit card transaction so I never got billed for the meal!
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