My wife and I have just completed a 10 day visit to London in celebration of
our 25th wedding anniversary.  Before going, I made extensive use of this
newsgroup and its pointers to various Internet resources.  In all cases, the
information proved accurate and helpful.  In partial reciprocation, I have
attached our diary and some observations that others might find helpful.

Previous to our trip we bought a tour guide (Fodor's) and obtained various
brochures from friend's and relatives.  The tour guide proved to be of use
and added to our appreciation of what we saw.  We also bought an electric
plug adapter and voltage converter.  Our hotel did provide 110, but only at
limited wattage.  They also provided a blow dryer, but we needed the adapter
and converter for my wife's curling iron.

We used my frequent flyer miles on Delta to obtain the round trip tickets.  We
tried to make reservations more than six months in advance.  Although we were
able to book the flight we wanted from Atlanta to London, there were no (yes
that's zero) frequent flier seats available on any return flight the whole
summer.  I asked to be placed on the waiting list, and within a few weeks we
were called and offered seats on our preferred return flight.

Monday, 6/12:  We flew from Atlanta to Gatwick.  Although we left on the 12th,
our flight did not arrive until 7:00am on the 13th.  We took the Gatwick
Express train from the airport to Victoria Station.  A single ticket, one way,
was around #8.  The trip took 45 minutes.  Victoria Station was perfect for us
because our hotel was in Belgravia.  We feared that we would not have anyplace
to stow our luggage because our room would not be available until later in the
day, but when we got to it (around 9:00am) we were able to check in
immediately.

We stayed in the Victoria Inn, on Belgrave Road, a five minute walk from the
station.  Because we did not know how close it was, and because we were lugging
bags, we took a cab.  The hotel was #69 per night.  Although the room was quite
small, it was clean, pleasant, and quiet.  The price included a continental
breakfast which was hardy (cereal, toast, juice, and coffee/tea), but the same
every day.  We could have paid additional for an English breakfast (eggs and
bacon) if we had wished.

Because of our lack of sleep, we wanted to do something non-taxing on our first
day.  We took the Original Site Seeing Tours Bus for #6.  This lasted 1.5 hours
and helped us orient ourselves.  The bus ticket gave us the right to take the
bus as often as we wished on the day of purchase, so we continued on it until
we got to Harrods, where we snacked.  My wife, (one of the world's leading
experts) had a coffee ice cream sundae that she said was by far the best that
she had ever had.  I had some nice pastries, after which we browsed through the
store and walked back to Victoria station rather than riding the bus all the
way around.  Adjacent to Victoria station is an American-style shopping mall
including a food court and restaurants.  We copped out on the first night and
had pizza, walked to our hotel and slept for 14 hours.

Wednesday, 6/14:  We bought a Seven Day Travelcard for the underground and
busses.  I think the price was #12 for zone one.  The seven day card does
require a photo (passport size).  These are available from machines in the
station for around #2, but I see no reason why you couldn't bring an extra
photo with you.  Everything we wanted to see during our stay was in zone one
except for the tennis tournament we went to in zone 2 on Thursday.  We relied
on the underground throughout and had no regrets about not having a car.

After getting the Travelcard, we went to the Victoria and Albert Museum.  The
museum itself was free, but we paid extra for the Wedgewood exhibit (#4.75)
which we found very interesting.  We ate at the cafe in the museum and enjoyed
the exhibits.  That evening, we returned to the mall for dinner, but vowed to
plan subsequent dinners for more interesting restaurants.

Thursday, 6/15:  My wife and I both enjoy tennis, and we wanted to see it
played on grass while we were in London.  So on Thursday, we attended the
Stella Artois Tennis Tournament at the Queens Club.  This was our only trip on
the underground outside of zone one, and we bought a one zone extension ticket
for about #1.  At the tournament, we waited in line for grounds tickets.  We
got there 45 minutes early and spent the time talking with people from out of
town who came down for the day.  The ticket was #15, and we spent the time on
the number 1 court, eating the gourmet sandwiches for sale for lunch.

We left after seeing two matches so we could get to see the "massed bands".
We had wanted to see "Beating Retreat", but that was finished the previous
week.  In the morning, we had called and reserved grandstand tickets (for #5)
and got to see five bands, mounted soldiers and cannons firing.  I guess there
must have been some royalty there, because a limousine delivered people to a
special glassed-in grandstand, and all of the bands saluted them sometime
during the performance.

Afterwards, we strolled across the park toward Buckingham Palace and ended up
at the Spaghetti Place, one of the restaurants that I had seen mentioned during
my net surfing.  Despite the name, the restaurant was quite nice, and we
enjoyed our first good meal in London.

Friday, 6/16:  We took the first of two out-of-town excursions.  We chose a
trip to Salisbury Cathedral, Stonehenge and Bath offered by Discovery Tours.
The price was #42 which included our lunch at a country pub.  Salisbury is a
large cathedral with some interesting history.  We were even more impressed
with Stonehenge where history means 700 years to build a monument 5000 years
ago.  Bath features interesting architecture and impressive Roman Baths.

We had the tour bus drop near an underground station that took us to Gaele's
for fish and chips, which was excellent.  And we didn't have to wait although
we didn't arrive until after 6:00.

Saturday, 6/17:  We heard predictions of rain for Saturday, so we decided to
visit the British Museum.  There was indeed a light rain for most of the day,
but I had brought an umbrella, and had no problems.  The British Museum is free
and filled with wonders like the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon and the
Rosetta Stone, but for me, the high point was the library annex, where original
versions of works by Dickens, Carrol, Thackery, Elliot, were counterpointed
by the score of Handel's Messiah and lyrics (in crayon) by John Lennon.  And
the Magna Carta.

I do need to mention, however, that much of the materials in the museum were
taken from other countries.  The hundred or more mummies in the Egyptian
section saddened me when we later visited Westminster Abbey and wondered how
the British would feel if the Egyptian came and took away the remains of
Edward the Confessor and other historical figures.

Afterward the museum, we walked up Oxford Street, which doesn't have much to
offer, to look for shopping opportunities.  We had crepes for dinner in a
restaurant down stairs from a pub on Dingee Street, near our hotel.  Tasty and
inexpensive.

Sunday, 6/18:  I had heard great things from a colleague about London Walks.
So on Sunday morning, we took the theater walk with Peter ? an active actor who
has appeared on many plays and is about to appear in a (US) television series.
We walked through the theater district and across the river to the Art Center
while he told us stories about his experiences in the theater in London.  The
cost was #4 which provided us a unique experience.

After the walk, we took the underground to the Tower of London.  The admission
was #4, which included a guided tour, a view of the crown jewels and access to
the grounds.  The tour was led by a Beefeater in costume who did a wonderful
job describing the dramatic history of the Tower.  I strongly recommend doing
this.  The Crown Jewels are also fascinating, including the largest diamond in
the world and walk-by videos, reminiscent of Disney world, portraying Queen
Elizabeth's coronation.  For dinner, we ate at Tanduri Indian at the Mojuna on
Dengbee Street near our hotel.  It was quite tasty and not exorbinately
priced.

Monday, 6/19:  We took our second excursion, to Cambridge on the train.
London has many train stations, and the Cambridge train left from King's Cross,
a short hop for us on the underground.  The day-return ticket to Cambridge was
#12, and the trip through pleasant countryside lasted about an hour.

In Cambridge, we bought a map in the train station, and took the city bus into
town.  We walked along the "backs", visited the King's College Cathedral,
strolled among the grand old building, and along with many other people enjoyed
the wonderful spring weather.  We found a bakery to make us sandwiches for
lunch, which we ate on a park bench, and a pub for dinner.  Now that we knew the
way, we walked back to the train station and returned to London.

Tuesday, 6/20:  Was our shopping day.  We went to Liberty's, and Hamley's
(toys), before having tea at Fortnum and Mason.  We wanted to have Thai food
for dinner, so we took the underground to Soho, looked at the menus in the
windows and chose the Lion City.  I had a little trouble finding items without
MSG, but the food was tasty and inexpensive.

Wednesday, 6/21:  Was our last full day, and we wanted to see a matinee.  We
chose Miss Saigon and got full price tickets (#30 for first balcony + VAT +
service charge) at the British Tourist store in Victoria Station, rather than
looking for half-price tickets in Leicester Square.

The show started at 3:00, so we decided to visit the Museum of Moving Images at
the Arts Center in the mean time.  Admission was #4 and the museum offered
many historical artifacts, from even before the invention of photography.
Other exhibits illustrated the development of British Cinema and television.
We had lunch in the Art Center Cafe.

Miss Saigon turned out to be a mistake.  Although the scenery and the dance
numbers were interesting, the story was trite, the songs forgettable, and the
acting uninspired.

My brother-in-law had recommended a restaurant in Shepherd's Market that
featured traditional English fare, and we chose this for our farewell dinner.
The restaurant's name is Tiddy Doll's.  My wife had Beef Wellington and I had
Shepherd's Pie, both of which were quite good, but the highlight was their
specialty gingerbread, the best I have ever had.

Thursday, 6/22:  We were due to fly out of Gatwick at 3:00, but we thought that
we would have time for a little more sightseeing.  We chose Westminster Abbey
(#3) and, of necessity, Big Ben.  Westminster Abbey is more a graveyard or
memorial than a church.  Many, many famous names are buried there, including
many kings and queens.  Its historical presence made it a good choice for our
final venue.  We walked back to the hotel, gathered our bags and returned
home.

(At the airport, we investigate getting a VAT (value added tax) refund.  It
turns out that visits for pleasure to hotels are exempt and that you have
to fill out forms at the time of purchase for each thing you buy.  I believe
there is a minimum purchase, as well, of #75.  So we were out of luck.)

Our visit featured ideal weather, acceptable accomodations, convenient
transportation, and engaging experiences.  We thank you for your advice
that added to our enjoyment.

Spencer