<p>Last year when we arrived in Paris, we took the train in from de Gaulle to Gar du Nord and then got a taxi to our hotel. It was not difficult. We had Eurail passes with more days than we needed, so we validated the pass and the train was free; however, I don’t think it is too expensive to do this. We did not enjoy buses, but found the Metro to be easy enough.</p>
<p>Don’t take any taxis’ in England. It’s daylight robbery. Especially do NOT take a taxi to Heathrow airport. It will cost about £75. It’s 15 miles away and there is an extra charge for leaving the city. Taking to tube will only cost about £5 each (but it’s a nightmare if you have lots of bags, because there is no luggage space inside the carriages).</p>
<p>You should also come RIGHT NOW, because the weather is wonderful. It’s bound to take a turn for the worst come Wimbledon.</p>
<p>
You probably already know but if not - there’s also an express train from Heathrow to the center of London that takes only about 15 minutes but it’s more expensive than the tube and if you have a group of 3 or 4 it might be more expensive than a taxi.</p>
<p><a href=“https://www.heathrowexpress.com/[/url]”>Oops! Something went wrong.;
<p>Re: Taxis in England
Yes, they are expensive. Walks through London are interesting, and for us
(a pair including one rather dumpy middle-aged woman–namely me) it wasn’t unreasonable to walk 4-6 miles a day in the city. Bring or buy a travel umbrella! We wound up on the Drowned-Rat Tour of Oxford a few weeks ago, when we didn’t have an umbrella.<br>
In London, the tube is great, although I have to say that I personally strongly prefer the lines that are just one level underground (District and Circle, green and yellow), as opposed to those that are deep underground. With some planning, and use of buses and the tube, you can largely avoid taxis; however, they do have the benefit of really saving time, if time is particularly at a premium.
I’ve taken both the tube–in the past–and the Heathrow Express to go between Heathrow and the center of London. On recent trips, we’ve usually taken the Heathrow Express to Paddington or the Gatwick Express to Victoria, and I really recommend either of those, despite the greater expense relative to the tube–especially if you’re traveling with luggage. You and your luggage remain at ground level, except at Heathrow, where there are large elevators. The express trains have luggage areas in each car, and the trains are really very nice, fast (15 mins. Paddington to Heathrow), and convenient. If you have extra time, you can take the Heathrow Connect instead of the Heathrow Express. It takes about 30 minutes each way, but the ticket cost is lower. I haven’t taken a taxi to/from Heathrow, except very occasionally when staying in a hotel near the airport and too tired to deal with the Hotel Hoppa, a bus service which is convenient and cheaper for airport hotels.</p>
<p>I am packing! We leave tomorrow. The weather looks rainy and chilly. Is anyone in Paris right now? My daughter is packing too much lightweight Florida clothes. I just bought a raincoat yesterday and will bring umbrellas. I don’t want the rain to spoil things. Any last minute tips? The nerves are setting in!</p>
<p>We did Paris and London with the kids this time last year and even though we didn’t have great weather, we had a blast. One practical tip, have a small roll of tp or tissues in your purse!</p>
<p>When in a pub, you must go to the bar to order food and drinks, no one will come over to take your order. Take note of your table number, then proceed to the bar to place your order. The bartender will give you your drinks and then a server will bring your food to the table. Like UCSD’s family, our kids loved visiting different pubs for dinner each night and the price was right. We also loved Wagamama, an asian noodle restaurant with several London locations, great for a vegetarian kid. [wagamama</a> | positive eating + positive living](<a href=“http://wagamama.com/about/]wagamama”>http://wagamama.com/about/)</p>
<p>Have a wonderful time!</p>
<p>The weather for our London trip last week was rainy over half the time, but it didn’t slow us down at all. Just make sure you have umbrellas and a jacket. We actually all decided we much preferred the cool, rainy English weather when we returned to 95+ temperatures in our hometown.
One last financial note. I had called the 3 financial companies whose credit cards/bank cards we planned on using on the trip to alert them that we would be in England. While we were there, 2 of the 3 placed a fraud alert on our cards (although only Chase denied any subsequent charges) because of an attempted charge purchasing a rail ticket. It turns out that the rail ticket was issued by an international company, and our advisory that we would be in England didn’t cover this situation. Luckily, we had other cards, and American Express did not deny charges, but did place a fraud alert on our card. In any event, make sure that you have alternate ways to obtain money and/or credit, and you should probably generalize your out of the country advisory to include any international charges.
Have a wonderful time - the 2 weeks will pass by too quickly, I suspect.</p>
<p>If you like Indian food that’s another good way to get priceworthy vegetarian food.</p>
<p>Thanks for the tips. I just called my credit card companies. No credit cards would really be a problem! I also booked a shuttle service from the airport to the hotel. It will be cheaper then a cab, but a lot easier then a bus or train.
I hope they are there to greet us. We are both packing a medium suitcase. My daughter wanted the jumbo size, but they are too big to lug around. Time to get serious!</p>
<p>I second Wagamama!
Very casual, and very reasonable.</p>
<p>A couple more tips - </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Count on it to be rainy in England but don’t worry about it. Just ignore it and carry on having a good time. There’s a reason England’s so green. You might get lucky and have the rain quit occasionally in which case you can count your blessings.</p></li>
<li><p>I think the last two times I was in France in the summer they had record heat - it seems they have record heat quite often. Paris can actually get quite hot at times - think NE USA in summer. The coastal area across from England is typically socked in and cold though, like England. </p></li>
<li><p>We were surprised on our last trip (last summer) when we were told by security at the airport (Manchester, UK) that we could only carry one item on-board the plane back to the USA. We had carried all our luggage on-board on the way there but we pack light and it fit very easily without hampering other passengers. Anyway, apparently it was a relatively new security mandate that had nothing to do with the airline. As a result, we had to check the bags we thought we’d carry on (for the return trip only).</p></li>
<li><p>Go with the flow and enjoy. Notice the differences between what you’re used to and what you observe and enjoy that as well. Don’t get upset if they do some things differently than us and realize that they tend to take their time more in restaurants. Try to avoid American fast food chains of which they have many - you can always eat at those when you get back if you want although you might want to eat one meal at them in each country for the fun of it just so you can say did. Your D might think that was fun. Hit the pubs in England for meals and hit some of the smaller restaurants in France to get more of a local flavor. Remember - “when in Rome…” (or Paris or London).</p></li>
</ul>
<p>I’m sure you’ll have a great time! Will you tell us how it went once you get back?</p>
<p>Have a great time! Enjoy the spontaneous events that will give you a real feeling for Paris and London, and don’t worry about fitting everything into your itinerary!</p>
<p>American fast food overseas can be a little weird. My son insisted on eating in Pizza Huts from time to time and was horrified to find corn on pizza.</p>
<p>^^ You should see what they put on a Shakey’s pizza in Tokyo - I remember a squid pizza (but I didn’t get that one). It was also amusing watching a Japanese guy playing the banjo and singing ‘Oh Susanna’ with his heavy accent.</p>
<p>Make sure to visit the Great Tew Village in Oxfordshire. Absolutely breath-taking. It is said that Tolkien drew his inspiration for LOTR from the scenery there. Paris is far and away my favorite city in the world. My favorite activity? No, not shopping along the Champs Elysees. Not tasting gelato at the Amorino stores. Not gallivanting through the trodden paths of Montmatre. Call me strange or obscure, but I love spending lazy summer afternoons sipping cafe au laits outside Cafe de Flore and people watch.</p>
<p>My daughter and I had a great trip. I wanted to thank everyone for all the advice. I found the French people to be very friendly and helpful. I used my old college French and no one laughed at me. We enjoyed wandering in all the different neighborhoods. My daughter loved all the shopping. Isn’t that always part of a mother-daughter trip? Our hotel in the Latin Quarter was a great location. It was just a 10 minute walk to Notre Dame. The windows are breathtaking! There is so much to see that a week is not enough, but we were happy with our choices. London was our second week. We stayed at a hotel in the Kensington area. It was a neighborhood feel, a little removed from the main part of London. We could still walk to most places. Notting Hill was fun. But I never spotted Hugh Grant. Seeing Wicked was a highlight. We had seats 7th row center. The performance was amazing. The only negative was the 9 hour flight home in very cramped quarters. All in all a great two weeks. We both have memories for a lifetime!</p>
<p>glad you all are home safe and sound, Candace. Precious memories indeed before she departs for her own college adventure.</p>
<p>Good to hear you had a good time. My wife and I are going to Paris in late August.</p>
<p>Sounds like lots of fun - thanks for sharing!</p>