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Geek Travel To London From the US — Tips?
Audrey23 writes "I am traveling to London from Washington state for two weeks in December for pleasure (use-it-or-lose-it vacation scenario) and was wondering if I should bother bringing my laptop. I know that I would have to change the region code on my wireless amongst other things and the power cord would have to be changed for a UK outlet. Would I be better off not bringing my laptop and just using Internet kiosks (do they exist in London?) or would having my laptop be a better choice to keep in touch, off-load my digital images etc? I plan on hitting the British Museum but was wondering what geeky things to do that are in London that might be worth going to and any tips hints on overseas travel for geeks? I travel quite a bit in the states but this will be my first trip overseas and want to make the best of my stay in merry old England. What words of advice do you travel seasoned geeks have for me?"
Unless you want some time off from computer, take your laptop with you. It's still a lot easier than always going to a Internet Kiosk and can use it otherwise than just quickly uploading images off.
However when traveling, experiencing is the greatest thing. Not planning too much.
Let me give you an example.
At home it's easy to get oriented to the same ways always. Sure sliced ham, bacon, pineapple and roasted red peppers with provolone cheese on a parmesan crust pan pizza with barbeque sauce on it is nice (*). You love it, it tastes good. But sometimes it's time to just go for it, doing the dramatic change without thinking about it earlier. Change that damn pizza to chicken breast, white sauce, smoked bacon and tomatoes on a provolone crust with a mexican sauce on top of it (*). And if you're really going wild, order a chocolate ice cream with strawberries and m&m's on top of it!
What I'm basically saying is that just go and do something. As the geeky non-social persons we are, it's actually really easy to get to know new people when in a foreign country. Maybe because then you have a need to go to talk with people, or sound more interesting to girls since you're from other lands, or come out as mysterious because you dont even understand each others languages. Don't plan everything beforehand - leave there that possibility for problems. I visited Russia earlier this year and lost my immigration card while there. It took some planning out to get out of the country, but it was fun in the end.
Also, since you are near London, there's a great pizza place in Naples that you should visit.
Take your laptop, the freedom to transfer your photos locally, and ready internet access with wifi will make it worthwhile. There are internet cafes around, but it'll be more fuss to find one and time out of your vacation, rather than just packing a power convertor and changing your wifi settings.
Other things you might want to do in London could include:
Of course, there are many other things too as people will list below, London is a big place with lots to see and do, enjoy your trip!
-- Pete.
Monochrome - Probably the UK's largest internet BBS
What you say? I have never heard about it. Is that ordinary wireless LAN you are talking about or UMTS or something?
Uh, I'll notify the police.
Swedish plasma phys. PhD student; MSc EE; knows maths, programming, electronics; finance interest; seeks opportunities
Don't call it 'merry old England'.
...speak to people LOUDLY and ask them if England is anywhere near London because they're all deaf and stupid just like you see on American TV. Tell everyone you meet how everything is bigger in the States and how proud you are to be a Republican. You get to win a prize if you can piss more than 25 feet from Landseer's lions in Trafalgar Square - its a well known custom.
Tubby or not tubby. Fat is the question
Would I be better off not bringing my laptop and just using Internet kiosks (do they exist in London?)
What are these kiosks of the inter-net you speak of?
Why, here in blighty the modern mode of communication is the telegraph, which we run using steam, dontyouknow!
If a man empties his purse into his head no man can take it from him. An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.
LOOK TO THE RIGHT
Because everybody in north America drives on the wrong side of the road, you just don't know it yet.
I live in Australia (where we drive on the left) and I once had to work in South Korea where they drive on the right. I was okay as long as I thought about it every time I crossed the road. It was a mistake to talk on the phone to my wife back home while walking back to the hotel from the pizza shop.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
Bletchley Park is well worth a visit for some codebreaking + early computing. ~45 minute train journey from Euston.
http://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/
Leave the computer at home.
Perhaps the geekiness has got to me, but, I always travel with a computer - for me, currently, my netbook, simply for size and battery life reasons - it's not a huge weight if I don't use it, it's encrypted and everything important is backed-up on my server back at home in case I lose it / it gets stolen, and is great for whiling away time at airports, checking what's going on wherever I am, as well as just keeping up with my email - different strokes for different folks, but, I prefer to be in touch and accessible (but not necessarily to work colleagues) when I'm away.
I wouldn't think too much about it, though - just pick up a plug adapter. If you're going to be bringing lots of powered appliances / chargers, I tend to find the cheapest / easiest solution is to bring a multi-way extender, and one plug adapter, rather than lots of plug adapters (although this is a habit I started for business travel, I now pack this for personal travel too, especially when travelling with my girlfriend, since it just makes things easier for charging phones, iPods etc.).
Feel free to drop by one of the local LUGs, if you're a Linux user, or just fancy a geeky chat - SCLUG's my local, down in Reading (about 25 minutes on the train, from Paddington, London) - or just message me on here, since I enjoy meeting new people!
You can buy them easily from the airport too (especially coming into the UK). Changing wifi settings is not needed - it is still 2.4ghz, the standard only changes the power levels. If it works in the US it will work in the UK. For more geeky things, the welcome trust (featuring victorian medical curiosities like darwin's walking cane, a mummified south american, mad king george's hair, 19th century japanese sex toys, etc) and the british library treasures room (featuring the magna carta, gutenburg bible, domesday book, early maps, da vinci notes, shakespeare, beatles, etc) are great and are practically next door to each other. Most locals dont even know about them but they are definitely worth half a day or so between them.
Warhammer forums
Public taxis are subsidized by the Her Majesty's Government. A taxi ride in London costs two pounds, no matter how far you travel. If a taxi driver tries to overcharge you, you should yell "I think not, you charlatan!", then grab the nearest policeman (bobby) and have the driver disciplined.
It is rarely necessary to take a taxi, though, since bus drivers are required to make detours at patrons' requests. Just board any bus, pay your fare of thruppence (the heavy gold-colored coins are "pence"), and state your destination clearly to the driver, e.g.: "Please take me to the British Library." A driver will frequently try to have a bit of harmless fun by pretending he doesn't go to your requested destination. Ignore him, as he is only teasing the American tourist (little does he know you're not so ignorant!).
For those travelling on a shoestring budget, the London Tube may be the most economical way to get about, especially if you are a woman. Chivalry is alive and well in Britain, and ladies still travel for free on the Tube. Simply take some tokens from the baskets at the base of the escalators or on the platforms; you will find one near any of the state-sponsored Tube musicians. Once on the platform, though, beware! Approaching trains sometimes disturb the large Gappe bats that roost in the tunnels. The Gappes were smuggled into London in the early 19th century by French saboteurs and have proved impossible to exterminate. The announcement "Mind the Gappe!" is a signal that you should grab your hair and look towards the ceiling. Very few people have ever been killed by Gappes, though, and they are considered only a minor drawback to an otherwise excellent means of transportation.
I can't take credit for this advice, source
The most important rule for Brittons in Belgium is : don't try your drinking habbits on the belgian beer. it's much stronger(and better) than you're used to; furthermore : taste the effing beer please, in stead of gulping it down.
Yes, I'm left. You have a problem with that?
Bring :
- Something to read (for when the luggage tracking and transport system fails)
- Emergency underwear (for when they will lose your luggage)
- Anal lube (for when you complain about the delay and lost luggage)
If in addition you travel with british airways, I would say a dose of Valium or Prozac and a strong whisky would do the trick.
It takes 40+ muscles to frown, but only four to extend your arm and bitchslap the motherfucker
Where are you staying? If it's a secure place, then bring your laptop for when you're "at home" for planning your day, photos, etc. There are tons of coffee shops and even pubs with wireless, sometimes free. Personally though, I leave it at home and just carry a camera, A-Z and a Lonely Planet guide (along with a small but wind resistant umbrella, etc), but I can see the benefit to being able to check google maps and the TFL. BTW, tfl.gov.uk will be your best friend at figuring out how to get between any places, especially considering that large parts of the Tube close at the weekends for engineering works. Having a laptop with me around always ways on my mind due to the risk of it being stolen - yes, one of my work colleagues had his bag (containing work laptop) stolen from under a table six of us were sitting around, in a pub in Soho.
Other than that, get out an enjoy yourself. London is a walking city, even in December when the daylight is limited and it can be blustery and wet. One of my favourite walks is from parliament, down the South Bank to the Tower: London Eye, South Bank, Tate Modern, Southwark Cathedral, The Globe, St. Paul's Cathedral, Borough Market, City Hall, Tower Bridge, etc. Greenwich is ace. You can get a Soho walking tour from Trafalgar square. The Royal Parks are awesome. There are tons of little villages that have been over-run by London growing outwards. Then there are more free museums and galleries than you can shake a stick at, and always a trusty pub nearby when you want a break.
but london does have the seventh-busiest greyhound canada terminal in terms of passengers
perhaps you meant to say you wanted to visit the university of western ontario?
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Nor say that you hope to have a blast in London.
The Natural History Museum and Science Musuem are practically next door to each other, and are both essential to any good trip to London. Google Maps link
Don't forget the British Museum recently* split into two, the British Museum, and the Natural History Museum - which used to be the British Museum (Natural History). The British Museum, which houses things such as the mummys, Elgin marbles, Rosetta stone and various other things we stole from around the world during our colonial past, is in Holborn, pretty central in London, and the Natural History Museum, with dinosaurs, big stuffed blue whale and a fabulous mineral and gemstone collection is in South Kensington, right next to the Science Museum (as mentioned previously) and Victoria and Albert museum.
Entrance to all of these is free. Some special exhibits need payment however (usually temporary ones).
When you get to the airport, as long as you're not feeling too lazy, don't try to get a taxi to London, it'll cost you $80 or more (it's a long way). Go to the underground, get an Oyster card with (say) £20 of credit on it (you'll have to ask at the manned ticket office for this), that works for all your underground and bus travel in London, much simpler and quicker than using cash. You can top it up if you run out (you can check your balance at the station or register online to top it up automatically).
Have fun!
Jolyon
* - in 1881. That's recently for us Europeans!
Please read my Canon EOS tech blog at http://www.everyothershot.com
London is a dank, seething cesspool of filth. The tube system is full of tramps, smells of urine, and is the best place to get a venereal disease without any of the difficult issues of actually making contact with anyone.
I recommend going to Blackpool instead. Much more classy.
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
A few quick translations for folks who (like the questioner) haven't been to London before:
A-Z: the street maps of London are a (softcover) book of their own, called the A-Z. You can buy it once you get there. The streets of London can be *very* confusing without an A-Z, so if you're planning to walk around, one of these will be very valuable.
TFL: Tube for London, aka the subway.
Personally, I'd recommend the following: If you have enough space on camera memory sticks to do without the laptop, do so. I spent a month in Europe this past summer, and the only tech I brought with me was a camera and an iPod Touch. The Touch allowed me to check mail/websites/etc and use Skype at various Wifi locations to call whomever I needed to, which realistically was all I needed while on vacation. I also grabbed a multi-country plug adapter that also included a USB power port, and just carried that in my bags (it was quite small). In short, your camera, some extra memory sticks, and a smartphone should be enough to cover what you need...I think the laptop is just extra weight.
Also, if you're going to be in the UK at the winter solstice, go to Stonehenge that day. Yes, it'll be a madhouse, but that's part of the fun.
The UK allows a couple of extra channels (12 and 13) that I believe you can't use in the US. It might be necessary to change some settings to allow use of these channels.
However, few APs actually use these channels, so it's unlikely to be much of an issue.
Watch out for sarcasm. I know in the US you guys really have trouble spotting this, but in the UK we have this perfected.
Also, please dont tell anyone you just love the British accent. It really gets on our nerves, especially as we hate most US accents and can barely tolerate the rest.
Be prepared to have problems understanding the English of people who work in shops. This is because the % of natives working in shops is close to 0. They are manned by indians, middle easteners, eastern europeans, etc.
Actually, don't hold too much hope of meeting a native person as london, aside from the aforementioned shop workers, is full of american and oriental tourists. Your best bet during the daytime is trying to talk to someone on the tube, who may just be native, although probably tired and grumpy from living in or communiting to london every day and may just ignore you or tell you to piss off.
At night time though you can find lots of natives. Males and females are both easy to spot. They are loud and obnoxious and usually quite drunk. Probably best to avoid these. If you spot someone at night who is acting normally and quiet then they may be a terrorist. Report them to the police.
Do go to soho at night though. Its an enlightening experience. Actually you may feel quiet safe in this area, unlike other areas, although you may get nice looking ladies asking you for the time quiet often. One can only presume there is some sort of time-telling-device shortage in the soho area.
Do visit Camden market, afternoon or late evening. This is nothing to do with being a geek. Just wander around until some guy offers you to buy something, usually in a small package. Don't worry what it is. Smoke it, eat it, its all good stuff.
You have:
London Tate Gallery
British Museum
British Library
British Science Museum
British Natural History Museum
London Dungeons
London Eye
London Aquarium
Madame Tussauds
SOHO (just roaming around late at night)
Wembley Stadium for a match or gig if one is on.
River Thames Boat trip.
The Tower of London
Visit the Houses of Parliament
Shakespear Globe tour
Royal Opera House
National Gallery
National Maritime Museum
The list goes on: http://www.visitlondon.com/
Just a word of advice, if you are going for 2 weeks and are relying on the underground, look into getting an Oyster card. This will save you money on using the tube: https://oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/entry.do
When all is said and done, nothing changes...
It's about the only place in the UK worth bothering with. Everywhere else is full of pissed-up chavs.
I guess you're just a yokel though, if you don't like cities. Here's a tip - some people like to do more with their evenings than hang out in the barn fucking pigs.
...but the Planetarium closed down a few years ago. It was turned into a "celebrity cinema" bit of Madame Tussauds, showing showbiz movies. Philistines.
However, the Greenwich Observatory has their own, new planetarium - it's brand new, and right by the Greenwich Meridian:
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/visit/planetarium-shows/
sig:- (wit >= sarcasm)
If you elect to not take your laptop so that you are typing passwords in on someone else's computer, make sure to change all your passwords before you go. When you get back, change them back. You never know if there is a keylogger or other such things, and so make sure to treat every computer as hostile.
Learn to love Alaska
As far as I know the channels that change between regions in Wireless cards are the extremes, so you don’t have to have problems to connect to the majority of wireless Access points without changing anything.
For electricity voltage you have a change to take into account, in the USA electricity is 110-120 volts 60Hz, in Europe it is 220 volts 50Hz, so you will need a charger that supports dual voltage or one specific for European electricity.
My advice, take your laptop with you if you plan to connect to internet every day, it is practically sure the hotel you stay on will have Wireless for clients, or at least you can find hotspots all over London.
Things to do in London (tourist mode ON)
NOTES for tourists:
In England the cars travel in the left lane, remember this when you cross a street
In England the subway arrives from right to left, not form left to right.
The average temperature on December is 4C (39F) so Wrap up warm
London is a city with a lot of places to go, so take your time to search de web and find the ones that are interesting for you.
I've used Boingo in the UK (and Brazil, and Argentina, and the US) and can only say good things about them. It seems they have agreements with all major players (like BT, Orange, etc.) so you can use your Boingo account pretty much anywhere in the UK where you see the "WiFi zone". There are sooo many interesting places in London. Some of the not so obvious: - The National Archive - The Victoria and Albert museum - The Sherlock Holmes museum - Abbey Road (if you are into The Beatles) - Greenwich - The Naval museum (in Greenwich) - Newton's (and many others') tomb at the Westminster Abbey - Millions of others I can't recall at the moment Learn to use the Tube, it will take you everywhere you want to go but Greenwich. Also, you can spend a day or two in Cambridge, only 50' away by train from King's Cross, you can pretty much walk everywhere from the station and so many things to see. The Scott Arctic Expedition museum, The Cronophage (although it's *very* disappointing), the colleges and you might even get a glimpse of Stephen Hawking if you are lucky enough (tip: he goes for a tea at the local John Lewis every now and then. That's where I saw him :))
And by Jove, drink some propper beer while you can!
Cheers
If you must take a computer with you, get a Netbook on a Black Friday sale deal and just take that. Don't risk your expensive laptop with lots of personal data on it.
I don't see a need to take one at all, aside from backing up photos from your camera, watching movies, and maybe checking in with family back home. You're on vacation - unplug!
Mate - read the post more carefully - we are talking about 3G dongles that you plug into your laptop not phones. I am well aware that phones can be used truly as pay-as-you-go - in fact I run my iPhone as payasyougo.
"I always assume Psychology students are hiding in the bushes"
Do NOT go to Oxford, or if you do, only go for an afternoon. Once you've seen the university, it is an extremely tedious place.
Go to Oxford and spend that afternoon in The Pitt Rivers Museum and the Museum of the History of Science
You can buy a pay as you go phone at the airport or on any London high street. A cheap model shouldn't cost you more than 20 pounds. This solves the problem of a) your phone not working here because you don't have roaming b) People not being willing to call you back because you've only got a US number when you roam c) Stupidly high roaming charges.
-- Sorry, I can't think of anything funny to say here.
Not true - all the operators allow you this returns policy. My point stands - there is very little difference between the packages and O2's network sucks. Not going to do your homework for you, but as an example: 3G states 14 day money back guarantee here: http://threestore.three.co.uk/broadband/?id=1397
"I always assume Psychology students are hiding in the bushes"
And also spend a day or two in Paris. It's a quick and cheap ride.
If you have a small enough laptop bring it. No need for a new power cord, just get a plug adapter, unless your power brick really won't handle 240 V (most modern ones do).
Some US companies are selling power bricks that don't handle 240V.
(We had a US colleague blow up four on the trot that way. I think he was let go shortly after that...)
I like London. But I'd still say, if it's a two week visit, get the hell out of London for at least half that time, and see some other parts of Britain.
One of the more picturesque cities (Bath, Oxford, York). Or a smaller town. Or some countryside.
Get a guidebook (I like Lonely Planet) and follow your own tastes.
As others have said; your laptop will work with a simple travel plug. It's easy to find WiFi - less easy to find free WiFi.
Most important of all, in London:
DO NOT EAT AT AN ANGUS STEAKHOUSE or similar. They are expensive tourist traps that serve revolting food. Nobody goes twice. If you're wise you don't go once.
Take your laptop. Make sure your hotel has WiFi. Use the WiFi without changing the settings and without fear; the US uses a couple of extra radio frequencies that the UK doesn't, but since all the access points / routers will be British, your laptop will only lock on to the British frequencies, so it isn't a real issue. You absolutely will not get hassle for this.
Forget internet kiosks. They're as crappy in the UK as they are everywhere else in the world. Even being quaintly retro-fitted into a traditional red phone box with an innovative stainless steel vandal-proof trackball doesn't detract from the universal crappiness of internet kiosks in general. If you absolutely must, use a proper Internet cafe, but even so you'll be better off with your own laptop and free WiFi at a normal cafe. Lots and lots of cafes offer free WiFi. You can also get pay-for WiFi at many pubs, and those which are part of the British Telecom BT Openzone network will allow you to carry over WiFi credit from pub to another pub.
Take only one British plug adaptor (you can buy them at the airport) but take a multi-way gang lead. That way you can plug multiple American electronic devices into one British socket. Hotels the world over have a shortage of sockets, this is no different in the UK, so make the most of one socket rather than buying converters for several.
Make sure your cell phone is compatible with GSM/3G/UTMS and that your cellular provider is aware that you are travelling to the UK.
The British Museum is pretty good, albiet small, and offers a lot which American museums don't. Bear in mind that the Rosetta Stone is not as large as you might imagine. The Science Museum covers pretty much the same things as other science museums in other capital cities around the world, it's good but not particularly different from what you have back in the US, unless you desperately, desperately want to see a working version of Babbage's 250-year-old mechanical computer. If you want a second museum day, consider the Victoria and Albert museum which has lots of steampunk and design things.
If you have only one day out of London, visit Bletchley Park, the WWII codebreaking base with lots of old computers. You can catch a train from Euston station, takes about 45 mins. If you have a second day out, visit Oxford, the quaint picturesque university city with Cotswold stone buildings and lots of really distinctive museums. You can catch a train from Paddington station, takes about an hour. Neither Bletchley nor Oxford train station are in the middle of where you want to be (it's difficult to plan infrastructure in towns built a thousand years ago), so expect some walking.
Absolutely do not hire a car. Firstly, the steering wheel and handbrake will be on the wrong side of the car, secondly it's expensive, thirdly the roads are significantly more crowded and more wiggly than you are used to, and fourthly we have lots and lots of roundabouts which are entirely different to four-way stops in ways which you can probably not even imagine.
Taxis are expensive. Use the plentiful and frequent underground (subway train) service, buy an all-day or all-week pass. This pass will also cover you for the busses.
Get the London Popout Map. This covers the main pedestrian areas, underground map and bus routes in a very compact form, slips easily into a small pocket and uses a very geeky, very neat origami folding method which means you can quickly and discretely open it in a confined space, without looking like a potential mugging victim.
Get an Underground Overground tube map. You can buy these from dispensers on the underground platforms. They show the actual physical route and actual physical distances the tube trains take; the traditional symbolic map doesn't demonstrate the real distances between stops. You
Andrew Oakley - www.aoakley.com
Go see the British Library. It's free, and they have a great collection of illuminated manuscripts, Da Vinci sketches, etc. My wife and I really enjoyed it, as it's a well-hidden gem. Really enjoyed seeing a copy of the Magna Carta.
OpenSource.MathCancer.org: open source comp bio
I'd stay long enough to change planes and head for someplace nice. Try a cheap flight to Malta, or Cyprus. Life's too short to be in England in the winter.
...visit the Falkirk Wheel in Sterling, Scotland. It's quite a feat of engineering, and thanks to Archimedes' principle, it takes very little power to turn it since the two boat slips always weight exactly the same regardless if one has a huge boat and the other is empty!
Of course Edinburgh and Inverness are beautiful in their own right, so a jaunt through Scotland wouldn't hurt.
Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
The Science Museum gets my top vote - I love it. You can see Babbage's difference engine, for example, or the NeXT cube that the WWW was born on.
If you can afford a day then get on a train to Cambridge - there is a bus from there to the Duxford Imperial War Museum. There are a lot of wonderful aircraft (e.g. see the TSR2) and there is a land warfare exhibition too which is enormous. It's a lot of travelling but I loved it.
There is a very good RAF museum that's closer at Hendon which is good if you can't make the longer trip.
At Greenwich (gren-idge) you can see the observatory at 0 degrees longitude. The main geek interest here is seeing how the longitude problem was solved - I thought it was a wonderful story with a great moral for computer scientists and engineers about complexity.
The Imperial War Museum in Lambeth is also pretty good.
But it's worth catching a play or some music because those are the things which are best here.
This is all just my personal opinion.
As many airplanes as you can shake a stick at.
http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london/index.cfm
G.O. is really stunning and worth visiting. Go in the afternoon, then take one of the fast boats up the Thames from there to Central London as the sun is setting. Really very excellent, but make sure you know the boat times in advance. Visit LMNT in Hackney (http://www.lmnt.co.uk/) - It's a crazy restaurant and you'll see a different part of London. You could have gone to White Mischief (http://www.whitemischief.info/) for some Steampunk goodness, but it looks like it's not on while you're there so how about The Horse Hospital (http://www.thehorsehospital.com/). Plenty of interest to see there. Don't bother with a laptop, there's too much else to be spending your time on.
Remember, English food is bland, so if you get "pub lunch" you will need to cover everything with lots of English mustard. Better to go for some Indian meals, but even there Englishness has blanded everything down. Ask for a "Vindaloo" or better yet a "Bangalore Phal" and make sure you get it extra spicy. As for drink, there are parts of England that make a speciality out of cider (Sumerset and Herefordshire in particular) but anything called "scrumpy" (more natural, unprocessed cider) is fun for a jug or two.
Red to red, black to black. Switch it on, but stand well back.
* Get yourself an Oyster Card - you can get one from the tube stations at Heathrow Airport and are valid on most public transport in London including all Underground (tube) trains, all local (red) buses in London, some "overground" (i.e. not tube) trains (from 2nd Jan 2010 almost all trains in London will take it) and some river-boat services (the river boats are not cheap but can be a great way to see the sights along the river). You have to pay a £3 deposit plus whatever credit you'll want to start with, but you can get that back plus any unused credit by surrending the card at a tube station when you leave.
* If you're flying into Heathrow and you don't have too much luggage, then the tube to central London is by far the cheapest option. There are also two "overground" rail services, the non-stop Heathrow Express (15 mins to central London) and the stops-at-local-stations Heathrow Connect (25 mins to central London). Both are rather more expensive than the tube, the Express especially so, and neither take Oyster. There used to be an Airbus services from Heathrow to central London but that stopped a few years ago. National Express run some coach (long distance bus) services to/from central London that call at Heathrow but they will be the slowest option and you may need to book your tickets in advance.
* If flying in to Gatwick, then your best choice is rail to London. There are two services: Gatwick Express is a bit more expensive but faster and has more luggage space. Southern is likely to be a bit cheaper and not quite as fast. Be aware that although the two services are run by the same company, tickets on one may not be valid on the other. Neither will take Oyster as Gatwick is well outside the city boundary of Greater London. In the unlikey event you fly into Stansted (which doesn't have many flights to/from North America) then the same applies to the Stansted Express rail link. There are cheapish coach links from Gatwick and Stansted but they will be a lot slower.
* Wherever you fly into, DON'T take a taxi into London unless you really need to and have LOTS of money! Having said that, if you're not sure how to get to a particular place, London cabbies have to spend several years learning "The Knowledge" and will always be able to get you to where you want to go, for a price.
* I second the motion to go to Bletchley Park. This is outside of London but only about 45 minutes from Euston railway terminus by train. It is an absolute must see for any geek: not only does it have working replicas of the Turing "Bombe" and Colossus machines, but it has subsidiary museums on site of computing and other technology.
* Amberley Chalk Pits museum in Sussex might be of interest to you too, with displays of agricultural and industrial technology, transport and communications (TV and radio museums). It's about an hour and a half from Victoria railway terminus.
* If you're interested in transport, then the London Transport museum at Covent Garden in the centre of London is a must see.
* If you do travel outside of London by train, then unless you're going long distance (more than a couple of hours from London) you won't need t
DO NOT TAKE YOUR LAPTOP I'm an IT manager with 15 years experience and work for a company with global operations and travel often. I was also in the USAF and traveled to Europe (primarily Germany) many times. That having been said, the laptop is more hassle than its worth. Unless you have a real-time business need, leave it behind. Its a hassle while traveling and you'll worry about it constantly not to mention the extra bag. Bring a camera and maybe a digital voice recorder or a movie camera. Enjoy a the vacation for what it is and not worry about answering e-mails. Leave the US behind and just enjoy Europe.
Well I lived in England for 30 years and I have no idea what you mean by "boiled meat"...I don't think I've ever had such a thing (possibly outside of a NYC hotdog, although calling that meat is a stretch). Traditional British food is much maligned but really good when done well, but modern British cooking has borrowed heavily from other parts of the world - just like some other places you might be more familiar with. Or did you think Pizza was invented in the US?
---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"
>> I lived in England for two years.
When? in word war 2?
>> Skip traditional "English" food, it's bland and tedious
Thats really funny coming from an Yank. I'm a Brit living in US now. There's a lot of things in the US thats better than the UK but food is definately not one of them. Compared to the UK there's absolutely no real variation of choice here when eating out for a reasonable price.
Its all the same chains everywhere you go. Endless amounts Chillis, Wendys, Applebees, etc in every direction and they all serve the same bland crap as each other. Macdonalds and burger king and wendys etc etc are all American in origin and are the ultimate in bland. Most Americans espeically in the mid west think anything even slightly spicy is way too hot. They put so much sugar and/or corn syrup in EVERYTHING in the US you can't hardly taste the actual food.
Not sure if anybody has mentioned this, but London is insanely expensive. Imagine New York pricing on everything, except multiply that by the current exchange rate ( 1gpb = 1.65), plus add in some VAT. Basically, if you run in an off license (british for kwikie mart it would seem) for a bottle of water, it will be about $4 for something non trendy. Also, don't expect your credit/debit card to work anywhere, all the cards over there have chips and vendors either don't want to use the mag stripe or don't even know that it is possible. Fortunately though, most ATMs will work (and your bank will probably charge you $3 each time you use one).
You may need The Xenophobe's Guide to the English
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