10 Tips for Traveling to London

Here I am posing with the statue of Paddington Bear at Paddington Station with the bear I bought there.

I just got back from a week in London। It was my first overseas trip, and I did weeks of research to prepare for it. Most of my research really prepared me well, but there were a few things I wish I'd known before going. Combining everything I read with my own experience, here's a list of my tips for traveling to London:

1. If you are planning on using the tube a lot, including getting to and from the airport, don't use a wheeled suitcase. Only a few tube stops are handicapped-accessible, which means you're going to have to use a lot of stairs. Also, my suitcase got stuck in every turnstile at every Tube and train station. Take a tip from the Amazing Race contestants and get a carry on-sized backpack to use as your suitcase.

2. Pack light, carry on all of your luggage, but bring a spare carry-on bag. Here’s what we did, and it worked really well: Pack a flat, lightweight, carry-on bag in your suitcase/backpack. Carry on all of your luggage on the flights to London. On the way back, pack all of your souvenirs and valuables in the spare carry-on bag, and check your other suitacase/backpack. You won’t have to worry about lost luggage while you’re in London, and when you get back, you will make sure you have all of your souvenirs with you when you arrive. If the checked bag gets lost, at least you’re home. By the way, as far as what to wear, don’t worry about looking like a tourist, because unless you’re wearing a suit, speak with a British accent, and never look at the sights around you, you already look like one.

*A note on the whole liquid law: since you can only carry on so much liquid, I packed as much as I could in the little quart ziplock and bought the rest when I got there at Superdrug. You can either abandon what you bought when you leave or pack it in your checked luggage.

3. Bring two pairs of comfortable shoes. If a pair gives you blisters one day, you’ll have an alternate. Also, if you wear running shoes, they take at least 24 hours to dry out and bounce back to their original shape after wearing.

4. Be prepared to walk up a lot of stairs. If you hate climbing stairs, you’re going to HATE taking the Tube. Yes, there are escalators, but you have to take some stairs to get to them. Only a few Tube stops are handicapped-accessible. Work out on a Stairmaster for a few weeks before you leave, and you’ll be good to go.

5. Bring a bottle of reliable water with you everywhere. Rick Steves pointed out that even if the local water is safe to drink, it may contain minerals and bacteria that your body is not used to, so you can still get sick. I was fine drinking the London tap water, but one bottle of Welsh water made me sick. I stuck with tap water or Evian the rest of the trip and was fine. With all the walking you'll do, you will need to stay hydrated, especially if it gets warm (most places do not have air conditioning, including the tube). Don’t depend on vendors at the tourist sites for water, as it will be more expensive and some of them only take cash.

6. Bring a coin purse. Most of the money you'll use in London will be coins, and they get bulky and heavy.

7. Don't bother exchanging money, just go to an ATM when you get there. The service charge at the ATM will be lower than what a money exchanging service will charge you, and there are ATM's everywhere.

8. Make a list before you go of all the things you'll need to buy for others and yourself. My family told me what they'd like me to bring back, so it made souvenir shopping easier and I didn't forget anyone. I forgot to put down a charm for my charm bracelet, which I always get on every trip, so I didn't get one. I luckily was able to order one online from a London shop, but it just isn't the same.

9. Leave one day on your itinerary with nothing planned at the end of your stay. You may find you didn't get to do all the things you scheduled, so this can be a catch-up day. Also, you won't want to do anything to stressful the day before you go, as traveling home will be exhausting enough, so this can be a good day to rest up. We had a pretty physically-demanding last day, and it made it even more tiring to run through the train stations and airports the next day.

10. Use the Oyster Card. It’s cheaper, it’s easier, and you’ll use it like crazy. You can even register it so if it gets lost, you won’t lose all the money you’ve put on it.


If I could put an 11th tip on here, it would be to go there only when you are really wealthy, because everything is so expensive, but what can you do about that?

Finally, a wedding and honeymoon post!

It took a couple of hours and some tears, but I finally uploaded all the wedding and reception pictures to flickr. There were so many pictures that Flickr Uploader actually crashed twice in the process. I didn't put descriptions on all the photos because I needed time to eat and sleep, and it was either the pictures or my health and sanity, so I chose the latter.

Here's a picture of the wedding party:

From Left: my dad, middle sister Leslie, youngest sister Kendal, me, Sean (the groom), his best man Erin, friend Lane, and his younger brother Lee, in front of the Polk County Court House in Des Moines, where we got hitched.


The reception was at the Walnut Woods Lodge in West Des Moines. I was so busy getting ready that morning that I went with wet hair. It was crazy, but we pulled it off:


The Location



Interior


We bought all the flowers that morning and Leslie frantically arranged them. The ones on this table are actually the bride's and bridesmaids' bouquets. I baked the cake and cupcakes myself because they needed to be gluten-free for my sister and father. My sister Kendal decorated the cake and Leslie decorated the cupcakes. We ordered the sheet cake and all the food from HyVee. We had TONS left over.


We provided these fruit and veg plates, plus a meat and cheese trays and sammich-making stuff.



Bought these metal tubs at Lowes. Unfortunately they were leaking melting ice like crazy.



Bought these personalized fans for everyone, thinking we'd have a typical mid-July day in Iowa (hot and humid). The weather turned out to be so unbelievably cool that we now have $100 worth of personalized fans sitting in our kitchen. Any takers???


Leslie brought her amp and mic, so we used that for the toasts. Here., the best man salutes me for putting up with Sean.



Here, Leslie sings my requested song, "Grow Old With Me" by John Lennon. She was a hit, and did an encore.


Eating. Drinking.


After the speeches, we all went outside for some non-dancing entertainment.



Sean brought his mini soccer nets and hockey gear. He said it was for the kids, but I think we all know better:



After the wedding, we went out for Karaoke, which I pooped out on early. After the reception, the groom and his friends went out to the BBQ and Blues fest downtown, but I was too tired for that, too. They all eventually came back to our place and played with our Wii, and if that sounds dirty, it's probably because it is. I fell asleep, so I have no idea what other shenanigans went on.

So, the next step is our honeymoon trip to London, which starts August 17th. I am feverishly preparing for that now in advance, packing, planning, etc. I don't travel well, and I anticipate the jet lag will not be much fun for me. Still, this is a trip of a lifetime for me, so I will try to suck it up.

For more exciting photos, feel free to peruse my flickr uploads in the Wedding collection.