A couple weeks in England - London part 2

We found the Tower of London easy to navigate, mostly, except for the numerous stairs and lack of accessibility. Nevertheless, arriving at opening allowed us to enjoy the Crown jewels on half a dozen go-rounds on the moving walkway, and to spend plenty of time in the rest of the exhibit. There was about a 20-minute line in place when we left the site about 3 hours later. We had planned to visit the Museum of London after the Tower, but it is closed for the next two years for renovations. They have moved a sampling of their collection to another site, but it was too far away from the rest of our itinerary to justify.
The staff members at Westminster Abbey were a stark contrast to the visitors. We had a first-thing admission ticket, and even arriving 30 minutes early, we found ourselves mired in a scrum that lacked organization and even a line. Eventually they figured it out and set up ropes, but it wasn’t a comfortable 30 minutes. The staff here were great--friendly and accommodating in every way. Actually, we found that to be the case across the board when visiting tourist sites. Also, in restaurants, staff were exceeding polite and helpful. Not to diss America, but geez what a difference.
We attended Mamma Mia on Wednesday night. Despite the fact that it’s been playing for years, the theatre was nearly full - not what I expected. Apparently, there are a lot of die-hard fans of the show. Some of them even showed up in costume, a la Rocky Horror Picture Show, which added to the fun. NB: We had first-row balcony seats, and they were so soft we sank down very low and couldn’t see 90% of the stage over the shelf and railing. With a 50-pound per ticket upgrade, we joined the Orchestra seating and were much happier with it. We were lucky to get the seats I suppose; I didn’t see any open ones anywhere near us.
We made an impromptu visit to the Palace of Westminster, which was a happy surprise. Essentially empty, except for school groups, we lingered in both Houses. The debate in the House of Commons was scantily attended by members. Probably because the Scottish economy was the subject -- as the members acknowledged, largely a topic of no interest to the English members. We were surprised at the opulence of the House of Lords and the debate was interesting, too.
We also visited Bletchley Park. I made the mistake of opting for cheap train tickets, which limited our visit to about 3.5 hours. We certainly could have spent more time. While we both felt that the exhibits were somewhat repetitive, they were interesting and really hammered home what a huge effort it was for Britain and its citizens to emerge victorious.

We stayed in Notting Hill, about a 10-minute walk from the Bayswater tube station, in an efficiency flat with a washer which had a surprisingly large kitchen and bath. Only one chair in the bedroom, but it did have a two-chair dining table, so it was adequate for our purposes. The price was right, especially compared to the hotel rates I shopped, so we were happy with it.

Overall impressions: Everything, everywhere cost more than we are generally happy spending. I expected housing to be high, but restaurants, even ethnic ones, cost more than expected. The costs of attractions were what I expected as I bought most tickets ahead of time. We had planned to get an Oyster Card, but in the end just ended up tapping on the bus and subway without a problem.
The crowds. Again, not totally unexpected, but not always comfortable either. I’m a city-girl at heart, so it didn’t bother me, but on his first visit, my husband was overwhelmed much of the time.
Photos. I was disappointed that no photos were permitted at Windsor, in Parliament (although not surprising), and parts of the Tower (again, not surprising). I can see why in all cases, but still, a disappointment as we both enjoy taking photos and building Shutterfly books after our travels.