Things we learned London

Oh, OK, this was a question I also had too - the lack of garbage cans - yeah, makes perfect sense - I'm from a small town where there are large garbage cans everywhere, terrorism/bombs are something we don't think about...but now you have to think about it in these large cities.

The Buckingham Palace tour includes a special exhibit which changes every year. The year we took the tour, the special exhibit was the royal family's collection of Faberge pieces they had acquired over the years. Truly amazing.

terrorism/bombs .....but now you have to think about it in these large cities.

Shelley, It is not new, this is old hat, as Emma says. Rubbish bins (and unmanned left luggage lockers in stations) were taken out in the 1970's when the IRA discovered they were great places to put time-delayed bombs. What people from North America do not appreciate is that terrorism did not start with 9/11. The 1970's and 1980's, with the IRA in the UK, Baader Meinhof, Red Brigades etc. were actually a lot worse than currently.

Eurostar check-in has been getting worse. I have seen 20 minute queues to get through the ticket barrier. It hasn't helped that the UK government introduced exit passport checks earlier this year.

My recommendation: at your first tube station, pick up free maps and leaflets: Tube map, bus map, tourist guide.
An Oyster card is definitely the best invention since sliced bread.
Do a few bus rides, upstairs at the front, best views of London.

Things I learned this July in London - speaking strictly from a personal viewpoint:

• I can permit myself to take a cab or two. There is a lot to be said for eliminating travel agita from time to time.

• How to pick my table in a pub even while alone and then walk away from it to tell the barkeep where I am sitting (kind of). My mind is still bendy about this, but practice will make perfect, I am sure. Or at least open conversations in pubs...

• That I can live through long tube escalators - though it did not help my confidence that a bunch of people fell on the opposite up escalator. Some were on their backs. There was nothing anyone on my escalator could do to help. How does one solve this problem? Pushing the stop button would cause many, many people to fall.

• That arriving at the Orangerie at 11 on a Sunday (without reservations) is better than arriving at noon; got seated on the patio on a sofa. Perfect. And that Hyde Park is immense. I previously had no first hand knowledge of this. I basically hung out in different parts all Sunday reading and relaxing.

I am sure I learned more, but this is what comes to mind. Good memories.

Debbie, did you see what caused people to fall on the escalator? When I ride those long ones, they can bring about a feeling like I'm about to fall. I lean back slightly on down escalators and forward slightly on up ones. I keep my hand on the moving handle (or whatever it's called) and am aware of my body position.

Up until 1989 or '92 my trip in Paris, there were still coin lockers in French train stations. No more, for that you have to go to Germany. I know, I used them in France.

The terrorism in the 1970s by the BM gang targeted certain individuals, such as M Schlyer in 1977, when I was in Germany I don't recall it was indiscriminate, unless I'm wrong on the memory.

Those long escalators in London you'll find also in Budapest, especially where the M4 line stops.

About those escalator handrails: I find they go out is of sync with the stairs sometimes, and I have to keep moving my hand.

Agree about holding onto those rubber moving escalator handrails. They were probably the only thing that kept me from falling on some escalators in London. Also remember to use hand sanitizer. Think of all the hands that have touched the handrail. Likewise, the touch pads to buy or top-up Oyster cards, and hand rails used when you get on and off buses or tube.

When my husband and I were in London in May 2016, we caught something awful, like having walking pneumonia with mono at the same time. So, keep the hand sanitizer handy for after your hands touch all kinds of places that other hands have touched.

Rebecca, great idea about hand sanitizer. Thanks. I am especially thankful for TFL which will allow me to plot a course sans escalators! This summer, I took the bus from Oxford Circle to Hackney - to see House of Hackney. I guess I was not up on my geography. Did not realize I was so close to the British Museum. What a nice surprise. Was also introduced for the first time to the Wallace Collection on a London Walks tour. I did a lot of walking, only that one escalator experience.

D

On our last two visits we have purchased a 7 day travel card from any train station instead of the Oystercard. It works the same way with tube and buses, but allows you to take advantage of two for one discount at most of the major sites. It is a bit more complicated: You can only purchases it at a train station. You have to bring a passport type photo for the card. Before you go, you have to go online and print out the coupons for the sites you may want to see. (I had so many possibilities, that I printed mine 4 to a page. Otherwise, such a waste of paper!) You can find details at the tfl.com website.