Visiting the English Queen
Despite the doctors' threats about "swine flu", they still decided to visit the good old England, and, of course, start from London. In about a month and a half, Aeroflot tickets were purchased on the Internet at 9.910 rubles (now there is no such price) per person, and through the tour operator DSBW, the Royal Eagle Hotel 3 * was booked, insurance was purchased and documents for a visa were submitted. The tour operator prepared all the documents with translation, and we handed them over personally to the British Visa Application Center, accompanied by a representative of the company. Surprisingly quickly, in five days, the visa was obtained, nothing extraordinary was required for this, the usual certificates from work and study, however, still attached documents for an apartment and a car. It was decided to choose a hotel closer to Paddington station, where trains from Heathrow arrive, since London is a big city, and I don’t speak English well, and to make it easier for us to get to the hotel, we chose this area. The Royal Eagle Hotel 3 * is located a three-minute walk from the railway station and the metro station, three lines of which intersect there, which is very convenient for independent trips around the city by metro. From the airport we took the Heathrow Connect train (NOT the Heathrow Express), travel time 30 minutes, cost £.7. 90 one way per person. It was easy to find it, we just followed the signs to the train, we bought a ticket from a machine in front of the exit to the platform. Since the three of us went - a husband and an adult daughter, we booked two rooms for three nights with breakfast, a double room cost about 140 euros per night, a single room about 110 euros per night. The hotel looks decent, the staff is friendly and helpful. Upon arrival, it turned out that there was no double and single room, so my husband and I were given a quadruple duplex room for two, and our daughters were given a double twin (without a neighbor) for the first night, and then changed to a single room. We were not asked to pay any extra for this. The only glitch in this hotel is the intricate system of stairs and corridors, but in the absence of topographical cretinism, this will not be a problem. There is another inconvenience - taps with water, but this is probably their stupid tradition. If there is a normal-looking faucet with two handles for hot and cold water, water flows from it in two SEPARATE jets - cold and hot. Feelings are unforgettable. Thank God, the shower was still fine. We were pleased with the cleanliness in the rooms, everything was in order, towels were changed daily, 4 pieces per person, soap, shampoo, etc. were in abundance, there was adjustable heating in the room, a TV, a safe, a hair dryer for some reason screwed into the desk drawer in the room , but there is a mirror next to the wall, a kettle, cups, saucers, tea, coffee, sugar and cream were constantly replenished, there are Ukrainian maids, they can tell about everything. Breakfast is sold out around 9 am, coffee, tea, juices, muesli with milk, three types of buns, bread, butter, jam, you can make toast, there are very juicy apples and oranges, for three days such food is quite acceptable. Many scold London hotels for the size of the rooms, yes - not a dance floor, but the size of our rooms in this hotel suited us perfectly, everything fit in with us, and suitcases, and purchases, and ourselves. We really liked the city itself, 4 days to explore it is very short, so we will go again. We liked to travel around the city by metro, a 1-2 zone travel ticket for a day costs 5.60 pounds, and this is the whole center, but just a one-time ticket costs 4 pounds, but you can ride it even to Heathrow for 50 minutes. Once we got into a traffic jam in the metro, it was about 18 hours, we could not enter the station, we were pushing for about 15-20 minutes. Tickets can be bought from vending machines and subway ticket offices. We had dinner not far from our hotel right at Paddington station, we liked the chain Scottish steakhouse, we ate for three with beer for 60 pounds (there is the same in Piccadilly), and in a nearby establishment on another day we ate for three for 40 pounds, prices can be find something for every taste, including buying food in a regular supermarket. Be sure to buy nuts! You simply won't be able to pass squirrels in London. I read in the reviews about the Big Bus sightseeing bus, it was advised, but we didn’t really like it, since the price is 25 pounds per person, the ticket is valid for 48 hours, but in the city there are traffic jams and this bus often travels too slowly, for this time and money you can go around and see five times more sights on the metro, and the text in Russian in headphones is without frills - you can read everything in the guide yourself. The weather was not bad - in the morning the sun, and in the afternoon it rained, once even a shower, the temperature was about + 11C, of course, they fed the squirrels in one of the parks, namely on the way to Buckingham Palace through Green Park, there were waterfowl there many. We rode the waterbus along the Thames from the London Eye to Tower Bridge. We were at the Cadman Road market, my daughter really liked it, only you can’t leave the same metro station in the opposite direction - it is closed, but you can easily walk 10 minutes to the previous station. Very beautiful illumination on the main streets, and absolutely unforgettable - the opera "The Phantom of the Opera" at Her Majesty's Theater. The more days have passed since our return, the more beautiful this city seems to me and the happier the days spent in it. Since this time we didn’t come across the queen along the way, the desire to see her all the same will surely lead us to this friendly city again. I will answer questions to the best of my ability.
