In London for a Sparkling Christmas

FIRST DAY IN LONDON

Before dawn we go to the car park a few km from Malpensa: PARKINGO. Usually they are very efficient, this morning however they are very slow and we waste a lot of time in line at the cashier, even though we had booked our parking space.

Finally the shuttle takes us to Malpensa Terminal 2 (old Malpensa) for our low-cost Easy Jet flight, obviously booked online.

The outbound flight goes off without a hitch and right on time.

On board they even sell train tickets to get from Gatwick airport to central London with the Gatwick Express.

At the arrival airport too everything goes quickly: our luggage is handed over quickly and we quickly find the signs for the train, already waiting on the track.

The journey to Victoria Station is fast: about 30 minutes, direct, without any stops.

Once we arrive at Victoria Station, we look for the underground ticket office and there we buy a Travel Card valid for 3 days.

Then, by subway, we head to our Hotel (Crestfield Hotel, booked online with Venere - DO NOT GO THERE) which is right in front of King's Cross Station.

Of course the room isn't ready yet, after all it's still morning; however they let us leave our luggage and right after we go out to start visiting the city.

First we visit St. Paul's Cathedral, a beautiful cathedral with lovely frescoes and with the possibility of climbing up to the dome.

But be careful: in London, all entry to all museums, churches included, costs a fortune. To visit a museum or a Church, you have to shell out between 10 and 15 Pounds (equal to about 20 euros). So you need to choose carefully what to visit, limiting yourself only to what interests you most.

After St. Paul, we visit the Tower of London, right next to the famous Tower Bridge.

The Tower of London is a fortress overlooking the Thames, made up of a number of ancient buildings used as a Museum. There are various buildings to visit including the Jewel House, that is the building with the Crown Jewels. Perhaps the exterior visit of the building is more interesting than the interior. However, even to visit the internal courtyards you need an entrance ticket.

Finally, we head to the beautiful and sparkling Oxford Street: the long shopping street par excellence. Here we find shops for miles on both sides of the street, with wide sidewalks for the many pedestrians and there are shops also on all the adjacent streets (Regent Street, Bond Street etc.).

Sometimes they aren't simple shops but real multi-story department stores (e.g. Selfridge's, Marks & Spencer) where, if you wanted to visit every single department, you'd lose the whole day.

Then, by now tired, (also considering the early 4:30 am wake-up), we go back to the hotel.

Now the room is of course ready but.... what a disappointment!

Thank goodness the comments and the rating given to the hotel on the Venere portal, by previous visitors, was more than positive.

Here below I will list all the flaws of the Crestfield Hotel trying to discourage anyone reading this piece of mine from going there:

- 4 flights of narrow stairs to climb on foot, with and without luggage (what a joy, when you go back to the room after a long day spent always on your feet, around the city)

- a queen-size bed, passed off as a double (Max and I are certainly not small-sized). Result: we don't rest well either of the 2 nights and on the second day Max is forced to take a Voltaren tablet to soothe his back pain;

- in the room there isn't even space to open a 50 cm trolley. (and we have 2)

- the bathroom is ridiculous: consisting only of a toilet and a fixed shower anchored to the ceiling that drains directly onto the bathroom floor (how disgusting!). The sink is instead directly in the room, in front of the bed.

- Breakfast is very BASIC.

How true the saying is: "Who spends more spends less". Here's what you gain from being "stingy".

In the evening though we go out and head for dinner in one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in London: COVENT GARDEN.

It's a collection of a few cobblestone streets, that unwind around old buildings (covered Markets indeed) masterfully restored and now used as restaurants, bars, characteristic shops. Here the shops are open even in the evening, outdoor venues where you can eat and drink anything even in the middle of winter. There's a festive atmosphere, street artists and musicians on various corners, tasteful Christmas decorations: How lovely! I want to come back tomorrow evening too, and so it will be.

SECOND DAY IN LONDON

After a mediocre breakfast in our super luxurious hotel we head to Westminster Abbey. The cathedral is very complex, made up of several aisles, side chapels and cloisters. It is certainly very sumptuous, however it is a big "monumental cemetery" as it houses the tombs of rulers, poets and various figures from English history.

Right after we go to visit the National Gallery: finally a beautiful place to visit completely for free.

Here very famous paintings are kept; the beautiful rooms are divided chronologically by eras: from 200 up to 900 (the section I prefer).

Then we visit a museum outside the usual "tourist destinations". It's Apsley House, the ancient residence of the Duke of Wellington. The building, rather austere from the outside, is richly furnished inside and also holds paintings of some importance. The visit is quick and certainly pleasant.

Apsley House is a few steps from the famous "Harrods". I have no words to describe this beautiful department store. You can't simply call it a shop; it's a real monument. Furnished and set up with lavish taste, it invites you to buy anything. It has items with its own Harrods brand; objects that you can only buy here. On the ground floor we find gift items, souvenirs and various foods (tea, chocolate, sweets), all in the most appealing setting. Just think that the escalator is in "Egyptian" style. It feels like being at Disneyland.

Despite the crowd, we even manage to do some shopping: something for us, something to give as a gift.

Then we go back to the hotel, have dinner at the very nearby Mc Donald's and then head again to Covent Garden for a very pleasant after-dinner. We listen to a very good street musician (presumably Italian since he also played pieces by Ligabue) and then we eat some desserts in one of the outdoor bars, right in the square of the covered Market (Apple pie or Cherry pie for me and Chocolate fudge for Max).

THIRD DAY IN LONDON AND BACK HOME

By subway (the place where in these 3 days we spent the most time by far) we head to Kensington Palace for the visit of the palace, royal residence and former home of the late Lady Diana.

Part of the building is used as a museum/shrine to Lady Diana herself with an exhibition of her clothes, maxi screens everywhere showing her videos and giant photos on the walls. Then, finally, we move on to the more interesting visit of the State apartments: truly interesting, it's definitely worth it and the price paid. Kensington Palace is surrounded by a large park, with a beautiful central lake, squirrels and greenery as far as the eye can see. If the weather permits, we recommend visiting it. Not our case since, unexpectedly, it starts raining and we have nothing to shelter ourselves. So I'm forced to buy a folding umbrella with the English flag: "it will be a nice souvenir".

We then go to a neighborhood in North London: Camden Town. Here we have lunch in a typical English pub with typical English food: The Black Cap.

After the pleasant and relaxing lunch break, we visit the characteristic neighborhood of Camden Town. "Characteristic" is the only term that comes to mind to describe it. Let's say the neighborhood is "characteristic", "extravagant", "colorful" full of "flamboyant" kids. Shops and markets of items of questionable taste everywhere. If you want to buy truly extravagant clothes to amaze your friends and relatives when you return, come here: it's the right place.

We visit the characteristic neighborhood of Camden Town. "Characteristic" is the only term that comes to mind to describe it. Let's say the neighborhood is "characteristic", "extravagant", "colorful" full of "flamboyant" kids. Shops and markets of items of questionable taste everywhere. If you want to buy truly extravagant clothes to amaze your friends and relatives when you return, come here: it's the right place.

I decide not to waste too much time and insistently ask Max to go back toward the center, thus visiting the most classic and quiet areas like "Piccadilly", "Regent Street" and "Carnaby street", all streets with nice elegant shops and lots of Christmas decorations, as I like them.

But for us the time has come to head to the airport. We go back to the hotel to collect our luggage and take the train again to Gatwick.

Unfortunately here we have the bitter surprise that the whole Easy Jet system isn't working: the computers don't work, the baggage conveyor belts don't work, it's impossible to check in. So we accumulate an hour and a half of delay.

In the dead of night, we are finally home.

Moral: Don't go to the Crestfield hotel in London (or another excessively cheap hotel) and don't fly with Easy Jet.

Dani and Max

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