|
Packing List |
|
The Weather in
London |
|
Our Hotel in London |
Britannia
International Hotel Marsh Wall, Docklands, London E14 9SL
Phone 011-448712220042 Fax
011-448712227712 |
|
Cell Phone Carriers |
Your cell
phones will not work in the UK unless you have International Service
activated on your plan. Below are links to the international pages for
the major cell phone companies:
Cingular
T-Mobile
Nextel
Verizon
Sprint
Also, you can sign up on
iChat or
Skype for free online communications. |
|
Surviving In London |
A Map of the Underground
- London's Subway System - called "The Tube"
Calculating Exchange Rates
|
The unit of British currency is
the Great Britain Pound (GBP) sterling. One pound (£)
is sub-divided into 100
Pence. One penny is the lowest unit available. |
 |
There are 100 pennies to
£1 |
|
|
There are 8 different
coins: 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20, 50p, £1, £2 |
|
|
There are 5 different
notes: £5, £10, £20, £50, £100 |
|
|
There are many different types of
bank notes in the UK, which are designed and printed by different
banks, and hence look slightly different - they are all exactly the
same currency - the Great Britain Pound - the only real difference
is the design of the note. The publishing banks are: |
|
|
The Bank of England |
|
|
The Bank of Scotland |
|
|
The Royal Bank of
Scotland |
|
|
Clydesdale Bank |
|
|
|
|
Thursday, 12/27/2007
8:15 am- Meet
at MVHS front parking lot to carpool to the OC airport. (Be sure your
luggage is tagged with a Passports neon yellow tag)
9:00 am - arrive at
the OC airport and check in
11:39 depart on Delta
flight #1546 to arrive in Cincinnati at 6:37pm
8:40pm depart on
Delta flight #36 to London (Gatwich)
|
|
The
London Eye
|
Friday,12/28/2007
ARRIVAL,
LONDON WALKING TOUR, LONDON EYE
.
Arrive in London at 9:30 am
Meet your passports
courier on the other side of customs and transfer by coach to the hotel.
Enjoy a walking tour in the company of your
courier, which includes a ride on the London Eye. This is the world’s
highest Ferris wheel at 450 feet. It is magnificently situated across from
the Houses of Parliament on the River Thames. Revolving slowly above the
London skyline, this "Millennium Wheel" uses the latest in technology to
take visitors on a unique overview of England’s capital city.
Dinner and overnight in London
|
|
London
The
West End
Big
Ben
The
Houses of Parliament
Westminster
Abbey
Changing
of the Guard
Buckingham
Palace
Tower
of London
The
Crown Jewels
“Billy
Elliot”
Elton
John
|
Saturday, 12/29/2007
8.
DAY 3: LONDON CITY
SIGHTSEEING, WESTMINSTER ABBEY, TOWER OF LONDON, THEATRELAND GUIDED WALKING
TOUR, WEST END THEATRE PERFORMANCE
A professional guide accompanies you
this morning on a tour of the sights and sounds of the British capital.
Start with a tour of Westminster Abbey, the great cathedral, where the
British monarchs have been crowned since 1066. Many illustrious Britons are
buried here: check out their names, notably in Poets’ Corner.
Then, your guide will point out the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben,
Trafalgar Square, St. Paul’s, Soho, Oxford Street, #10 Downing Street. You
will see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, if it is scheduled
today.
This afternoon, visit the Tower of London to view Traitors’ Gate, the
Bloody Tower, the Block, (where two of Henry VIII’s ill-fated wives lost
their heads), the White Tower and the Crown Jewels. If you choose to follow
one of the Yeoman Warders, also known as Beef- eaters, you’ll also be able
to visit the Royal Chapel.
Continue with a guided walking tour of London's Theatreland.
The London theatre scene is unmatched in Europe. You can find anything
you’re looking for, be it classical drama, whodunits or the best Andrew
Lloyd Webber musicals. Enjoy a performance at a West End venue this evening.
Dinner and overnight in London.
|
|
Covent
Garden
The
London Theatre GuideThe
Globe Theatre
The
British Museum
Harrod’s
The
London Dungeons
|
Sunday, 12/30/2007
LONDON DAY -
OPTIONS: BRITISH MUSEUM, SHOPPING, HIGH TEA, Tour of The Globe Theater
Start the day with a Tour of the Globe
Theater which is scheduled at 10:30 am (It is a one hour tour with an
exhibit hall to browse in after the tour). Additional cost: $17 for
adults; $14 for students; $12 for students under 16.
This day is free to plan as you wish.
Take advantage of the no-admission fee policy at the British Museum. The
world’s oldest public museum, established in 1753, has been splendidly
renovated. It houses, in a stunning building, countless treasures of ancient
and modern civilizations. Sculptures from two of the Seven Wonders of the
Ancient World are on display there along with the Elgin Marbles, the Rosetta
Stone, an important collection of Roman artifacts and so much more.
Take a walk down Oxford Street, London’s well-known shopping street,
renowned for its fashion boutiques and large department stores such as
Selfridges and John Lewis. The largest branch of the Marks and
Spencer chain is situated nearby. Pick up some souvenirs or glance over
the latest "high street" fashions!
There is nothing more quintessentially English than high tea at 4 o’clock
in the afternoon. You may want to experience it in the restrained,
sophisticated surroundings of hotels like the Ritz, Brown’s or
Maids of Honor, a tea room reputedly enjoyed by Henry VIII! The
British genius for cakes and their fondness for tea-drinking come together
during "high tea," which, in addition to the national beverage,
traditionally consists of wafer-thin cucumber sandwiches or scones spread
thickly with fresh cream and strawberry jam.
Ice skating can be a relaxing way to
enjoy the winter wonderland in London. Evening sessions are by torchlight.
Dinner and overnight in London
|
|
Windsor Castle
New Year's Eve cruise
National Theater
|
Monday, 12/31/2007
EXCURSION
TO WINDSOR, ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL, NEW YEAR'S EVE THAMES RIVER CRUISE
This morning, enjoy an excursion to
Windsor, the location of royal residences for almost a thousand years, ever
since William the Conqueror settled there in 1070. Windsor Castle is now the
residence of H. M. Queen Elizabeth II.
A visit includes the State Apartments, Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House (a
palace-within-a-palace with functioning lights, running water and
Lilliputian-size books written by famous authors of the 1920s) and St.
George’s Chapel, one of the country’s finest churches in the typically
English style known as Perpendicular Gothic.
Return to London for a visit to St. Paul's Cathedral, Sir
Christopher Wren’s greatest masterpiece, designed to replace the Gothic
cathedral destroyed by the Great Fire of 1666. See the vast nave, which has
hosted many historic events, the impressive dome, the crypt where
illustrious Britons such as Lord Nelson and Sir Wren are entombed, and the
American Chapel, which memorializes U.S. soldiers who lost their lives in
WWII while stationed in Great Britain. An ascent into the dome is included:
enjoy an overview of the sanctuary from the Whispering Gallery and a
panoramic view of the city from the Stone Gallery
This
afternoon, head for the National Theatre, a modern theatre inaugurated in
1976. Enjoy a backstage tour of one of its three auditoriums, the Oliver
Theatre, the Lyttelton Theatre, or the Cottesloe Theatre, where
you will see some of the most advanced stage management systems for
lighting, backdrops and props.
This evening, see illuminated London from the soothing perspective of the
Thames, as you ring in the new year aboard a river boat. At midnight, listen
for the peal of Big Ben followed by a spectacular firework display.
Enjoy a buffet dinner while you cruise the river Thames.
Overnight in London
|
|
Stratford-Upon-Avon
Stratford-Upon-Avon
Stratford-Upon-Avon
Trinity
Church
Anne Hathaway’s Cottage
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Swan Theatre
Oxford
|
Tuesday, 1/1/2008
EXCURSION
TO OXFORD AND STRATFORD-UPON-AVON, RSC PERFORMANCE
Today, enjoy an exciting excursion
into Shakespeare’s countryside. First, travel to the town of Oxford, the
seat of one of the world’s greatest universities. Ornate Gothic spires and
professors on bicycles will etch your memory and camera film. A visit is
included to one of the colleges, such as Christ Church, where visitors can
see the stained-glass window depicting Alice in Wonderland, the
charming creation of one of Christ Church’s most famous professors, Lewis
Carroll.
Next stop is Stratford-upon-Avon, the hometown of the most famous
playwright of the Western World. A visit is included to Shakespeare’s
Birthplace and to the romantic thatched-roof cottage of Anne Hathaway. Find
the Bard’s grave in the parish church, inscribed with the date of April
23, 1616.
This excursion also includes a play by the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Hear it the way he wrote it! Thrills and chills up and down your spine, here
in Merry Old England.
Dinner and overnight in London
|
|
Queen
Elizabeth II
Lord of the Rings
|
Wednesday,
1/2/2008
LORD
OF THE RINGS CAST WORKSHOP, LORD OF THE
RINGS THEATRE PERFORMANCE
This morning, you'll meet
and work with a current cast member (or members, depending on availability)
from the theatre production of The Lord of the Rings at the
Pineapple Studios in Covent Garden.
This evening includes the musical performance of The Lord of the
Rings, presented at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. With a production
company of over 70 actors, singers and musician, using special effects and
skillfully crafted set designs, you will be led on a magical journey through
unknown lands inhabited with mystical beings.
Dinner and overnight in London
|
|
|
Thursday,1/3/2008
RETURN
FLIGHT
Depart Hotel at 5:30 a,m to London
(Gatwick) airport Delta Flight #11 departure at 10 am arriving in Atlanta at
2:45 pm
Depart Atlanta on Delta flight #1481
at 5:30 pm at arrive at Santa Ana airport at 7:30pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
