A taste of London in May

During the first week of May, my thirteen year old son and I visited London. My friend Wilma who is also Dutch, has been living there for 14 years. Once a year I visit her. Usually I go by myself and roam the city. This time it was Jan his turn to breathe some cosmopolitic air, like his sister Mara 5 years before.

Wilma lives in Notting Hill, a wonderful part of London and an excellent starting point for trips because it has 3 tube lines crossing.

We flew to London City Airport and took the bus and Underground to our destination. Heathrow is easier because you can take the tube right away. It was interesting though, we passed the Docklands and the Isle of Dogs. New and booming.

The rest of the day we cruised London with the Big Bus Company. It is not cheap but they have extra’s. You can do the so called red and blue tour on one ticket. Both these tours cover the highlights of London. It gave us some useful information too, for example the length of the queue at the London Dungeon!. The other extra’s are live commentary, free river cruise, free walking tours and discounts on musicals.

The next day we started our day at the so called London Eye, the big wheel next to the Thames and opposite the Big Ben (see picture). This is a must. Go there early. You are in a glass cabin and get a good view of London. Even people who are afraid of heights will be okay, I think.

After the London Eye we visited the Tower of London, a place I recommend visiting. If children learn about European history, it will involve London. I was there when I was 13 and, like then, I was impressed by the Crown Jewels (very modern presentation) and the feeling of history (however bloody). We had lunch in a pub in the City and went to the IMAX Cinema in the afternoon. The 3 dimensional movie about sea life was enjoyable. Not all movies in the IMAX are 3 dimensional, you have to check. The screen is enormous, which is an experience by itself. In the evening we went out for dinner to a nice, affordable restaurant in Maida Vale, called The Vale, address Chippenham Road, reservations 020.7266.0990.

The following day we went to the London Dungeon very early. To give you a flavour of what to expect I quote my Thomas Cook travel guide: ‘ Candles flicker, water drips, a figure groans in agony: this is the museum of medieval horror. Not for very young children, not for squeamish adults’. Live actors and audience participation add to the “ fun”. The Jack the Ripper story is chilling .

In the afternoon we took the tube to the Scientific Museum. Every day we bought a family card that enables you t use the tube all day. The Scientific Museum is a museum you should visit several times because there are so many things to see, it is overwhelming. My son liked it a lot. You can touch everything. I am more critical. The presentation of the information is sometimes outdated, lengthy written information (instead of visual or auditive) and quite a few things were out of order. They have presentations from 11.00 till 17.00. Those are interesting and children can participate.

The last day we visited the Dome, a spectacular, year 2000 only, happening. Don’t go there if you expect in-depth information about various subjects. Go there to be amused and get some easy to digest information about , for example, work, the mind, journey, play, learning. Don’t miss the Millennium Show at noon, go there early and finish your day watching the Blackadder, Back an Forth movie (very witty and British). Afterwards we went back to the city to see the Big Ben and had a look at the demonstration which was by then dominated by the Environmentalists but later there were riots. We ended our day in Regents Park. The London Parks are always my favourite place to calm down and have an English cup of tea and something sweet. It was sunny and we joined the British families on the grass.

I feel very much at ease in London. I feel safe and am not afraid to take my children there. When I go to London by myself, I spend most of my time walking the city with the book Walking London by Andrew Duncan. Next time I will try one of the London Walks that Wouter recommends. I am fortunate to have a friend who lives in London and look forward to see her again and be in that city that feels both exciting and relaxed.

Katinka de Jong