On the Road with the Histocrats: September 2023

Without a doubt, London is one of the greatest cities in the world, and history is at every step and turn. My wife and I just returned from a vacation in London, which neither of us had visited in decades. I'm going to try to offer a few tips and suggestions aimed at historically-minded travelers, especially first-time visitors or visitors who haven't been in a while.

Planning

There is so much to see and to do in London that planning is absolutely essential. We got a guidebook, listened to a Great Courses history of London lecture series, and started following travel content creators on YouTube and Instagram, and we made lists of things we wanted to do and see. We compared our lists and prioritized. Then we grouped destinations based on their place within the city. London is huge, and you run the risk of spending most of your day in transit if you don't group. It's OK to overplan. Things happen, and you probably won't get to everything on your list, so it's important to prioritize. I would advise picking a couple of things per day.

Another important reason to plan ahead is that many museums and activities limit admittance, and you have to book an entry time in advance. While many museums are free, they ask (multiple times) for donations. All of the information will be on their websites. The British Museum requires advance bookings, but the Victoria and Albert Museum does not. Both of those museums are free. However, they have special exhibits throughout the year that require separate tickets and admission fees. These tickets tend to sell out fast. Other attractions like The Shard, the Sky Garden, and the London Eye also require advance tickets. (Obvious tourist traps like the Shard and the London Eye are also very expensive and frowned on by social media travel advisors.)

Once you select the dates of your visit, you will also want to search for concerts, shows, festivals, and other special events. London is home to the West End theater district where you can see fantastic musicals, comedies and dramas with superstar casts, and the prices may be lower than Broadway prices. You can book tickets in advance or, like New York, find the discounted day-of ticket kiosk at the TKTS booth in Leicester Square. Your favorite comedians and music artists may also be performing while you're in town. You may find one of your favorite authors doing a book talk in a book store. Search the internet for events during your travel and keep an eye out for posters and signs while you're there. You never know what you'll find.

Being Uncomfortable

I'm just going to say it: I'm huge and monstrous. Small children flee in terror as I stomp through their city, Godzilla-style. I'm 6'4" and 300 pounds. I HATE every single thing about airplanes except that they are necessary evils to get me places. I have never been comfortable on a plane and never will be. I lucked out - actually planned ahead - and scored exit row tickets on our British Airways flights for the leg room. That part worked out well, but there are some drawbacks to exit row seating: next to toilet, fixed permanent armrest, super-narrow seats, lack of space to stow your bags near your seat.

The fact is, I'm going to be Godzilla wherever I travel. Europe, like airplanes, is not built for me. London is a crowded place. You will always be surrounded by people, always. Shops and restaurants are small, and tables and chairs are crowded together. Sidewalks are narrow. The trains of the Underground (The Tube) are packed more often than not. If you talk and gesture with your hands while you walk, you will accidently hit someone, and that person will scream in shock. You will bump into people, and people will bump into you. Fortunately, they will almost always be nice about it, or at least not nasty.

Then, we get to the topic of the bathroom. No bathroom is built for Godzilla. I couldn't even turn around in the shower in our flat (apartment). It was like a cryogenic tube. (Speaking of showers, our flat didn't offer washcloths - or flannels as the Brits would say- so you may consider packing your own if you're a washcloth user.)

Restrooms are generally plentiful in London. They're usually called "toilets" or "WCs" (for water closets. Many businesses will place a "Polite Notice" sign in their door or window saying that toilets are only for customers. The "Gents' " rooms that I visited were all clean, but they all smelled. Covering smells with heavy chemicals is not a British thing, apparently. Public toilet paper (and in our flat) was of the cheap varieties. We only noticed one pay rest room and one restroom that advised patrons not to put any tissue in the toilet, to use a designated bin instead. so those situations do exist in London, but they are more prevalent, in my experience, in continental Europe. There was also one Gents' toilet, at Windsor Castle, that had a sign informing visitors that the toilet was cleaned by a female attendant. When I accompanied students to Europe years ago, male students were often surprised when a female attendant walked in, or even sat in the men's room, collecting fees. Again, it's maybe more common in continental Europe.

Part Two's topics next week will include The Tube, Restaurants/Food, and Tours

FINALLY!

In a couple of days, we will be flying to London. Like many other retirees, travel was high on our agenda, but the universe had other plans. However, it looks like we will soon be making our first foreign trip, and we chose London for that destination.

We've both been to London, but it's been a while, about 22 years for me and longer for my wife. The city has changed so much since then. As we started planning, we immediately ran into a major problem: there's just too much to see and do in London. What do we do and how do we do it? Most of my foreign travel had been organized by student tour companies which did all the work. Nice. When you're planning on your own, it can seem overwhelming.

Nevertheless, we're going to do what we can do. As we started preparing, we listened to A Short History of London, a great series of lectures available through Audible from The Great Courses. It couldn't have been better. Dr. Bucholz is a great lecturer and excelled at not only teaching history but thoroughly setting the stage. He often pointed out locations relative to today's London, and included several lectures that were walks through the city. And we bought the latest edition of our favorite travel book, the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide.

Travelers today have a huge advantage now compared to twenty or thirty years ago. There are so many accounts and influencers with social media and YouTube channels offering detailed information and helpful hints and suggestions. We relied on one in particular, "Love + London," an account run by an American living in the city. She offers videos on everything a visitor might have questions about. You can find her on Instagram and YouTube, along with many others.

Then, there are the apps. There are history apps that tell you about historic sites and events near your location, and there are apps like Citymapper that allow you to put in a destination, telling you exact routes, travel times, and even costs.

We're fans of walking history and food tours, so we've booked a few of those, including a Thames River boat cruise by the company responsible for the great British history comedy series, "Horrible Histories," a walking tour of Whitechapel focusing on the Jack the Ripper murders, but from the perspective of the victims and the ordinary people of the neighborhood, and a food tour of the Camden Market.

Otherwise, we've made our lists and our basic itinerary. There are a few must-see sites, but we've also left time for wandering around the city, always fun and usually quite rewarding. It's often the most spontaneous and serendipitous lucky find that one stumbles on that one most remembers while traveling.

So, now it's off to pack and triple check those lists. Get ready for Instagram and Facebook posts from London over the next week or two.