2004 Updates

Finally, reviews on my three London trips in 2004 are now available, with a few photos as well.

I think the "only" thing left to complete this site (apart from the on-going blog updates of course) are a few musical reviews - two of Les Miz in 2004, and Les Miz and Evita from 2006. Not at all sure if I'll be able to write them before my trip, but as I would like to make this site as complete as possible, I do hope I'll get around to writing them down when I get home! :-)

Updates!

Some updates to this site has been done today.
There are now photos available from the London 2009-trip I made with Annika - not that many perhaps, but I did have a hard time choosing what photos to include, as I have quite a few to choose from! :)

I have also added reviews from Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables from 2009 on the London Musicals page. These are basically taken from my old blog (just like the review of the 2009 trip) - but I hope you enjoy them anyway.

I'm hoping to update on the trips from 2004 and 2006 as well, maybe tonight and/or tomorrow!

Enjoy!

Oh yeah - if you have any comments, stuff you like, or don't like, stuff you want to see here etc., feel free to leave a comment and tell me! :)

Travel Card

I've been thinking quite a bit about what to do regarding travelling in London. When I've been there before I have always gotten a "one day bus pass", as I'm not at all familiar with the underground in London (was a bit different when we were in New York, at least my Dad and I went on the subway all the time!) - but now that I tried to do some checking, I didn't find anything about a "bus pass", it was all Travel Cards or Oyster Cards.

Took me a while to try to familiarize myself with what was what and what I would need and what would be most economical, but in the end I decided a 7 Day Travel Card would probably be the best. It allows me to go on both buses and undergrounds, and it was cheaper to buy that than buy individual travel cards for each day.

Just one problem left. I don't get to London until rather late, the plane lands at Stanstead Airport at 5.30 p.m., meaning I won't be at Liverpool Street Station before say 7 p.m. - and I'll probably be both tired, suffering from my usual after-flight-headache (something about  the pressure changes when flying always gives me a headache) and nervous about finding my way to the hotel, so I really don't want to have to start figuring out the London transport system there and then.

I found out (thanks Annika!!) that you could order a travel card online, and have them send it to you, which was great! I was however, a bit nervous that I'd be too late, that they wouldn't be able to get it to me before I leave! After careful reading it said you had to order 7 days before leaving, so that felt okay after all.
Next problem: choosing delivery.
They had one fairly cheap delivery, but without any guarantees if the package got lost in the mail, and one more expensive which was insured against basically anything. I felt that it would be worth going for the more expensive one, since it would be SO great to have my travel card when I arrive in London. But then I find out that if you choose the more expensive delivery you have to sign for the package when they deliver it, meaning basically you have sit at home and wait for them to arrive any time between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. - and they couldn't even give you a definitive day!!
I have so much going on right now, there's no way I can just stay at home waiting for a delivery ... so in the end I ordered the cheaper delivery, ordered early this morning, and now let's all pray and hope that my travel card arrives before I leave!! *fingers crossed - and toes too!*

London 2009

Well, I wanted this site up and running as soon as possible, but as you might have noticed, it's not much on it yet! :)
I do have a rather detailed travel resume from when Annika and I went to London in 2009 (check out the separate page), but unfortunately I haven't managed to add photos to that page yet.
Don't fret, photos will come - but right now I have a lot going on, so top priority is not on this site. I'll let you know in this blog when more updates are available.

Take care!

A Quick Decision - Or Not?

(Tower Bridge, 2009)
 



I really have thought about going to London ever since Annika and I went there in 2009 - I very much wanted to go on my own and prove to myself that I really could cope with it in a good way (I went on a short London trip by myself in 2004, info on that will be available eventually, but that really wasn't a good trip, it was way too soon!) ... but somehow life in general got in the way of my plans.


During late spring and summer this year I did start to think about it a bit more, but it was still nothing like actually planning or checking out available flights or hotels, but still, I did think about it.

Then, about 1½ weeks ago, I had nothing much to do and started just checking flights and hotels in London - and before the day was gone, I had booked a trip! *yikes!!*
I really don't make decisions that quickly so it was a bit of a chock, I'm still not sure it has completely sunken in! Still, I think I got a lot for my money! :) I have a return flight with Ryanair and five nights at what seems to be a really nice hotel in Bayswater/Paddington for about 4500 SEK (about £430, $690, 530 Euros)!

There is a lot going on in my life right now, apart from this London trip, so I'm feeling quite stressed out and rather nervous about pretty much everything, but so far, I'm totally excited about London! Nervous too, of course, this will really be the first time I go anywhere truly on my own, but at the same time I'm really confident I actually CAN cope with this on my own, and do so in a good way.

I have compiled this blog/website to really try to make the most of this London trip - even though of course I will update my Swedish blog about London stuff as well (though for details I will refer my Swedish readers here as well) - to get in the spirit of the trip by remembering my previous trips! :)

The 2012 blog will of course be all about this trip - I will try to update as I plan my trip, and when I get home, you will get detailed entries about my trip as well as tons and tons of photos (I will check in one bag so I'm taking my both my cameras, and hopefully my zoom lens as well!).
On the other pages of this blog you will find entries and photos from my previous London trips as well as my musical experiences in London too ... these pages are currently under construction, and I will let you know as more and more stuff become available!

I hope you will enjoy this London focused blog/website - maybe almost as much I as I enjoy making it! :-)

Take care!
/Jessica