for students: before you arrive in London-1
by Manyana
Before you arrive, you should ensure that you have done your assignment of getting around.
Please do the following:
- if you're not an EU national, have your visa ready for inspection at customs. Check (on your visa) if you need to register with the police in London, which you should do within one week of your arrival.
- Have a route map of London. You'll be walking A LOT. it's very handy to tell your way around.
- make your own search for accommodation beforehand. You have three options: Either look for a student accommodation office which is expensive if you're a budget student; arrange with a friend to stay with them temporarily; or stay at a budget hotel. there's a wide variety of budget hotel in king's cross, victoria and paddington and they're all within easy access to central london.
- check the address you want to arrive at on TfL, that will save you time asking people around even though it's handy to ask
- good to have some cash with you for transportation, one-week supply of food and pocket money. make sure your credit card can be used internationally. i've met few students who had no clue that their cards didn't work at international stores! better to have either MasterCard or Visa, or check with your bank. you may use traveller's cheque though i don't recommend it, as you need to look for an exchange bureau to use them.
- check your passport to be valid for 3 months at least. some embassies require 6 months.
i know this should come from common knowledge, but i'm stunned when i find out that many students are travel virgin. that's ok...why VT is here;^) when my friend picked me up from the airport and my two big 'arab' suitcases was my fondest memory of arrival. we hugged tightly! then he dropped me off at another friend's house that evening.
See the Tower of London - see...
by O.KATALINA
See the Tower of London - see the fabulous castle above? That is historical castle where Henry the VIII beheaded Anne Boleyn. It was said that there was so much blood shed in this castle that you can't take a few steps anywhere around without touching on a spot where some historical events happened. Looking at the Crown Jewels of England and listening to the BeefEaters who acted as tourist guides around the Tower. These Beefeaters were dressed in a fine costume with a black hat and were very friendly! Heard the story about the black raven/crows? They believed that the presence of the black raven is a sign of good luck and if one day all the black raven were to fly away, that would be the end of the Tower. So what do they do to keep them permanently there? They clipped their wings - poor thing! Picture from the web is Idwal Bellis, a yeoman at the Tower since 1992.
Tower of London and its Yeoman Warders
by dvideira
At the Tower of London there is a lot to see, the major draws are the Crown Jewels and the history associated with the Tower's role as a prison for major figures in history.
Another attraction at the Tower are the Yeoman Warders or Beefeaters, dressed in distinctive uniform, they provide classic photo opportunities, and also perform tours.
( The name Beefeaters comes from the French word - boufitirs. Boufitiers were guards in the palace of French kings. They protected the king's food ).
Every night for the last 700 years the Tower has been locked up in the Ceremony of the Keys.
( At 21:53 each night the Chief Yeoman Warder of the Tower, dressed in Tudor uniform, sets off to meet the Escort of the Key bedecked in the well-known Beefeater uniform. Together they tour the various gates ceremonially locking them, on returning to the Bloody Tower archway they are challenged by a sentry and must announce themselves before passing through the arch. A trumpeter then sounds the Last Post before the keys are secured in the Queen’s House ).
Much much more fun than the changing guards at Buckinghan Palace...
Opening Times : 09:00 (10:00 Sunday) to 18:00 (1 hr earlier Nov, Dec)
Tickets:
Gate price:
adult £13.50; children £9.00; student (with ID) senior citizen (60+) £10.50; family ( up to 2 adults and 3 children ) £37.50
There are better prices for booking by phone
Information line: +44 (0)870 756 6060 Just a little bit of curious information on the Beefeaters...
A so-called Beefeater's official title is:
"Yeoman Warder of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London and Member of the Sovereign's Body Guard of the Yeoman Guard Extraordinary."
and...
There are two versions for the name "Beefeaters":
1. The name "Beefeaters" comes from the French word - boufitirs. Boufitiers were guards in the palace of French kings. They protected the king's food ).
2. The erroneous nickname "Beefeater" probably dates back to the time when Yeoman Warders were given a daily ration of meat. (Records show, that in 1813, the daily ration for the 30 men on duty was a remarkable 24 pounds of beef, 18 pounds of mutton, and 16 pounds of veal.)
City Borders
by phil_uk_net
London consists of two cities. The City of London is actually quite small and mainly comprises the financial district which is extremely busy Monday to Friday but deserted at weekends. The City of Westminster is where most visitors to London will spend their time.
The symbol of the City of London is a Griffin with the shield of St George. Street signs in the City of London have on them the cross of St George in addition to the street name.
At the boundary between the two cities are more symbols of the City of London to show that this is what you are about to enter.
No Refills...
by joits
Not sure how important this is for some people, but for me... I drink a lot of soda or juice when I eat. In the US, we usually get all the soda we want. Free refills. That's why whenever I ate out, I usually just got tap water, its the only refill they give. With everything already so expensive in London, I preferred to order water because I didn't want to spend about $10 a meal just on drinks. I went to Wagamama with friends and someone ordered a Sprite, and it came in this small bottle... and it was like two pounds! Geez.
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Abney Park, Hackney, London, UK.
A A London Internet Centre - New Oxford St
Uxbridge road.
Outside the Natural History Museum
