johnfás wrote:

Another very nice thing to do on a sunny day is get yourself stocked up and go have lunch on a rowing boat on the Serpentine.

Mmm, that sounds great. I must do that the next time I'm there.

Thank you, Ard and Johnfàs, for your tips on London. My sister lives in London. She got married 10 years ago and often invited me to spend a weekend there. I have not got around to it because I find the city infinitely depressing. I lived there for 18 months (1989-91) after three and a half years in the USA and have not, of my own free will, visited either the UK or the USA since. It used to be that my loathing for both places knew no bounds but I guess I am mellowing because I am considering taking my sister up on her offer and your tips on decent places to eat in London is most welcome.
A visit to London does not have to be torture.

Yesterday: tried to phone Chapter One. Phone out of order. Emailed them. No reply yet. Oh dear. Not a good sign at all.

Slim Buddha wrote:

Thank you, Ard and Johnfàs, for your tips on London. My sister lives in London. She got married 10 years ago and often invited me to spend a weekend there. I have not got around to it because I find the city infinitely depressing. I lived there for 18 months (1989-91) after three and a half years in the USA and have not, of my own free will, visited either the UK or the USA since. It used to be that my loathing for both places knew no bounds but I guess I am mellowing because I am considering taking my sister up on her offer and your tips on decent places to eat in London is most welcome.
A visit to London does not have to be torture.

Yesterday: tried to phone Chapter One. Phone out of order. Emailed them. No reply yet. Oh dear. Not a good sign at all.

I've lived in London and had not-so-good visits, but the last time we went for a few days we had a brilliant time. I think the thing with London is to remember it is a City of villages, and also it is not Paris, the tube stations are miles apart.

We stayed in Westbourne Grove as PGs in a house a few doors down from Madonna and went to the Electric Cinema and the Portobello Road Market. The whole area was buzzing. Tea in Liberties is nice, as are some of the very old wine bars in the City of London: you could check out a couple of the Wren churches. The Courtauld Institute galleries in Somerset House and the Wallace Collection in Manchester Square are off the main tourist beat and are superb. It used to be possible to queue to get into the gallery in the House of Commons - the time to go is Prime Minister's question time, but you would have to queue longer for that.

I also lately stayed over a nice little Fuller's pub five minutes walk from Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral and the Victoria Street theatres, very reasonable and pleasant indeed, in a city full of bad, expensive hotels.

cactus flower wrote:

Slim Buddha wrote:

Thank you, Ard and Johnfàs, for your tips on London. My sister lives in London. She got married 10 years ago and often invited me to spend a weekend there. I have not got around to it because I find the city infinitely depressing. I lived there for 18 months (1989-91) after three and a half years in the USA and have not, of my own free will, visited either the UK or the USA since. It used to be that my loathing for both places knew no bounds but I guess I am mellowing because I am considering taking my sister up on her offer and your tips on decent places to eat in London is most welcome.
A visit to London does not have to be torture.

Yesterday: tried to phone Chapter One. Phone out of order. Emailed them. No reply yet. Oh dear. Not a good sign at all.

I've lived in London and had not-so-good visits, but the last time we went for a few days we had a brilliant time. I think the thing with London is to remember it is a City of villages, and also it is not Paris, the tube stations are miles apart.

We stayed in Westbourne Grove as PGs in a house a few doors down from Madonna and went to the Electric Cinema and the Portobello Road Market. The whole area was buzzing. Tea in Liberties is nice, as are some of the very old wine bars in the City of London: you could check out a couple of the Wren churches. The Courtauld Institute galleries in Somerset House and the Wallace Collection in Manchester Square are off the main tourist beat and are superb. It used to be possible to queue to get into the gallery in the House of Commons - the time to go is Prime Minister's question time, but you would have to queue longer for that.

I also lately stayed over a nice little Fuller's pub five minutes walk from Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral and the Victoria Street theatres, very reasonable and pleasant indeed, in a city full of bad, expensive hotels.

Thank you for that, cactusflower. I have avoided London like the plague for so long, I reckon the time has come to be less unforgiving and to remain on good terms with my sister. I guess I am guilty of an unconscious but very deliberate comprehensive rejection of all aspects of the Anglo-Saxon political-economic model (and Ireland is very much in this camp). My girlfriend is learning German because she knows there is not a hope in hell of me leaving "Mitteleuropa" because my life here is so entrenched. She still lives in Dublin but she comes over here more often than I go there. I enjoy going home to see friends and what's left of my family in Dublin but I couldn't possibly live there again. But I think, after avoiding London for so long, I might even enjoy visiting it again and your tips and those of the other posters like Ard, are much appreciated.

I have to say I absolutely love London. I am over there at least 5 times a year and there is still so much that I have yet to see. As has been mentioned, it is a city of villages, which makes it so diverse and interesting.

johnfás wrote:

I have to say I absolutely love London. I am over there at least 5 times a year and there is still so much that I have yet to see. As has been mentioned, it is a city of villages, which makes it so diverse and interesting.

Different strokes for different folks, johnfàs. Since it will be only for a weekend, I will try to make the best of it. Thank you for all your recommendations. I tried to contact Chapter One yesterday. (See above) The signs are not good.

When I'm in Dublin I love to eat by the sea: Skerries is a little way out, but a meal and a bed in the Red Bank is worth the trip

http://www.redbank.ie/food.htm

Howth is great as well - the King Sitric is still there and Aqua on the pier: being able to watch a seal look at you from the harbour and have a lovely appetite-inducing coast walk makes the very O.K. food taste wonderful.

I've eaten in Aqua, which was nice, but not the others. I will have to try Skerries some time, I have a friend who lives there and I haven't seen them in yonks.

A nice place for a quiet snack in the evening is the President's Bar in the Davenport Hotel.

Finally got through to Chapter One. For September 27th, only pre-theatre left. You were right, johnfàs, one does need to book from a long way out.

Slim Buddha wrote:

Finally got through to Chapter One. For September 27th, only pre-theatre left. You were right, johnfàs, one does need to book from a long way out.

If you are going to pre-theatre, it might fit in with popping in to the Hugh Lane gallery a few doors away before hand.

http://www.hughlane.ie/exhibitions/exhibc.asp

It looks like you will be in time to see the whole of the Hugh Lane bequest on loan from the National Gallery of London, as well as the permanent collection.

cactus flower wrote:

Slim Buddha wrote:

Finally got through to Chapter One. For September 27th, only pre-theatre left. You were right, johnfàs, one does need to book from a long way out.

If you are going to pre-theatre, it might fit in with popping in to the Hugh Lane gallery a few doors away before hand.

http://www.hughlane.ie/exhibitions/exhibc.asp

It looks like you will be in time to see the whole of the Hugh Lane bequest on loan from the National Gallery of London, as well as the permanent collection.

Excellent tip, cactusflower. Thank you very much.