Aussie Miss: I do remember having tea & coffee facilities in Paris and Brussels, but I don't think Trafalgar use these two hotels anymore, they were quite upmarket.

Aussie Miss annd Aussie Claire,
Thanks for both replying. I dont think I will buy the jug as I am wondering how I am going to fit everything in the case now as we are going to be away for 7 weeks. Probably need warm and light clothes. After reading Johns list of things to take as well.

We will just have to drink water.

quote:

Originally posted by Splinter:
Aussie Miss annd Aussie Claire,
Thanks for both replying. I dont think I will buy the jug as I am wondering how I am going to fit everything in the case now as we are going to be away for 7 weeks. Probably need warm and light clothes. After reading Johns list of things to take as well.

Splinter: There is a rule on this BB that we are allowed to use half our husbands suitcase.

quote:

Originally posted by Aussie Claire:
Aussie Miss: I do remember having tea & coffee facilities in Paris and Brussels, but I don't think Trafalgar use these two hotels anymore, they were quite upmarket.

Aussie Claire, surprisingly I had a jug in two hotels on my costsaver tour in October last year. One was in Paris, the hotel was very upmarket but a long way from the city centre. Not sure if it was a good trade off

Splinter, most Trafalgar hotels do not have a minibar (hence no fridge) either. Good luck with your packing, if a tea lover such as I can survive without my bedtime cuppa then there is hope for you I am sure

Seeing that we only have the day we arrive in London, we would very much like to see as much of London attractions as possible.
We are thinking of hopping on and off the open top bus and walking where we want to go from there. Has anyone else have any other ideas?
We will be arriving 5.30am at the airport that morning. So have been advised to do as much as we can that day and get to bed early to start our tour next day.

Splinter, do you have a transfer from the airport with Trafalgar? If you have never been to London before and only have one day then I would definitely recommend the hop-on/hop-off bus tour. You get to see the most important sights of the city with commentary. You also get a free river cruise included too. Do you have any extra days in London at the end of your tour? There is just so much to see it is difficult to give you advice, as it also depends on what you really want to see.

Hi Aussie Miss,
We wanted see all the major attractions.
Not sure what time we arrive back from Great European Tour. The next day after we will on Brittain and Ireland Panorama.
The day afer we arrive back from that tour we will be flying out to Singapore. Then home.

Aussie Miss, Yes we do have transfer to our hotel from the airport in London.

Splinter, firstly, that is good you have a transfer organised, although your room will most likely not be ready so early in the morning.

You arrive back in London after a tour of Europe, usually in the later afternoon, so there will be not much time to see anything this day.

You will definitely "see" all the sights on the bus tour, but walking through the Parks, especially around Kensington Palace, and St.James Park to Buckingham Palace, is really beautiful to do. This will not give you anytime to "visit" anything as you need a couple of hours to do this.

My advice is to have a few extra days in London, it is a beautiful city and there is sooo much to see and do

Thank you Aussie Miss,
I think we may take your advice.

quote:

Originally posted by Splinter:
Hi Aussie Miss,
We wanted see all the major attractions.
Not sure what time we arrive back from Great European Tour. The next day after we will on Brittain and Ireland Panorama.
The day afer we arrive back from that tour we will be flying out to Singapore. Then home.

Splinter: You have a very full touring schedule, I would never attempt two long tours without at least three of four days in between to recover from the first tour, it is an option worth considering if you are able to change bookings.

As Aussie Miss has already stated the Hop on Hop off bus tour is great, I would do the complete loop first then decide where you want to get off and on.

Original Hop on Hop off tour
Big Bus Tours.

Hi Aussie Claire,
In hindsight, yes we should have had a break between the two tours. We have asked our TA to give us a few extra days at the end now instead.
To start with we looked at the time we were to be away and thought 7 Weeks. Thats long enough to be away from our babies ( our dogs ).
i dont like to ask to change our second tour as its been booked out for weeks now. It meant at the time we would have to stay another 5 nights in London.
Thanks for your concern but I think we will leave it like it is now.

Splinter.You might like to check the optionals for the Great European.They have changed slightly.For the better I think.I don't want to take all the optionals as I think it might ger tiring after 27 dayw.I do want to do some of the night dinners as I imagine it would be fun to go out with the other people on the bus.I found 2 hotels with tea and coffee making facilities.Amsterdam and Spain.My trip starts on June 5th.
Greg.

quote:

Originally posted by Splinter:
Hi Aussie Claire,
In hindsight, yes we should have had a break between the two tours. We have asked our TA to give us a few extra days at the end now instead.
To start with we looked at the time we were to be away and thought 7 Weeks. Thats long enough to be away from our babies ( our dogs ).
i dont like to ask to change our second tour as its been booked out for weeks now. It meant at the time we would have to stay another 5 nights in London.
Thanks for your concern but I think we will leave it like it is now.

Splinter, a few extra days in London at the end of your tours will be a great way to finish your time away. You will have the luxury of some free days to get up without a wake-up call and do what you want, when you want. You will enjoy just walking around beautiful London, and perhaps visit the Tower of London and see the Crown Jewels. Westminster Abbey and St. Pauls are both really nice to visit too.

I miss my children and my dog too when I am away and the longest I have been parted from them is 4 weeks, so I understand you reluctance to be away too long. Your time away will go very quickly, as time always goes quickly when you are having fun