London is the capital of Blighty, it is home to some of the most famous landmarks such as Downing Street, Houses of Parliament, Buckingham palace, The tower of London and all of the places on the monopoly board! It is a city rich in history aswell as a pretty funky place to live for many famous people including Maddona, Kylie, Elton John and her royal highness herself! It is a haven for shoppers, clubbers and tourists and in my opinion one of the greatest cities in the world. I love the place and you will be surprised to learn that being a good old British lass I had never visited my own countries capital until I was 21 years of age!(Last year to be exact!). I was lucky enough to spent the whole summer in London as an activities supervisor and tour guide for an Italian summer school. Very ironic I know being a tour guide for a city that I had never visited before, ha ha, but luckily I’m an actress and I could bluff my way through and I now know enough about the big smoke to write an op about the place in general!

Ok, I got to see plenty of red buses and black cabs but very few true laaandeners! Purely for the fact that London is full of tourists(especially the annoying ones who wanna get in your way all the time snapping pics of everything when your trying to do a decent bit of shopping!). Also the city is just so busy , everyone is rushing about in a frenzy! My first realisation of this was when I got off at Euston and breathed in my first breath of good old city air! A bit bewildered with all the rushing about I tried to stop people to ask advice on where I could get the tube, everyone just rushed by me. Nobody could help. Now in Liverpool if you where to stop someone they would happily tell you the way and chat away about anything else too. I thought that the Londoners where rude and unhelpful, BUT before all you southern fairies start to grumble! My bad experience was down to the fact that no one could help me because they weren’t actually from London and Euston is a really busy station, half the people I stopped didn’t even speak English! Your best bet is to go and ask at the enquiry desk. I was handed a Tube map which at first to a newbie in London is all a bit scary. There was all kinds of different lines marked on this map and all kinds of stations. How was I to know where I was going. The lines are either bound in two different directions but fear not when you get down to the platform you can work out from the maps on the wall which line you need to be standing at. I found my way first time and I am the most unreliable person ever with stuff like this! Tube journeys are an experience in themselves! They are generally stuffy and often over crowded but they are the quickest form of transport in the city and very reliable, but always remember PLEASE MIND THE GAP! Anyone who has to make regular tube journeys will be familiar with this friendly warning announced as you board the tube and all tourists will be intrigued by the mind the gap logo t shirts available on London market stalls! My advice is get a tube map and your sorted, also if your making more than one journey in a day it may be advisable to get an all day pass, mine worked out at around £4 for 2 main zones and was worth every penny…cram as much sight seeing in as you can on one of these tickets!

I don’t have a whole lot of info on this matter due to the fact that my accommodation was payed for as part of my job. The big hotels generally seem to be in the West End near to all of the tourist attractions for eg Hilton,Continental etc. Looking at holiday brochures they avarerage at around £50 per night B+B. A lot of other residents stayed in our lodgings over the summer. I stayed at City Universities halls of residence in Barbican. The other residents payed £18 a night for B+B, the rooms are very basic but contain a bed, desk, wash bason and wardrobe.There are shared facilities on each floor for shower, bath and toilet. However, the food is nice and lots of it and all good for such a cheap price in London. Call round Uni’s during summer breaks for a cheap option or the YMCA offers board for £30 per night.

Now to the important bit. I managed to fit a fair bit of this in around looking after the Italian tourists. My favourite shopping was spent in Covent Garden where there is shops to suit everyone. There where some great sales in big shops like GAP, French connection and Whistles. It is a really nice day out aswell. There are street performers entertaining all the tourists, everything from card tricks and magicians to a jester who dances. Covent Garden is great for a spot of shopping and relaxing in one of the many cafes. Oxford Street is where you need to go for all your high street names such as H&M,Dorothy Perkins, Burtons etc. I could quite happily spend a whole day on this fantastic street bargain hunting! Also check out some of the little market stands with great souvenirs. Kensington is a more up market shopping spree but well woth a visit, leave the credit card at home if your prone to over spending! This is the home of Harrods and Harvey Nichol’s. Got to admit that I needed to buy something from Harrods. It’s just not worth a visit if you don’t get one of those green bags! I went to the food hall which is massive, stacked full of all fresh meats, cheeses, jars and jars of pickles, jams….you name it, they have got it! I purchased some Harrods bickies for just £3.not too bad. I also visited the Diana and Dodi memorial which was full of Japanese tourists and flashing cameras. It holds the lovers rings and goblets that they toasted from the night before, all a bit much being made in to a tourist attraction but still! Don’t miss any of the markets either , highly recommended are Camden, Angel and Notting Hill.

Notice how I get my priorities right with shopping coming before tourist attractions! Well, there is plenty of them. You decide what your interest is and there is something for you. Madame Tussards is great for all the family (I reviewed this in detail in one of my very first ops!). I also enjoyed the museums and the Tate gallery. You can get to see all the sites in Westminster such as Nelsons column, Downing street, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and Buckingham Palace. These are generally free but if you want a tour inside of Buckingham palace (only certain parts) it is something like £7. There are some really nice parks in London aswell such as St James, Regents (which also includes London Zoo) and Hyde Park. If you are in Hyde Park I recommend a visit to speakers corner. A chance to watch people blow of steam about any subject but often political and social issues! If you feel strongly enough get up and have a go yourself, if not sit down and have a laugh at the others! There are far too many attractions to cover in one op. If you are on limited time your best bet may be jumping on a tour bus which pick up at points throughout London and sitting back whilst taking it all in on the top deck. They work out at about £6.

CLUBBING,PUBBING,EATING AND HAVING FUN

Food is everywhere in London. You have your typical maccy D’s and Burger king aswell aswell as Angus Steakhouses on every corner! If you are a typical tourist you just have to go to Planet Hollywood or Hard Rock café. The Italian kid’s I looked after loved these joints and would pay £5 for an ice cream just to go in there! There is also some nice little cafes around town but for fast food on the go you can’t beat prêt a mange. Freshly maid ready to go sarnies, pasta and salads. There seemed to be a prêt a mange on every corner, they are reasonably priced too. A lot of things are over priced in London especially food and drink. Beware of cafes around London Tower took advantage of the Italian Tourists in my group and tried to rip them off and also Captain Nandos’s charge £1:50 for a diet coke(even though the can stated that it was 50 pence!) Just be careful!

UPDATE
its fast approaching spring time and I can feel my feet getting itchy again so I decided to look in to working in London for the summer again. If anybody is considering doing this also it really is a great way to see the city so if you have a tefl teaching cert or equivalent why not contact embassy.com to be a teacher of english to foreign kids at summer camps across London. If you are an outgoing and fun person why not apply as an activaties instructor? The hours are pretty long and you are on the go all the time but its the best way to see the city for free cos the company pays for all expenses aswell as £115 pocket money per week!