Great Chitter Chatter - Stories from Loud Voices

This article was submitted by Linda Jefferson of San Francisco.

We’ve just returned from a family holiday to the United Kingdom, our second trip to that area in the last few years and I thought that I’d mention a few of the amazing uk hotels where we’ve stayed during our latest trip. There is so much to see and do in the wonderful cities of the British Isles, those guys really understand the meaning of the word history. Add to that the fact that they converse in a language not unlike our own and that a museum or art gallery can be enjoyed in case of inclement weather and you have found a ingredients of a truly memorable trip. We’re confident that you’d enjoy visiting the British Isles, but would always suggest that U.S. citizens check with the U.S. Department of State Advice to Travelers website before undertaking international travel.

Edinburgh, Scotland

You can be assured of a friendly welcome in the wonderful city of Edinburgh. This friendly east coast city consists of the Old Town which includes the Royal Mile and the New Town, with Princes Street forming the division between the two sections. Edinburgh University dates back to 1582 and its colleges, galleries and museums are scattered throughout the entire city. There are many exhibits open to the visitor, check their web site for opening times.

The summer season sees Edinburgh playing host to many thousands of visitors who are there to visit the various festivals. The Edinburgh International Festival runs for 4 weeks and features theatre, music, dance and opera. Running beside it is the world renowned “Fringe”, which in 2006 offered over 28,000 performances in 261 venues throughout the historic city of Edinburgh. With that many different shows to choose from (in 2006 36% of them were World Premieres) including theatre, comedy, ballet, shows for the children and many musical concerts there is something for everybody. There is in addition, the Blues and Jazz Festival, The Literary Festival and The International Film Festival that run throughout the summer here.

Since we only had two days in the city we decided to push the boat out and stay in one of the most celebrated hotels in Scotland, The Scotsman on North Bridge, Edinburgh. This wonderful old hotel is situated right in the center of many of Edinburgh’s greatest buildings and venues such as The Royal Mile, Holyrood House, Edinburgh Castle and the Scottish National Gallery are all within easy walking distance. As I mentioned earlier the decision had been made to pamper ourselves with a stay at this amazing hotel and everything that we could have expected became reality.

Birmingham, England

One of the main reasons for our recent visit to the UK was to visit the Crufts Dog Show which is held in the National Exhibition Center Arena in Birmingham, the UK’s second city. Spread over four days, it’s the most famous dog show in the world. Last Year 143,000 visitors admired a total of over 25,000 dogs from 26 countries in the show rings. Another great crowd-puller at Crufts is the Discover Dogs section where the owners of 190 different breeds are there with their dog, ready to answer questions from prospective new owners. Because we were only going to the dog show, rather than going into the city of Birmingham we took the decision to stay at a hotel near to the NEC, Birmingham. This time we weren’t searching for one of the world’s top hotels, more a place to lay our heads after a hard day walking miles inside the vast NEC complex. We settled on The NEC Crowne Plaza Hotel which is situated inside the grounds of the National Exhibition Centre. The hotel was exactly what you’d expect, bright, clean and totally impersonal. There was nothing to complain about and we’d readily stay there again for any exhibitions or concerts at the NEC.

London, England

Our final venue on this holiday was London. If you’ve never seen London you really do need to comprehend the sheer size of the city. It has spread outwards in recent years and it’s essential that you decide exactly what you intend to visit during your trip else you’ll spend all of your time sitting on buses and the London underground and I can tell you, that is not a pleasure that you should should look forward to. Our agenda for this final few days of our trip involved us taking part in some serious retail therapy i.e. shopping. To that end we decided to stay in the Knightsbridge area with its vast array of chic, world renowned stores such as Harrods. We booked into the Sheraton Park Tower in ultra-stylish Knightsbridge. The Sheraton Park Tower is one of the city’s most stylish hotels, famed for its “One-O-One” restaurant, London’s best fish restaurant.  The Sheraton Park Tower boasts tremendous views over the London skyline with many rooms overlooking Hyde Park In addition to the host of exciting shops, you will find many of the city’s best museums and landmarks within walking distance of the hotel.

The capital city of England is London, which is as famous for its shopping as it is for its history and culture. Tens of thousands travel from all around the globe to experience the incredible stores and markets.

Covent Garden has become known for its unusual and specialist shops, and has become a very hip place to be seen. There are a number of excellent restaurants in Covent Garden not just excellent shops. Until 1980 the Covent Garden market had many stalls selling flowers, vegetables and fruit its roots can be traced to the middle ages.

Camden Market is now one of the most popular places to visit in London. There has been a markets here in Camden for a long time, but in its present status only since 1974. The market is actually a number of adjoining markets selling wares of most things one could possibly think of.

The Kings Road is known as Chelsea’s high street, and one of the most chic and stylish streets to shop in London. Back in the 1970s the Kings Road was closely associated with ‘Punks’, who proved to be an attraction in London themselves. However, the Kings Road is more subdued these days and no longer just a haunt of the followers of the anti-fashion era.

Sloane Street is a street in London which runs north to south, and takes its name from Sir Hans Sloane, who purchased the surrounding area in 1712. Sloane Street has has long been a fashionable shopping district, but is probably just as well known for lending it name to the ‘Sloane Rangers’ in the 1990s. The name Sloane Ranger was applied to the stereotypical young upper class English ladies seen in the area during this time. (One famous woman often referred to as a Sloane Ranger was Lady Diana Spencer)

Harrods department store in Knightsbridge is the worlds largest department store standing on 18,000 m2. ‘Omnia Omnibus Ubique’ is the Harrods motto and means all things for all people, everywhere. A very exclusive and luxurious department store, Harrods is famous the world over for its food hall and its toy department.

Another famous London department store is Selfridges in Oxford Street. Selfridges opened its doors to the public in 1909, and was built was the entrepreneur Gordon Selfridge. When it opened Selfridges set new standards for the retailing business. This was because all of the shop floors were designed so that goods on sale were more easily accessible to the customer.

The shops in London offer as much diversity as its culture and no matter how bizarre ones shopping requirements, it can be found in London. Whether you like to shop in department stores or prefer to rummage through the markets, London has it all.

If you are planning a shopping trip to London you will find plently of cheap London hotels listed at www.londonhotelhelper.com