Aye! Drop me email and I'll send you my UK mobile number... What days are you in town? In particular there's a bunch of weirdos I go drinking with on Thursday nights you'd be welcome to join.
If you're staying around the BM there are a couple of reasonable pubs in the area. I like the Museum Tavern (landlord on tap) but it's oft busy.
You know to pick up an Oyster card as soon as you arrive if you don't have them already, yes?
There are passable scotch shops in Duty Free in most terminals at Heathrow, too ;)
Liquids not bought after security have to be in checked luggage. You can legally import 1L of alcoholic drinks per adult into the US without paying any duty but they have never tried to get me to pay any duty on declaring two bottles of scotch (but make sure you declare it).
Ah ha. The "after security" piece is interesting. We're trying not to check luggage, but I bet I could wrap bottles up nicely and check one bag if I wanted.
We're actually flying out of Dublin. It's MUCH cheaper, even with another flight from there to Heathrow. I see they have a Duty Free, but I wonder if they'll have scotch in Ireland... Hmmm.
Huh, I've never gone through the 'items to declare' lines coming into the US and never (yet) had an issue with more than one bottle... But since I'm sure I'll be returning with more than that on the next trip, I was thinking about doing the right thing for once.
They don't really have an items to declare line into the US, not like the green/red/blue lines in the UK... by declare I meant write it on the customs form. Occasionally they've double checked with me that it's only two bottles of scotch but never asked me to pay anything.
Last time I came back from London I had one bottle of champagne and they double checked that it was only one.
The previous time I had two bottles of scotch and they didn't bother asking about it.
the thing is, the import duty on this stuff is so piddling that it's barely worth it to make you dig out your wallet and pay it -- $1.45 if you bring in two bottles of (80-proof) scotch. So don't worry about it.
Right now we're planning on the British Museum (maybe a couple of shorter visits while walking around that area rather than one day of hardcore BM, as it were), the Tate Modern, the Tower of London, the V&A, and probably something else I'm forgetting. Also the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons and a day trip north to Bletchley Park for some geek tourism. We're going to take it pretty easy and sort of find areas with stuff and wander around those areas looking around...
I recommend the Sir John Soane's museum. I loved it, it's full of semi-random stuff he collected over the course of his life. It's pretty unassuming looking, from the outside, and the hours were weird. Also, they only let in so many people at a time.
There's also a neat chapel in the area, and I spent much of a day wandering in and out and around the grounds of the Inns without anyone objecting. :-)
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i'm enabling you
Date: 2009-01-28 07:25 pm (UTC)Re: i'm enabling you
Date: 2009-01-28 07:29 pm (UTC)Re: i'm enabling you
Date: 2009-01-28 07:51 pm (UTC)Re: i'm enabling you
Date: 2009-01-28 07:54 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 07:56 pm (UTC)What days are you in town? In particular there's a bunch of weirdos I go drinking with on Thursday nights you'd be welcome to join.
If you're staying around the BM there are a couple of reasonable pubs in the area. I like the Museum Tavern (landlord on tap) but it's oft busy.
You know to pick up an Oyster card as soon as you arrive if you don't have them already, yes?
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 08:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 08:16 pm (UTC)For those who like trains or are generally a secret transport geek I'd add;
http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/
For scotch;
http://www.milroys.co.uk/
http://www.coventgardenwhiskyshop.co.uk/
http://www.sohowhisky.com/
Other randomness;
http://www.iwm.org.uk/
http://www.towerbridge.org.uk/TowerBridge/English
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/
http://www.vam.ac.uk/
The list goes on and on and on...
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 08:24 pm (UTC)I should look at rules for bringing, um, liquids back from the UK.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 08:27 pm (UTC)Liquids not bought after security have to be in checked luggage. You can legally import 1L of alcoholic drinks per adult into the US without paying any duty but they have never tried to get me to pay any duty on declaring two bottles of scotch (but make sure you declare it).
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 08:35 pm (UTC)We're actually flying out of Dublin. It's MUCH cheaper, even with another flight from there to Heathrow. I see they have a Duty Free, but I wonder if they'll have scotch in Ireland... Hmmm.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 08:41 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 10:01 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 10:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-29 08:45 pm (UTC)The previous time I had two bottles of scotch and they didn't bother asking about it.
the thing is, the import duty on this stuff is so piddling that it's barely worth it to make you dig out your wallet and pay it -- $1.45 if you bring in two bottles of (80-proof) scotch. So don't worry about it.
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 08:23 pm (UTC)Right now we're planning on the British Museum (maybe a couple of shorter visits while walking around that area rather than one day of hardcore BM, as it were), the Tate Modern, the Tower of London, the V&A, and probably something else I'm forgetting. Also the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons and a day trip north to Bletchley Park for some geek tourism. We're going to take it pretty easy and sort of find areas with stuff and wander around those areas looking around...
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 10:00 pm (UTC)http://www.020.co.uk/maps/WC2A+3BP/330
There's also a neat chapel in the area, and I spent much of a day wandering in and out and around the grounds of the Inns without anyone objecting. :-)
(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-28 08:13 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2009-01-29 08:45 am (UTC)