Registered: Apr 2001
Location: Bloomington, Indiana, USA
Posts: 194

One of my closest friends is getting married in Poland in August, and he'd like me to be there. So I'm planning my first trip outside of the US, and for the most part will be traveling alone.

Round trip airfare from London to Krakow, Poland is only about $175US (if you fly on the right days). Greg has arranged for me to stay at the flat of the bride's best friend while in London. When I'm in Rzeszow, Poland I will be staying with Greg's family.

Right now, my sketchy itinerary looks something like this:

Sat 7/31 - Leave US
Sun 8/1 - Arrive in LON
Mon 8/2 - LON
Tue 8/3 - LON
Wed 8/4 - LON
Thu 8/5 - Fly from LON-> Krakow, spend the day and night in Krakow.
Fri 8/6 - Train from Krakow to Rzeszow ($10us)
Sat 8/7 - Wedding in Rzeszow
Sun 8/8 - Recover from hangover in Rzeszow
Mon 8/9 - Train Rzeszow -> Krakow, Return flight from Krakow -> London, Chunnel from London to Paris [I don't know if this is doable in a single day]
Tue 8/10 - Paris
Wed 8/11 - Paris
Thu 8/12 - Paris, return to LON
Fri 8/13 - LON
Sat 8/14 - Return trip from LON to US.

The only real set aspect of the trip is the wedding in Rzeszow on 8/7. Greg assures me that Polish weddings require recovery time on 8/8. I'm concentrating alot of time in London, because i'll be able to stay there for free.

It may be possible to change the inbound and outbound dates around, so that I have a longer consecutive period of time on either side of the wedding. (9 days pre wedding in LON, 2 days post wedding).

Will I be bored spending that much time in London? Instead of spending 3 days in Paris, should I take a train off to Amsterdam or Brussels for the day?

I'm really looking for any suggestions, feedback, or criticism at this point.

Duane-O

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Registered: Feb 2002
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Posts: 1418

You should be able to do the flight from krakow-london, and then take the chunnel in the same day, obviously depending what time your flight arrives. The chunnel train journey from London to Paris is probably about 2-3 hours (Its been a long time, I forget now). Its really slow the London side, and really fast the Paris side!

Plenty to do in London for 3 days, you shouldnt get bored. I don't knwo about Paris, but I would highly recommend taking a day trip to Amsterdam if you can, its a great city with lots to see (aside from the obvious ). Brussels is pretty boring, I wouldn't bother with that.

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Registered: May 2001
Location: Keyport, NJ USA
Posts: 2058

In Paris:

Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Tuilleries Gardens, Notre Dam, shopping on the Champs Elysees (or at least walk down it)...I could go on.

There is a lot to do, and there will be a lot of tourists. You'll have to wait in line to see all the main attractions, but they move fairly quickly most of the time. Even if it's a cloudy day, at least go to the Arc de Triomphe.

Toine and I did an late afternoon boat ride on the Seine. That was nice too.

Have fun whatever you do. Oh, and if you don't speak it already, become fluent in French before you go.

disclaimer: I have no ill feelings toward the French. It was just a joke.

deb

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Registered: Oct 2003
Location: London
Posts: 292

Speaking as someone who lives in London, i'd say 3 or 4 days is more than enough for a brief holiday ! And bring lots of money cos it's very expensive here!!

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Registered: Apr 2000
Location: Cary, NC, USA
Posts: 89

quote:

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Originally posted by doconner
Mon 8/9 - Train Rzeszow -> Krakow, Return flight from Krakow -> London, Chunnel from London to Paris [I don't know if this is doable in a single day]

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Registered: Dec 2001
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 8396

Pretty easy now days. You just boycott Germany, boycott France, boycott Spain. It really saves a lot of time.

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Registered: Oct 2003
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 828

quote:

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Will I be bored spending that much time in London?

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5 days = "that much" ? There is sooooo much to do/see in London it's not even funny. I've been there a total of about 10 weeks over years (all for work, mind you) and couldn't even begin to list all the stuff I wish I'd done.

Get yourself a good guidebook like the Eyewitness guide. No matter what you're interest, you'll be able to find plenty to do for 4-5 days. Depending on your interests (art, history, architecture, food, etc..) a few suggestions might be:

- Tate Modern Gallery
- National Portrait Gallery (which I liked more than the National Gallery)
- Victoria & Albert Museum . my fave museum *ever*. Not just art or relics, it's just tons of cool "stuff" like a giant room of scale replicas of famous cathedal entrances, the "hall of fakes/forgeries", interesting other exhibits.
- British Museum. You can see little things like, you know, the Rosetta Stone & Magna Carta
- Belgo -- a great Belgian restaurant that serves, what else, great Belgian beer along w/ the chicken & mussels. There's one in Covent Garden (underground) and near the Chalk Farm stop on the Northern Line.

that's all I can really think of off the top of my head, but unless you're really not trying, by the end of your trip you'll probably feel 4-5 days was waaaay to short !

have fun

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Registered: Aug 2000
Location: Music City USA
Posts: 2026

With respect to London, buy a London Travel Card online for a significant discount. It's good on the tube and busses.

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