Vacation Plans -- United Kingdom

Mentioning herewith
GAUTAM

Someone remembers me YIPPPEEEEEEEEE

Hey are we gonna see you when u r here in Aug ?

Most surely - if you behave youself, and Mrs. Hinteler isn't feeling bad, and if trains are running, German tourists are still allowed in Her Majesty's capital ....

<mutters> Damn, those blasted trains might f*** up all plans <more mutters>

Didn't the French just end a train/transportation strike? c.i.

Walter, you and your good lady wife are not going to Italy then this year

Nothing to do with them, c.i. - it's "WAGN", I'm referring at ("West Anglia Great Northern Railway - small things, big difference").

(My "Air Berlin" plane starts in my 'front garden' here and lands at the 'backyard' of my temporary home :wink: )

c.i.
If the French have just ended a strike then it´s soon time to be striking again.

Actually, the last railway strikes have been in Belgium (twice this year, if I remember correctly).

Waaaaaaaah.... I should be going to the UK in August & maybe I could see Walter & Hebba. (Oh, ooops, not the Whine thread!)

But at least I may have a chance to see Guatam, who promised me ages ago that he'd meet me in London. I will be so disappointed if that doesn't work out. Guatam, do you have any interest in walking about Kew or going to Greenwich? Maybe just a drink somewhere. We'll be staying at the Dolphin Square hotel near Pimlico station. It seemed like a great bargain (which makes me nervous) for a 4-star. Too big, really, for what I like, but it offered room service. I hope, I hope, I hope that it's not a dive like the last place we stayed at. <shudder>

I've also found somebody who'll deliver a car to Kyle of Lochalsh, but they want 90 pounds plus the cost of hiring the car. Am hoping one of the other companies will chime in for slightly less. Sheesh. Another guy (who said no) advised me to call the Nevis garage. I'm afraid to, maybe I won't be able to understand the guy who answers the phone if he has a thick brogue. Then what? Hang up?

Just wondering, if
"Doonra watter furra Ferr!"
would do some help? :wink:

Okay, quick. Tell me what that means... please!

Piffka,

A look at the comments about the Dolphin Square on Fodor's "Travel Talk" board should set your mind at rest; everyone who posted there had favorable things to say about it.

If I figured out how to copy the URL right, you should be able to read the comments at:

Dolphin Square - comments from Fodor's Travel Talk board

Thanks, Bree. I read all their comments. Dolphin Square doesn't sound too bad, though I thought it would be closer to things. I would have loved to stay at the place you mentioned but it was twice the price. I'm hoping we'll go there for lunch or dinner. It sounded fabulous.

People in the West Highlands have a clear diction usually, and will be easy to understand.
Up as far as Oban, you will find the Glasgow-influenced accent, and that can certainly be less clear until you've had a little practice. But anyone talking to a foreigner on the phone will take care to help you, and will speak clearly.
Many, indeed most, Scots know two langages- the local dialect, and Standard English.

I live very close to Greenwich - abt 5 min by car so should not be a problem, though a lot of greenery makes me sneeze a lot at this time of the year.

A drink in town is more like my scene !! But we will work something out, once you have the dates on which u r gonna be in London, lemme know, and we can try and rope in other A2K Londoners as well !!

Well, that's good to know, McTag. I always feel like such a DOLT if I have to keep asking "What, What, WHAT? Will you please repeat that?" It happened when I was trying to get information a couple of years ago on the ferry to Aran. I was so humiliated and I know the person on the other end just wanted me off the phone. Part of it was I didn't understand what "Return" meant, and the person I was talking to didn't understand "Round-trip." Since she was in Argyle, it could very well have been that she had a Glaswegian accent.

Btw - I'm just about to the point of saying screw the trains. sigh. In which case, I won't need to have them drop off a car at Kyle.

Here's how the trip is shaping up:

F - fly to Edinburgh
Sa - Edinburgh
Su - train to Inverness - get car - Culloden, stay in Tain
M - drive west towards Kyle & up Applecross, stay in Dornie
T - drive south via Armadale on Skye & Mallaig Ferry, stay in Roy Bridge
W - we're Cameron Clan so Lochaber is all good, stay in Ballachulish
Th - drop off car -- Sleeper Train from Ft. William
F - London - Kew
Sa - London - Greenwich
Su - London - British Museum
M - fly home

Along the way we'll be looking for old castles, standing stones, military & Pictish museums.

Now, I just have to see if I can get all the reservations I want.

Guatam! Sorry about your allergies, maybe Kew isn't your thing, though I love it. However, you're close to Greenwich? Have you been to the museums there? Would you be interested in going?... or maybe we could meet nearby for lunch? We'll probably go down on the Thames ferry link. Anyway, we could meet for a drink Friday after work if you wanted. What fun!

What'cha going to do at Greenwich, exactly?
-Sail down the river to it, see the sights?
-See/ look over Cutty Sark?
-Visit Royal Observatory, and stand on line 0 deg longitude?
-Visit Maritime Museum?
-Use Jubilee Line tube (see new station)?

or what?