London Calling!

I second the Tube and getting the Oyster Card, just remember to tap in and out. If you plan on taking the Tube daily when you are there you can load a travel card on it, all you will most likely need is for zones 1 and 2. Pay for the Heathrow trips on it's on by loading $$ on it. We got the card at Heathrow loaded what ever the amount was for a R/T to and from and then had a travel card loaded starting the next day for the other days. At least I think they still do it that way. They have free Tube maps at all the stations.

 

Have a great trip w/the wife James!! Yesterday's win just ratcheted up the atmosphere for the Norwich match ten-fold, soak it all in.

 

I just did the Tube the whole time I was there for a week back in 2009. It is easy.

 

We took the Heathrow Express in March and it was quite convenient. We left our bags at the bag check at Paddington for the day until we could get into our friends place. Oyster card is a must though. bus and tube will get you just about anywhere you need to go. I think we only took a taxi twice. both were because it was late and we were just ready to be done for the night. COYW

 

We had a great time! And I want to thank everyone here at FulhamUsa.com for their assistance, especially those who assisted us with acquiring HOME tickets (you know who you are). I'll fill in the gory details (we also took a short jaunt to Paris) when I recover, but it was just a hoot. Big props to Heather, AmericanMike and probably others I'm not aware of for coming to our rescue. Wouldn't have been the same without their Herculean efforts. Greatly, greatly appreciate you all.

 

And now, the gory details.
We had no issues with Delta coming or going. Shock, I know. In fact, I didn't know about Terminal F at ATL. I don't recall it being there the last time I flew through, which must've been before it's 2012 opening. It's nice. The red eye over was more difficult, understandably, than the daytime ride back. Plus, they kept feeding us, which A) I didn't expect and B) helped pass the time.
I would advise first time visitors to use the Heathrow Express instead of the Tube. We found it to be a bit challenging logistically right out of the box. If you're fortunate enough to return, it'll be less difficult and time consuming to negotiate. We used it on our departure, and I believe the extra cost to be worth it. Plus, we stayed at a Marriott near Marble Arch, which was a single digit cab ride to Paddington to catch it.
Our hotels were quite adequate, both in cost and location. The majority of our time, six days, was spent at the London Marriott Maida Vale. Unlike what I've read, there was ample room around the perimeter of the bed. Only issue was the extremely narrow combination bathtub/shower. Twiggy would have been challenged in that space. Same for the Marriott Marble Arch. Back to Maida Vale, it's a relatively short 3 block walk to the best tube station, Kilburn Park. It's on the more useful Bakerloo line, which takes you to more important lines to more of the big tourist sites, namely Jubilee. That one spits you out at either St. James's Park (Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace) and Westminster (Parliament, the Abbey). I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again. The area seems safe, and the neighborhood is interesting. We skipped the pricey hotel breakfast options for the nearby McDonald's most mornings, although we did the closer Starbucks, Costa Coffee and Rafkins, which is linked with and interesting little hotel, the Quality Maitrise, up the street CLOSER to the tube station. All were fine and much more economical.
We got our Oyster cards at Heathrow and topped them off three times, which was probably overkill. But we didn't want to run dry at night in a strange part of town, so we came home with about £9 each on them. Didn't care. Rode the bus one night to Westfield London, the new, big indoor shopping mall. That was fun. Ended up making three trips out to Wembley, which cost us a bit more as it's outside of Zones 1 and 2, but we didn't care. Went where we wanted when we wanted.
Speaking of Wembley, it's massive, as you might expect. The tour is well worth it. Our tour guides, Michael and Sam, were fantastic. The FA Cup was on display in the Royal Box, which was and added bonus, and we paid extra to have our picture taken with it. Again, worth it. It's somewhere on my facebook page, if you want to sift for it. Cost £10. Money well spent. Also caught a glimpse of the Barclay's Premier League trophy through a window at the beginning of the tour. They didn't mention it was there, but I saw it. They could've made some extra money off of us if they'd had a photo op with it as well, but I'm sure it was there as part of the weekend's FA Cup festivities for corporate sponsors and the like.
The other places we visited, in no particular order: Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, St. Paul's Cathedral (didn't do the tour there), Westminster Palace (Parliament, Big Ben, etc.), Craven Cottage (duh), and the Tower of London. We also shopped and ate at a lot of interesting places. Harrod's, Selfridge's, Primark, SEVERAL souvenir shops, The Official England Store at Wembley, The Royal Mews Gift Shop at Buckingham Palace and my personal favorite, Lillywhite's Sports Store. Lillywhite's was awesome. A HUGE selection of futbol duds and trinkets at end of season prices. Got a Fulham jersey for £5 cheaper than they were going for at the Team Store at the Cottage. Got a Nottigham Forest shirt for a co-worker for £12, also on sale. A must do if you're a fan visiting London, in my opinion. Couldn't beat the selection and prices. Would've spent the rent money if we'd stayed longer.
Food. Fish and chips at two places, The Sea Shell of Lisson Grove and Bailey's Fish and Chips. Chips were better at the former, the fish better at the latter. Both are worth your while. The Sea Shell is just around the corner from Marlybone Station, so it's much easier to get to. We didn't see it, but there is apparently indoor seating somewhere on the premises. All we saw was the take away area, which has standup counter ringing the interior that's not the ordering counter. There are a few tables and chairs outside, but it was too cool for our liking, so we stood and ate. Bailey's was our last stop before walking to Craven Cottage. It's tiny, hidden behind a bus stop shelter on Dawes Road in Fullham, but again, well worth seeking out. Had great fish and a lovely time with the locals before heading south on foot to the Norwich match.
Gonna take a break, will pick up from here at some point in the future. If anyone has questions or comments, fire away. I'll do my best to respond in a timely fashion.

 

Excellent. Thanks for posting Jump.

 

Great stuff Jump! Feel free to share your match day experience, what did you do leading up to the match? Did you do the walk through the Park to get to CC? Did you ever meet up with Arbeck for a pint?

 

Absolutely getting to that. But for now, here are the answers to your questions, sir.
1) We went for an early lunch to Bailey's Fish and Chips on Dawes Road in Fulham (see the second half of my last paragraph in the previous post).
2) We walked to the Cottage from Bailey's, so we did not walk through the park TO the match. We did, however, walk through Bishop's Park to the Putney Bridge tube station after the match. In fact, far enough after the match to avoid the crowd rush. It was delightful. Since we were near that end of the ground anyway, we waited for the stewards to open the pathway behind the Putney End after the Norwich fans had sufficiently cleared, and had a straight shot.
3) We were unable to link with Arbeck and friends. Communication without spending large sums of money proved to be one of more difficult aspects of our trip. Connectivity in Europe seems to come with significant cost. Free wifi just either a) doesn't exist or, b) appears to be free, then links you to a series of pay options when you click on it. Since my company wouldn't allow me to pay for a month's worth of international service, I left my iPhone at home. My wife's company was more accommodating, but it was still very expensive. Used the free wifi in the hotel lobby at night with a borrowed iPad (yep, they charge extra for it in your room) in a feeble attempt to compensate, but it was very inconvenient. Guess you just gotta suck it up and pay up if you want to stay hooked up over there.

 

I've actually found pre-paid SIM cards to be a good way to go. Last time I was in London, I went that route, which allowed me to use my phone. I don't recall exactly how much I paid, but if you're not as interested in voice calls or texts, there are reasonably-priced unlimited data cards you can buy for use for a few days.

 

Sounds like it was a great trip. Makes me want to go back.

 

Me too!