6. Weekend in London at the Mandarin Oriental - Podcast

In Podcast Episode 6 I’m in London for a winter weekend meeting up with friends and staying at the fabulous Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park Hotel in Knightsbridge. As I travelled with my teenage daughter you’ll hear some recommendations from friends who live in London on the things that children will enjoy, as well as suggestions from the Concierge at the Mandarin Oriental on London attractions that his guests enjoy close to the hotel.

I’ll be telling you about our Asian style dinner at the Park restaurant, the luxurious suite in which we stayed overlooking the park and our experiences shopping with teenagers in London. If you enjoy the podcast, please subscribe to my podcast series on I-tunes to be updated with new podcasts. If you are a subscriber to the blog you’ll already receive podcast updates as well as all my other articles.

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Dinner in the Park Restaurant

Orangery at Kensington Palace

Show Notes

In the podcast today you’ll hear;

• Recommendations from Daisy (aged 10) and Lola (aged who live in London on things that children will enjoy. They love the Tate Modern gallery , The Sea-life Aquarium on the South Bank , The Science Museum in South Kensington, Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, the Princess Diana Memorial Playground in Hyde Park and seeing shows like Sister Act, War Horse, Hairspray, Billy Elliott and Mary Poppins.
• About our Prince of Wales suite in the Mandarin Oriental  which was extremely luxurious in classical English style, overlooking Hyde Park.
• Shopping for teenagers in the huge fashion store, Top Shop, at Oxford Circus.
• Admiring the hampers at the food emporium Fortnum and Masons, with a hamper for every occasion from a gift of English produce to Graduation hampers to tuck boxes to send to your children at boarding school.
• Eating in the Park Restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, where they serve top class Asian food and I ate Crab Cakes and Thai Green Curry and finished with African Amber tea.
• A chat with Senior Concierge, Mike Selcuk at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park Hotel, about the things that he recommends for his international guests from the Middle East, US and the UK. He suggests the following activities;
• In Hyde Park behind the hotel you can find many activities for families, such as boating on the Serpentine lake, horseriding, feeding the ducks and the Princess Diana Memorial Playground and the Memorial Fountain.
• Across the park you’ll find Kensington Palace where some of Princess Diana’s dresses are on display and you can take tea in the Orangery.
• For shopping there’s Harrods and Harvey Nichols and further on are the three museums of South Kensington, as well as the Royal Albert Hall where you can have a tour or attend a concert.
• In the other direction is Buckingham Palace which is open in the summer when the Queen is on holiday, and where the Changing of the Guards takes place daily in summer.
• Families may enjoy the London Eye, the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London and Madame Tussauds and taking the hop on hop off bus around the sights of London.
• There is a Duck Tour which is a combination of bus and boat that goes on the river that you can take by the river near Waterloo Station and the Cabinet War rooms used by Winston Churchill in the war.
• Miko also often makes reservations for his quests to see popular shows like Oliver, Lion King, Mama Mia, Billy Elliot and the new show Legally Blonde as well as getting reservations to the top London restaurants.
• The music on the podcast today was Venus as a girl by Andy McKee and Travelogue by George Wood on MusicAlley.com
• I received a complimentary stay at the Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park Hotel, in order to write an article for Kiwi Collection.com - read my review of the Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park, London here.

Listen to other recent Podcasts

05 An Autumn weekend in Lisbon
04 Visiting the Munich Christmas Markets
03 Ecuador and the Amazon Rainforest
02 My Istria Travel Diary
01 Family Travel with Hospitality Club

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New Year Photo - Peace & Love in Munich

On the first day of 2010, I’d like to wish all of you a very Happy New Year and Peace and Love around the world. I took this photo in the Hofgarten in Munich, when I was there in December with my parents.

The first snow of winter had just fallen in Munich and I wandered into the Hofgarten, the formal public gardens, just behind the Residenz Palace to take some photos of the park covered by snow. People were out strolling, with children and dogs playing in the snow and people had been writing in the snow covering the tables of this cafe. I immediately thought what a great Christmas card this would be, perhaps I’ll send it to my nearest and dearest next year.

So here’s to Peace and Love in 2010!

Other Munich articles to enjoy

Visiting the Munich Christmas Markets - Podcast
Postcard from the Snow in Munich
Postcard from the Christmas markets in Munich

Munich Resources

• We stayed in Munich at Hotel Falkenturm, a comfortable, 2 star hotel which is well-located for sightseeing
• The guidebook I used on this trip was the pocket sized Dorling Kindersley, Eyewitness Top 10 guide to Munich, which I found ideal for sightseeing if you are there for a short time.
• Official Munich Tourism Website

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Postcard from the snow in Munich

I’m in Munich for a pre-Christmas break, and although yesterday was rainy, the forecast was correct and this morning it snowed. It was a light snowfall, just enough to give a dusting to the trees and hedges in the parks but not enought to lie on the pavements for long or make them too slippery.

I think this must be the first snowfall in Munich this season, and being the weekend and so close to Christmas, it put everyone in a holiday mood. I even saw a lady in the park throwing snowballs into the air for her dog to catch!

These photos were taken in the Hofgarten, the formal gardens behind the Residenz Palace in the centre of Munich that we visited yesterday. They extend towards the Englischer Garten, a large park that I’d love to explore and cycle around if I was here in the summer time.

We had another wander round the Christmas Market in one of the Residenz courtyards which was packed on a Saturday afternoon, and around the larger and more touristy Christmas market on Marienplatz. That was so full, there was barely room to move and so we gave it a wide berth this evening when choosing somewhere to eat.

One thing about snow in Germany, one can be sure that they’re used to getting it every year, and so there is no danger of things grinding to a halt as we often find in England. Snow is expected and so people get on with their lives as normal and just enjoy the first snowfall.

Other Munich articles to enjoy

Visiting the Munich Christmas Markets - Podcast
Drinking Feuerzangenbowle to warm the spirits in Munich
A chilly welcome at Michaelkirche in Berg am Laim

Munich Resources

• We stayed in Munich at Hotel Falkenturm, a comfortable, 2 star hotel which is well-located for sightseeing
• The guidebook I used on this trip was the pocket sized Dorling Kindersley, Eyewitness Top 10 guide to Munich, which I found ideal for sightseeing if you are there for a short time.
• Official Munich Tourism Website
  

www.flickr.com heatheronhertravels’ Munich - around town photoset

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