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This is a daily journal over 4 weeks staying in London with information on attractions, accommodation and other things I consider may be of interest to those wishing to travel to London. Each day we consulted our ?bible' - the Eyewitness Guide to London ? highly recommended. We found this guide book great for walking around and also better for our age group than others which are geared for young backpackers.

My husband and I are recently retired and live in Canberra Australia. We departed Canberra for London on 3 August 2003 and travelled on Japan Airlines business class via Tokyo. We had 14 weeks in total away in the UK and France and our first destination was London. We had both been to London a couple of times before but as many travellers do, only for a few days and this time wanted to go back and really get to know the city.

Because we planned on spending 4 weeks there we decided to rent a flat so we could save money by cooking and eating ?at home'. We found a good website www.accommodationlondon.net and rented a flat on Chichelle Road, Willesden Green , a north-west suburb, only 8 tube stops from Green Park and within zone 2 on the rail line. The cost of the flat was £40 ($A100 approx.) per night which we thought was reasonable for London and the cost of a weekly train ticket was £19.60 each.

We arrived at Heathrow on Tuesday 5 August and caught the train into Green Park (Piccadilly line) and had to change for Willesden Green (Jubilee line). It was a bit of a hassle carrying our bags at Green Park Station from the Piccadilly line to the Jubilee line as it is quite a distance along corridors and up and down stairs, especially as it was now peak hour.

The flat was a 10-minute walk down the street from the Station but was on the 3rd floor in the loft of the house. We had seen photos of the flats on the website so knew roughly what to expect. On arrival I walked into the smallest kitchen I have ever seen with a full size stove, small fridge and cupboards. It had crockery, glassware, cutlery and utensils as well as a few saucepans etc. A larger room contained 2 single beds, 2 wardrobes, 2 chest s of drawers, small table and 2 chairs and a small television ( but no sofa, as promised ) . Off that room was a very small bathroom with shower, toilet and basin. Not the Ritz but it would serve the purpose. It wasn't very clean though and Geoff spent some time in cleaning the stove, bathroom and washing the floor. (When we actually vacated the flat 4 weeks later we complained to the agent about the ?cleanliness' of the flat and he said that we should have informed him upon arrival and he would have had it cleaned for us?but who knows.)

Willesden Green has a reasonable shopping street with the usual shops. We found a large supermarket Somerfields only a 15 minute walk away and in the other direction a smaller Somerfields as well as Iceland at Cricklewood about 10 minute walk. Cricklewood is not the sort of suburb you would like to walk around too much so we often chose the Willesden Green shops. Also on our way home from the Station we often called into one of the many Internet Cafés in the area.

The only real problem with the flat was that it was a ?loft' meaning in the roof with one small window facing west and it was the hottest summer ever recorded in London .

On Wednesday we went straight to the local shops and bought a much needed electric fan. The flat was very hot , particularly in the afternoons and as we were on the main road the traffic was very noisy with the window open. That afternoon we caught the train in to Baker Street Station to visit Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. Unfortunately for us the summer school holidays had just started and the queue was too long to wait in the hot sun ? another day perhaps! So we consulted our Eyewitness Guide to London book and did their suggested walk around Marylebone ? Regent's Park and the York Gate Private Residences, Harley Street , Marylebone Road . As it was 36 degrees (hottest day ever recorded in London) we caught the tube home and called into the local pub ? The Green ? for a cold beer.

On the Thursday we caught the train in to Westminster to visit Westminster Abbey . As it was reasonably early (10.45 am), there wasn't a queue. We bought an audio guide each and walked around for about 2 hours. Incredible place with so many famous people buried there ? Elizabeth 1, Mary Queen of Scots, many other Kings and Queens, writers, poets, politicians etc. Some of the Abbey is 1000 years old.

After 4 pm we caught the tube to Baker Street for Madame Tussauds and because it was later in the day the only cost was us £12 each instead of £20 each ? a big saving when converted to our Australian Dollar (which we did all the time). Some of the exhibits are very life like, others not so good (John Howard is a lot taller with a very dark tan!!!)

On Friday morning, we caught the tube into Southwark to see the Tate Modern (bit of a walk). Interesting building which was originally the power house. Enjoyed it but some exhibits a bit too ?modern' for us. Had a good coffee on the 7th floor overlooking the Thames and the Millennium Bridge and the city. Great views for the cost of a coffee.

We walked over the Millennium Bridge and back again to the Globe Theatre . This is of course not the original but a good reproduction and the tour was excellent. There was a technical rehearsal for the Taming of the Shrew for the next Sunday's premiere and we were allowed to watch a couple of scenes.

Walked past the Borough Fresh Food Market to The George Inn . The Inn was built in 1677 and it is thought Shakespeare designed the Globe Theatre based on the galleries on the outside of the Inn where patrons stood and watched actors and minstrels. Famous people have been known to have a drink there including Shakespeare and Dickens (Dickens wrote about it in his book The Dorrit). Again it was is hot ? 34 degrees and we stopped and had lunch at the Anchor Pub on an outside table under an umbrella on the banks of the Thames. Very nice.

We decided to go into Covent Garden later in the day and caught the tube into Covent Garden where the exit comes straight out onto a very busy street. Because of the heat, many people were overflowing onto the streets from the pubs with and lots of people at the many outdoor cafes/bars etc. Street performers, market stalls ? all very noisy and crowded and exciting. Had a drink in a Wine Bar on the lower floor inside the old market building where we were entertained by opera-singing buskers ? great! As all the reasonably priced cafes were overcrowded, we walked up to Leicester Square and went into one of the many Spaghetti House restaurants for a very good fresh Italian meal and reasonably priced too.

On Saturday we had tickets to go into Buckingham Palace at 9.30 am. We had booked these tickets before we left Australia as the Palace is only open to the public August and September each year. We queued at the Ambassadors Entrance on Buckingham Gate and went in promptly at 9.30 with a free audio guide. The tour took us through the Grand Entrance and the Grand Hall and up the Grand Staircase to the First Floor to all the State Rooms and Ballrooms. The Queen's private apartments are in the north win and important visitors stay in the suite of rooms facing the Mall. Much of the ground floor is occupied by offices and the kitchens.

There was a special exhibition because it was the Jubilee Year and the Queen's Coronation Dress and Robe were on display. It took 3000 hours to embroider the flowers onto the dress working 24 hour shifts. The flowers represented floral emblems from all the countries in the Commonwealth ?e.g. wattle for Australia. It is impossible to describe the interior of the Palace as it was all so beautiful ? the artwork is quite magnificent and the furniture is exquisite. We exited through the usual souvenir shop (every exit in all the tourist attractions has a shop) and out through the back garden. We walked through St James' Park and decided to go on the London Eye on the Thames. But because of the high temperature it was closed for safety reasons. (It actually remained closed for 3 days).