You have nothing to worry about so far with your Washingtonia palms. The minor damage on one is NOT enough to be fatal. As long as you don't get rot from high humidity, and don't lose power in an arctic blast, you'll be fine. As for spear pull, whenever I had that, it was always a long time in coming, sometimes months after the damage.

Rosewitch, England was definitely one of my favorite places I have ever visited. My folks took me there when I was 14, and I remember bits and pieces the Crown jewels, walking amongst the Stonehenge stones (roped off now, vandalism), Stratford upon Avon. Time for me to take my own 14YO. Im trying to think how I can get over there for a whole summer, LOL. Dlynn, I could have worked so much more. I didnt really look at night time stuff and there was loads to do. Greece: cant help you, but shoot Yasou a line, she went a few years ago. LOL Annie! Teresa, well go together. I wanted to explore more cooking and food shops/stores but didnt get to. Terri, here is more a link to Pictures of England, a website pointed out to me by Denise. I started it on Bourton on the Water, where we stayed for a few days. Thanks Sharon, I was actually thinking how can I even come close to posting her quality of travel guides, I dont do the pictures she does LOL. We might have sat at the same table in the Cheshire Cheeses dining room! Sawdust still there, but we didnt make it to the cellar. I missed a lot of the British Museum. It has changed.check out the new atrium. I couldnt keep up with DH and DS16. Afternoons, when I planned museums, I crashed. Next time! Pam, lots of people did more than we did per day! Theater every night, more attractions, I cant imagine. Gina heh heh yeah I need another vacation like a hole in my head. Speaking of whichDH has another week off in August. Nooooooooo! Kathleen, DH says he took an average of 200 pictures a day. Yup. Me, I just buy the post cards or Google the images, same thing (DARFC from the photo bugs here) Cathy, thanks for giving me the War and Peace moniker heh heh. Next time I go with CF friends! LindaC, I know. Im still exhausted. Speaking of the V&A, did you know there was a Dale Chihuly chandelier in the entrance room?

Is this your first trip to Paris and or London? If you have three weeks, I would certainly plan to do more than Paris, especially if I had not been to Europe before and was not a frequent traveller ... you can do a lot comfortably in three weeks. Let me start off by saying though, I really would not go to Paris in April. My first trip as a "grown up" was April in Paris, and I just assumed it was a good time ago (isn't there a famous song?). The song is probably just because the guy needed two syllables. April in Paris is usually cold and rainy. I have been there a dozen times on business and 4 times for pleasure, and I much prefer June or September. I totally understand the spring break timing. I am confronted with that every year too ... it seems you either go skiiing, go to the beach, or you have to go somewhere off season. Drives me crazy. But I truly believe April is suboptimal, and I had to say that upfront. One of the best things about Paris is just strolling about, and it is much nicer if it is green and pleasant. If this is a once in a lifetime trip, I'd do it in June. One of my favorite places in the world is the Bagatelle, a small tulip garden in the Bois du Bologne. In April it will be barren. So will Giverny, a great day trip to Monet's home. Okay so I have said my piece on that and will desist! The Georges V on the right bank is steps from the Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elyssees. Over the years it had been flagged as a few different brands, but it is currently a Four Seasons. I tended to stay there on business, and while it is excellent, it is not my first choice for leisure. I don't really like the Champs Elysee ... it has large, modern stores on that section .. and I would much rather be based on the left bank for leisure. My fave is La Lutetia, but I just looked it up and it is closed for renovations. I also like the Hotel Montalambert and Relais Christine, both left bank. Do note that both cities are very pricey as I am sure you know. Moreover, unlike American brands, rooms are typically very very small and often cannot accommodate a third person. Lastly, try to be very specific about the actual room and get photos. Many hotels are in older buildings and the rooms are anything but cookie cutter. One person can have a fabulous charming room and the other a dump. But in my mind it feels much more Parisian to stay in an old building! So keep that in mind when looking into alternates. As far as an itinerary, I would try to take the full three weeks so as to maximize the bang for your buck on flying over there. BTW I just read about a new all business class airline into Paris that, for business class, is quite reasonable. If you don't want to spring for a flat bed seat, fly during the day, land at night, and get right on the local schedule. Avoid caffeine, drink lots of water, get sun and exercise and you won't have any jet lag. I would consider flying into London (frankly between Gatwick and LHR there are so many flights and carriers that you can usually get the best deals). I would consider excursions to Stonehenge and Bath. Then I'd take the Chunnel to Paris. No one needs to tell you what to see in Paris! Outside of Paris I'd consider train trips to Versailles of course, and maybe to Chartres to see the famous cathedral and have dinner. If you are going a full three weeks, I might throw in Belgium and do an open jaw, flying into one city and out of a different one. I like the Hop on Hop off buses, tacky though they are, because they give you a quick lay of the the land. I usually research the "36 hours in" or "three perfect days in" articles in advance, to get ideas about what Id like to do. These are from the NY Times and periodicals so more timely than guidebooks.

I suggest getting an Oyster card so you can use the bus and subway easily. You can buy them at automated kiosk before entering the subway at Heathrow. I'll second the Portobello Rd Market. I'm glad I had room in my suitcase for the treasures I bought there and keep in mind that they are open to negotiating on the prices. All museums are free (a donation are welcomed, but not required), at least all the ones we visited. My favorite was actually the natural history museum. British museum is nice too, but was much more crowded and I'm not huge on crowds so may be why it was knocked down a notch. For people watching and a nice day Hyde Park is nice. It will be full of people, but still not feel crowded and lots to see other than people. The Kensington Palace is there too. We didn't do the tour as we didn't feel the price was worth it at the time and with the other things on our plate it didn't rate as high. However, I grew up in Europe and have seen/been in plenty of castles/manors/palaces so not really my thing. Natural History museum is basically around the corner from Hyde Park. Hop-on-hop off can be nice especially if you want to see some of the well known buildings/monuments and are tired of walking. You can choose to get off if you want a closer look or just view it from the bus. Tower of London - I found it very interesting and appreciated all the tour guides in their particular areas. I'm a history buff though. Unless you really love seeing jewelry the wait and line to see the crown jewels may or may not be worth it to you. I really wasn't that interested in it, but my friend was so I tagged along to be a good friend. Tower bridge - the glass floor and laying down on it and looking down was cool for this gal who is afraid of heights, and I liked the tours/videos that walked through the history, but I wouldn't spend the money again as I thought the value wasn't there. Near the British Museum is a large shopping street (Oxford St) - Typical chain stores, but also Selfridge, so if you've seen the British TV show - Mr Selfridge it might be cool to visit. Harrod's is in another shopping area and depending on your interests might also be worth a visit. I agree on seeing a show while there if you like musicals. I have every time I've visited. You can purchase ahead now or there are places at Picadilly Circus where you can purchase from all, but will be more expensive. Some sell out though and those will often have a lottery on their door step for extra tickets they have available after a certain time. Since you only need single seating this might be the way to go. We did this one time and didn't get the tickets. The ticket booths that sell to all shows was useful to us in knowing what shows still had tickets. We then took our chances and went straight to the theater to purchase the tickets as it was a lot cheaper. There is also a normal chain store shopping area here. Has a bit of the same feel like NY Times Square, but with a London twist. It is not that far from Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace and St James park (across from Buckingham palace). Oh Beer, wine, and ice cream are available at all shows as well and you get to bring it in with you to sip/drink/eat during the show too.