A great grad gift experience in London, please
June 4, 2015 9:21 PM   Subscribe

My girlfriend is graduating university and she's heading to London for a well-deserved holiday later this month. I'm looking for a great gift idea of a fabulous experience that she can have while there!

So the snowflakey details are:
  • She's a Canadian in her mid-30s; this degree took a lot of work over a lot of years. (The gift doesn't need to be graduation-related or themed.)
  • She has previously spent a year living and working in London, so she's seen and done everything on the tourist trail pretty thoroughly, unless it's something new from the last couple of years.
  • Interests include: architecture, urban form and cities, public transport, good food, wine, and beer. Some interest in the visual and performing arts. Oh, and super-cute animals. She's not a big clothes/knick knack shopper, and not a clubbing/nightlife person.
  • Her time in London is June 23-26.
  • I'm not going with her; I need to buy this in the next couple of days; presumably online. I don't know where she's staying (it's a ways out of town with a friend).
  • Budget up to maybe a hundred pounds or so; a little more if it's something really special.
  • I think it should be an experience, rather than something primarily physical; she has enough London tat as it is.
Any ideas would be absolutely wonderful! Thanks!
posted by Homeboy Trouble to Travel & Transportation around London, England (10 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
How about a kayaking trip? There are several outfitters and I think several routes (canals, Thames). Boats are always fun!
posted by mochapickle at 9:50 PM on June 4, 2015


Threads magazine (June/July 2012) has a profile of fabric shops in London England that includes how to get in to view a costuming supply place for a tour.

I think it was this place: Angels -- the largest supplier of costumes to film

If she is into visual arts, this place has costumes from some famous movies that can be viewed on the tour.

Haven't been... but it would be my first stop in London.
posted by chapps at 10:04 PM on June 4, 2015


If she's not averse to dining alone, get her a spot at the chef's table at Social Eating House. It's literally a counter that looks into the kitchen right next to the expediting station. The food is awesome.
posted by bedhead at 10:38 PM on June 4, 2015


Best answer: How about a trip up The Shard?
It's a relatively new building, so she won't have had a chance to visit it on previous visits. You get a 360 view of London. There's a champagne bar too. It is quite pricey but I was surprised at how enjoyable it was, just looking at the view and spotting landmarks - especially all the new buildings that have gone up in the past few years.
posted by Heloise9 at 11:39 PM on June 4, 2015 [1 favorite]


London zoo offer a range of animal related experiences. "Keeper for the day" is the one that really caught my eye - even if £280 is beyond your budget.
posted by rongorongo at 3:02 AM on June 5, 2015


Very old-school London if she likes that sort of thing - and nice for a treat - champagne tea for her and a friend at Claridge's?
posted by oneaday at 3:15 AM on June 5, 2015


(And for a little more new-school London, you might find some inspiration here.)
posted by oneaday at 4:23 AM on June 5, 2015


Best answer: As a Londoner: The Shard is godawful and I guess the only good thing about going up it is that you can't see the Shard from there. It's really overpriced. The Nudge list that oneaday linked to looks mostly pretty good, although IMHO Regent's Park theatre is always a bit bland and touristy. If you can get tickets to You Me Bum Bum Train, do it (you probably can't, no-one can). If she likes Star Wars even a little bit, I would think Secret Cinema's Star Wars event would be perfect. Personally I think Angels is not that exciting. Immersive theatre is pretty hot here right now, so it could be worth shopping around for something good (Shunt's latest is, sadly, a bit of a disappointment). There are about a million better afternoon teas than Claridge's, I think Time Out recently did an article on unusual afternoon teas. Some animal-lovers love zoos; others hate them. Be sure before you book.
posted by Acheman at 5:19 AM on June 5, 2015


Best answer: I don't know if this is too late and you've already decided on something else, but the Street Art London tours are amazing for people who like walking, thinking differently about architecture, and street art. Plus, in my experience, it is an entirely not-weird thing to do alone as a 30-something woman because you're with a group and it's slightly nerdy and, well, people who like street art are chill. Yeah, street art has jumped the shark, but the guy who ran the tour both times I did it (2013 and 2014) was still charming, informative, and willing to have as complexly theoretical/analytical a conversation as one wanted to bring to the table.
posted by obliquicity at 10:07 PM on June 8, 2015


Response by poster: Thanks for your help! In the end, although Secret Cinema was the coolest option, that wouldn't work for her for other reasons. She loved her trip up The Shard, and I signed her up for the Street Art tour but it was cancelled so that's not anyone's fault but the flu.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 10:57 AM on June 29, 2015


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