A whirlwind week
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 All Along Destinations Get in gear Going Strong Outbound Real deals Sensible traveler Taking Off Where they went
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When Bob and Betty Shaw were checking out of their London hotel after a week in the city, a woman checking in said, "What did you see?" The Shaws didn't know where to begin.
The couple, who retired to Marion a few years ago, had wanted to go overseas for their 40th anniversary last February. When they learned about a Virgin Atlantic Airways hotel and flight package to London for $400 each, they signed up immediately. By the end of the trip, they had spent less than $2,000 total.
They stayed at the Kensington Gardens Hotel, which they loved, especially after they were upgraded for free to a room with a view of the gardens. The only thing lacking was enough washcloths, which the Shaws learned are not common in Britain.
Bob, a former physical scientist, and Betty, who worked as a school nurse and educator, enjoy traveling together.
"Anybody would like traveling with Bob," said Betty, 64. "He's normally a very disorganized person. But when he travels, he likes to get his money's worth." As for Betty, she's "hyper organized," said Bob, 66. "She did a lot of the planning too." They studied travel guides, browsed the Internet, and got input from their four children.
Armed with maps, guides, and printouts, they took London by storm as soon as the plane landed, not giving in to a sleepless night or jet lag until the evening, when their heads bobbed during a candlelight performance of classical music at St Martins-in-the Fields in Trafalgar Square. The church's congregation dates to 1222, and the current building was consecrated in 1726.
Traveling mostly by tube (subway), they went to several other concerts that week, and Bob, who sings in choruses and a barbershop quartet, was quite impressed with the music.
They also took a double-decker bus tour. With the weather being unseasonably mild, they stayed on top much of time, gaping at the sights "like proper tourists," Bob said. The bus arrived at Buckingham Palace just before the changing of the guard.
"They say in the summer that you can't see them, but we were right at the fence," said Betty. Not being a big fan of pageantry, she added, "I wasn't that impressed."
What did impress her were the Londoners, she said. "I expected them to be a little stuffy, but the people were just lovely."
Food was not high on their priority list, though they did have bangers and mash (sausages and mashed potatoes) and a hearty ploughman's breakfast. On their last full day they had high tea at the five-star Savoy after an afternoon at the Playhouse Theatre for "An Inspector Calls."
For Betty, who grew up in the Anglican Church of Canada, "Westminster Abbey was the reason to go. I had heard about it all through my childhood in Canada." At the Sunday morning service they attended, "You felt like you'd stepped into a history textbook." They had requested a seat next to the choir of 35 men and boys. "Their a cappella performance brought me to tears," Bob said.
The week's highlight for Bob was the 250-year-old British Museum, and he called the renovated Great Court area "very gracious open space." The court is enclosed by a glass canopy that has been called the world's most spectacular skylight. And then of course there are the museum's holdings, such as the Elgin marbles and the Rosetta stone. "To a scientist," he said, "that's an amazing key to history."
In the less cultural realm, they spent time at Harrods, the world-famous department store that covers a city block. "It was so pretentious and over the top. But it is more than glitz, because they can back it up," with such collections as 16 kinds of coconuts in the food section, Betty said. Another day, they browsed the city's many street markets, where the prices were more affordable.
"We didn't spend a lot of time sleeping," said Betty. "Even then, we were very aware that we were only scratching the surface."
Send suggestions to ddaniel@globe.com.
