Check out some of our favorite places to celebrate Christmas and New Year's Eve, both near and far. These videos and book excerpts will get you into the spirit faster than you can say "Auld Lang Syne."

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Hey Let's Go fans! We're in the business of connecting travelers to all the information they could possibly need to enjoy themselves while abroad. To that end, we've partnered with with our fellow travel bloggers at Pause the Moment.

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Through some incredibly handy family connections (probably the first time I've ever been able to say that), I manage to score myself a private tour of Westminster Abbey. I arranged to attend Evensong and then meet my contact, a sacrist at the Abbey, after the service. Things got off to a slightly rocky start when I turned up for church. Knowing that many travelers (cough *and Let's Go researchers* cough) like to check out famous churches during service times to avoid paying admission fees, the Abbey posts staff members to make sure that anyone who comes in for Evensong stays for Evensong. I run up, a little late, in my usual work outfit of flip flops and backpack (though I did at least put on a dress that day). The marshall at the entrance gives me a slightly skeptical look. "Are you here for evensong, young lady?" I explained I was, that I was a guest of one of the priests, and that there was supposed to be a seat reserved for me "in Quire." The skeptical look deepened, "Alright, go in and tell that to one of my colleagues down the way." This interaction was repeated three or four times, until finally I was told to stand aside from the trickle of visitors coming in for the service. I loitered, feeling super awkward while all the tourists thought "clearly she's one of us, come on, she has a BACKPACK." Finally, just when I had been handed off to yet another staff member who seemed about to banish me to the plastic chairs of the tourist quarter, my sacrist appeared. He greeted me enthusiastically, told my current handler to deposit me in one of the fancy pews of the choir, and scurried off to vestry. I confess I looked a little bit smug when my legitimacy was at last confirmed.

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Terms of endearment with which London bartenders have addressed me:

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There's a running joke in the Let's Go office that some day I'll write Let's Ho: Prostitution Around the World. Given that my previous Research Writer stints have involved Thailand (including a 5-day visit to Pattaya, renowned for its prevalence of sex workers) and Amsterdam, I've become a touch accustomed to the presence of flagrant prostitution in the cities I'm researching. Ignoring my personal views on the ethics of sex work, let's just say that it's been a little weird that so far I hadn't seen a single trace of anything XXX in London (barring a few bars that turned out to be strip clubs).

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Finding dinner on Brick Lane (in East London) is not as easy as one might think.

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Something that truly astounds and delights me about this city is that this could just as easily be a list of the top five museums in London overall. Yes, there are some worthwhile ones that charge for entrance, but you could happily go to dozens without spending a penny.

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