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Romantic Vacations: London

June 17, 2010 by Lori Mitchell

Yes, you can afford Europe! I’d like to suggest a trip to London. London is my favorite city in the world and it can drugs store be done on a budget. If you are willing to go in the off season you can get great air and hotel packages.

I just did a quick search for January 2011 and found deals for 8 days 7 nights, airfare and hotel for under $1000 per person double occupancy, but I know you can go on half that if you are willing to book at the last minute. A few years ago, I booked a week in February as a Valentine’s Day present for the special man in my life at the time and me. I booked the trip 3 weeks in advance; since we both had passports it wasn’t an issue to book at the last minute. At that time, 3 or 4 years ago, we did 8 days, 7 nights for a grand total of $985. That was the total cost, not per person. I also booked my daughter and her friend the same trip for the last week in February and the price was very near the same.

We stayed in the Thistle, which I would highly recommend, and our rooms had a view of Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. It was a great location. Just a short walk from the tube station, and a great location.
Here are a couple tips if you decide you might want to go:

1. Buy a 7 day tube pass as soon as you get off the plane. The 7 day pass is the most economical way to get around. The tube is VERY safe and convenient! If you land in Heathrow you can catch the tube there. If you fly into Gatwick you’ll need to take the train into the city. You will most likely end up at Victoria Station and get catch the tube from there.

2. Do not buy discount tickets for plays from the corner vendors. This is a risk unless you know what you are doing. Some of them sell counterfeit tickets and you will lose your money and not see the play. There is the one vendor in Leicester with the running marquis. They are valid and you can get some reasonable deals there, but they don’t usually have tickets for good seats. My advice is to buy tickets from the theater. The advantage of doing this is that if the play isn’t sold out, the theater starts with the cheapest seats and upgrades them to fill in the more expensive seats. A friend and I once bought the cheapest seats but sat third row center. Theaters want to fill in the front seats and will upgrade. The issue with this is that you can’t request it, and you might not even know you’ve been upgraded until the usher shows you to your seats. Also, bring money because during intermission they sell ice cream.

3. If you cialis jelly get the chance book a day trip to Stonehenge.

4. Get a guide book before you go and figure out what you want to see and plan it. There is so much to see and not enough to do it all, so plan well.

5. See a play at the Globe, but buy the tickets to stand in the round. They were only 5 quid the last time I was there.

6. Stand in line to get into Westminster Abbey. It is so very worth the wait in line.
Across from Westminster is a building run by the Methodist, I believe that has bathrooms and a place to buy something to eat and sit for a few.

7. Always use the bathroom when you find one. It doesn’t work like it does here in the US. You can’t just pop into a McDonalds and go. They are locked or charge to use them, so always take advantage of a free bathroom when you have the opportunity.

8. Buy souvenirs from the corner vendors. You can get the same stuff that you would get at the tourist destinations but will pay about half the price.

9. Use your ATM or debit card. You won’t have to pay a fee for the exchange and the exchange rates are always current. My bank didn’t even charge me ATM fees. You should contact your bank and credit card companies before you leave or you could find your cards suspended for suspicious activity.