Since it's already nearing August and in a mere 2 months I'll be getting on a plane Europe bound, I thought I'd post some of the pre-trip prep that's been going on.
We've made pre-payments on a lot of things. This is exactly how our US trip went last year, by booking and buying things via the wonderful WWW we managed to save time and money on a number of things. Firstly, we're covered on accomodations both in Paris (4 days) and back in the UK (3 days). We're renting apartments both times as it's a much cheaper alternative than staying in a hotel. For example, the Paris apartment, which is located in Arrondissement 4 (in the Jewish Quarter, I think) will cost us EUR740 for the 4 days. Split that 5 ways and I only pay EUR148 for 3 nights in Paris. That's cheap right?
Other things we are pre-booking, the Paris Pass. We've had experience with these kind of passes before. We used City Pass in San Francisco and the Explorer Pass in NYC last year and it really did give us value for money. That's why when I googled to see if Paris had anything similar, I was ecstatic to find the Paris Pass. We're only taking the 2 day pass, it should suffice. My sis and I are also planning to take in an authentic cabaret show. I looked into the Moulin Rouge but a lot of reviews said that it was touristy (am not sure what that's supposed to mean) and so, instead, I found another famous one that's supposed to be the best. It's at the Lido theatre along the Champs Elysse. We've also pre-bought our Eurostar tix. It's quite a bargain online and judging from their booking schedule, a wise choice to pre-book because most of the tix around the time we will be going are sold out.
Once we're back in London, I have plans to go on the London Eye solo. The four other people I'm with went on it last year so I can't seem to persuade anybody for a second round. Maybe if I offer to pay for my sister's fare she'll go on with me. It's actually cheaper to book it online since you get a 10% discount. I'll have to check the date we'll be in London first before I commit to this. I was also thinking of the 1 day London Pass. When I was there last, I was really young so I didn't get to visit all the tourist spots like the Tower of London and London Bridge. The only place I recall is Madame Tussauds and Buckingham Palace. Since the London Pass includes these places, I might get it. It'd be nice to go back to Madame Tussauds and recreate the pics I took waaay back when. I have one next to Martina Navratilova, Joan Collins, Mr T and Boris Becker. In NYC, we visited Madame Tussauds there and I did get a pic with the NYC Martina Navratilova. Maybe I should make it my thing. Since I'm unsure what our 2 days in London will actually entail as yet, I'm holding off first but at least the research is done.
What is decided is my sis and I will catch "Les` Miserables" on West End. We're also leaning towards catching another show, maybe "The Lion King" cos we have heard great reviews on the show. It's a toss-up between that and "Chicago". I want to go with "The Lion King" as "Les` Miserables" is already on the heavy side so watching something light would be great. I would have loved to go see Rachel Weisz in "A Streetcar Named Desire" but the play ends next month. Shame.
Closer to the date, we'll be booking the car and such. We'll be driving up (or is it down?) to Lancaster from London and visiting the old farm we used to live on. And the house we subsequently moved to on Portland Street. As well as take a trip to Morecombe. I remember getting those twisty ice cream cones in the cold. I don't know why my mother would let us have ice cream in that cold weather. I also rode a pony on the Morecombe beach. Doubt the pony will still be there though. Well, perhaps, a different pony will be :) I hope to gorge on fish and chips here. There used to be this corner shop that sold the most delicious fish and chips wrapped in newspaper. Oh, that was just so good.
We'll also be stopping in at Bicester Village for some shopping. I'm kinda iffy here. I have made a decision to get the LV Speedy in epi leather while in gay Paree but there's a Mulberry outlet in Bicester. As well as an Anya Hindmarch store, Dior, Burberry - temptations abound! I have only budgeted for the one handbag though. We will see, won't we. Aside from that, I just want to get stuff from Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, H&M - basically all the high street stores. And Clarks shoes - there's a Clarks outlet in Bicester so it's likely I'll get some shoes. Anyway, there are still a few things not finalized but the bulk of the planning is done. The excitement is building too!
We've made pre-payments on a lot of things. This is exactly how our US trip went last year, by booking and buying things via the wonderful WWW we managed to save time and money on a number of things. Firstly, we're covered on accomodations both in Paris (4 days) and back in the UK (3 days). We're renting apartments both times as it's a much cheaper alternative than staying in a hotel. For example, the Paris apartment, which is located in Arrondissement 4 (in the Jewish Quarter, I think) will cost us EUR740 for the 4 days. Split that 5 ways and I only pay EUR148 for 3 nights in Paris. That's cheap right?
Other things we are pre-booking, the Paris Pass. We've had experience with these kind of passes before. We used City Pass in San Francisco and the Explorer Pass in NYC last year and it really did give us value for money. That's why when I googled to see if Paris had anything similar, I was ecstatic to find the Paris Pass. We're only taking the 2 day pass, it should suffice. My sis and I are also planning to take in an authentic cabaret show. I looked into the Moulin Rouge but a lot of reviews said that it was touristy (am not sure what that's supposed to mean) and so, instead, I found another famous one that's supposed to be the best. It's at the Lido theatre along the Champs Elysse. We've also pre-bought our Eurostar tix. It's quite a bargain online and judging from their booking schedule, a wise choice to pre-book because most of the tix around the time we will be going are sold out.
Once we're back in London, I have plans to go on the London Eye solo. The four other people I'm with went on it last year so I can't seem to persuade anybody for a second round. Maybe if I offer to pay for my sister's fare she'll go on with me. It's actually cheaper to book it online since you get a 10% discount. I'll have to check the date we'll be in London first before I commit to this. I was also thinking of the 1 day London Pass. When I was there last, I was really young so I didn't get to visit all the tourist spots like the Tower of London and London Bridge. The only place I recall is Madame Tussauds and Buckingham Palace. Since the London Pass includes these places, I might get it. It'd be nice to go back to Madame Tussauds and recreate the pics I took waaay back when. I have one next to Martina Navratilova, Joan Collins, Mr T and Boris Becker. In NYC, we visited Madame Tussauds there and I did get a pic with the NYC Martina Navratilova. Maybe I should make it my thing. Since I'm unsure what our 2 days in London will actually entail as yet, I'm holding off first but at least the research is done.
What is decided is my sis and I will catch "Les` Miserables" on West End. We're also leaning towards catching another show, maybe "The Lion King" cos we have heard great reviews on the show. It's a toss-up between that and "Chicago". I want to go with "The Lion King" as "Les` Miserables" is already on the heavy side so watching something light would be great. I would have loved to go see Rachel Weisz in "A Streetcar Named Desire" but the play ends next month. Shame.
Closer to the date, we'll be booking the car and such. We'll be driving up (or is it down?) to Lancaster from London and visiting the old farm we used to live on. And the house we subsequently moved to on Portland Street. As well as take a trip to Morecombe. I remember getting those twisty ice cream cones in the cold. I don't know why my mother would let us have ice cream in that cold weather. I also rode a pony on the Morecombe beach. Doubt the pony will still be there though. Well, perhaps, a different pony will be :) I hope to gorge on fish and chips here. There used to be this corner shop that sold the most delicious fish and chips wrapped in newspaper. Oh, that was just so good.
We'll also be stopping in at Bicester Village for some shopping. I'm kinda iffy here. I have made a decision to get the LV Speedy in epi leather while in gay Paree but there's a Mulberry outlet in Bicester. As well as an Anya Hindmarch store, Dior, Burberry - temptations abound! I have only budgeted for the one handbag though. We will see, won't we. Aside from that, I just want to get stuff from Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, H&M - basically all the high street stores. And Clarks shoes - there's a Clarks outlet in Bicester so it's likely I'll get some shoes. Anyway, there are still a few things not finalized but the bulk of the planning is done. The excitement is building too!
