Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category
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A swim in the pond and a breath of fresh air
The path in to Hampstead Heath
This past weekend I trekked up Hampstead Heath with a friend and her baby. We were in search of clean(ish) air, a cool breeze and a dip in the pond legendary bathing ponds (this last item was just for us grown-ups, though — babies are not allowed in the pools).
Now, technically speaking, a trip to Hampstead Heath does not count as a micro-break (which I have defined as an escape from London), but I challenge anyone to delve into this particular part of N5 and not feel as though they are very, very far indeed from the London hustle.
Posted in Travel
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Beachy day trip to Herne Bay and Whitstable
I grew up near the ocean, and just as I’ve grown accustomed to living some distance from the sea, so have I come to expect a sense of missing-ness to surface every year when the weather turns warm. I miss the sound of water on rocks. I miss the grit and squeak of sand under my feet. I miss the salty air and the good sleep that always follows a day on the beach.
This year, when the longing struck, I was ready for it.
I had lined up a day trip to Herne Bay with two friends and a dog (not their dog; we were puppy-sitting). G and D and I met up for breakfast, packed up the puppy, jumped in a Streetcar (they have a membership and G says the car came in at £80 for the day, budgeters) and headed for the coast.
An hour and 45 minutes later we pulled into a car park (80 pence for the day!) near the Roman fort in Reculver. The fort is right on the ocean, and the view is amazing. After a long winter in the Big Smoke – and a long drive with an antsy dog – the space, the sun and the clean air were really quite perfect.
First order of the day was to explore the fort. There is an old wall and an older wall, and there are a few signs to explain the historical significance of the spot, if you’re into that sort of thing. If you’re not, you can kick off your shoes, pad through the grass and take a lot of pictures.
Tourist boxes ticked, we headed down to the beach and began walking north to Herne. The tide had just turned and was on its way back in, so we could walk along the sandy flats. Slightly comedic local signage advises beach walkers that the cliffs are prone to breakage, so should you try this micro-break on your own, best save the Spiderman manoeuvres for another day.
The walk to Herne took a couple of hours – this includes two unsuccessful attempts to coax canine companion to swim — and it was, we agreed, just the thing after a long week at work. And in spite of it being a gorgeous Saturday, the beach was uncrowded, and the only people we did meet were genuinely friendly. For the most part, though, it was just us, the sun, and the non-swimming dog.
Herne, of course, is on the sea, and we easily found a beach-front bar that allowed dogs and served food. Canine companion took a snooze, tired out from poking around in tidal pools and barking at nothing in particular, while those of us with opposable thumbs had a shandy and a BBQ lunch.
After lunch we headed back to Reculver, but with the tide in and the beach gone, we walked along the upper path (avoiding those menacing cliffs, naturally). From Reculver it’s just a short drive to Whitstable, and D, a real foodie but an oyster virgin, was ready to see what all the fuss was about.
The final stop on the trip was dinner at the ridiculously welcoming and gorgeously sea-front Hotel Continental in Whitstable. We grabbed an outside table and our waitress brought some water for the weary pup. G and D and I ordered white wine spritzers (somehow it just felt like the thing to do), Greek salads, olives and oysters – a dozen on the half shell and six breaded and fried.
The oysters were beautiful – not too briney, perfectly chewy – and at around a pound each, almost embarrassingly inexpensive. More were ordered. And yet more. But the bill was less than £20 each – so, decidedly non-London prices. Alas we did eventually eat our fill (and canine companion began to wear out his welcome with the dog one table over) so we packed up and headed for home – tired, slightly sunburnt, and very relaxed indeed.
A quick technical point: if you don’t drive, you can still micro-break the Whitstable way: an off-peak day return to Whitstable is £20.10, and to Herne Bay is £21.10. Trains leave London Victoria fairly frequently and the journey is about an hour and 19 minutes, direct.
Total spend: £51 (1/3 car hire, lunch, dinner) — so, £1 over budget (but seriously sated after the epic mollusc feast)
Micro-break verdict: A beachy winner – we’re going back in July for the Whitstable Oyster Festival
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Challenge: Spend a whole day in London without spending a penny
Now this one is easy. Too easy, in fact, as London is one of those brilliant cities which is actually chockers with free stuff to do.
One of the most obvious places to start is London’s world-class museums and galleries, which unlike other cities around the world, offer free admission to many of their permanent collections. You could easily spend days wandering the capital’s great galleries without spending a penny. But there’s a chance you could suffer from a serious case of gallery fatigue. Plus there’s loads more to see and do. Here’s a sample itinerary of a full (free) day in London:
11am Free 80 minute yoga class
Dermalogica, KensingtonThe Dermalogica store in Kensington hosts a whole line-up of free health and well-being classes and workshops. Check online to see what’s coming up and book in advance.
1pm Take a packed lunch and picnic in the splendour of Kensington Gardens. People-watch, squirrel-watch and bird-watch for free.
2pm. Take in some culture and visit a free gallery or museum. The V&A Museum is nearby and houses an extensive collection of art and design.
4pm Get ready for a big night out with a free makeover at The Body Shop.
6pm. Go to a free taping of a TV show and spend the night with your favourite celebrities. Some of them even give you free booze! Apply well in advance for free tickets at the BBC or at Applause Store. Just keep in mind that you need to queue up very early for tickets on the night, and there’s no guarantee that you’ll get in.
9pm. Time to hit the (free) night clubs! Death Disco in at Notting Hills Arts Club is my pick of the bunch –with guest DJ sets (including the likes of Courtney Love, Tim Burgess, and Mercury Rev) and free live acts as well. (Wednesday nights only)
Posted in Beauty, Entertainment, Health & Fitness, Travel
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Day trip to Paris for £50 [Part 3]
I’m back from Paris – and despite the fact that I “failed” the challenge by exceeding the £50 budget before setting foot in France, I think I did fairly well by only spending a grand total of €11.20 on the day. I enjoyed a glorious day of the very best that Paris has to offer in terms of sight-seeing, shopping and eating local food. (You could definitely get by on less than €10 a day in Paris, but unfortunately the hot weather got the better of me and I succumbed to the lure a €2.50 strawberry icecream on Ile St Louis.)
I saved money by packing my own bottle of water and preparing a “grazing” box of nuts, dried fruit and bits of chocolate I found in the pantry. This really helped as the pound has taken quite a beating in recent months – for instance, a latte will set you back around €3.80, whilst the asking price from a bistro for a glass of Coke is €5. I could have prepared a packed lunch as well, but part of the challenge was that I actually eat local food, so that was out of the question.
Here’s how my day panned out:
7.15am Departed St Pancras International on Eurostar.
9.30am Arrived at Gare du Nord station in Paris.
9.45am Purchased a single Metro ticket (€1.60) to the Marais.
10am Arrived in the Marais and spent some time window-shopping and picking up a few items for my picnic lunch. I found a bakery, patisserie and fromagerie on rue de Bretagne, and spent a total of €5.50. This was actually a really good, budget-wise move, as I had enough bread and cheese for both lunch and dinner – score!
12 noon. Headed to the Musée Carnavalet, which offers free admission. Spent a couple of hours checking out the extensive collection devoted entirely to the history of Paris. The beautiful manicured hedge garden was also a highlight – like a mini Versailles! – and provided a valuable resting stop in between all the history and art.
2pm. Found the most gorgeous little park just opposite Musee Carnavalet on rue des Francs Bourgeois for my picnic lunch. The cheese and baguette went down a treat – with lots left over for afternoon munchings and dinner! (So much more affordable and thrifty than getting a single take-away Croque Monsieur for €6.50.)
2.30pm. Walked back through the Marais towards the Seine, stopping to look at a few discount and vintage shops. If you’re up for a fashion bargain, you might like to check out these shops:
Free ‘P’ Star Bretonnerie – cheap vintage fashion (see below). Climb the ladder to the little loft area and rummage through the €5 handbags. 8 rue Sainte Croix de la Bretonnerie
La Belle Epoque – vintage fashion. 10 rue du Poitou
Come on Eileen – vintage fashion. 16 rue des Taillandiers
L’Habileur – discounted second-hand designer fashion, including A.P.C. and Vanessa Bruno. 44 rue de Poitou
3pm – Walked across Pont Louis Philippe to Ile St Louis, stopping to admire the Seine in the afternoon sunshine. Joined the queue at Berthillon for a delicious €2.50 fraise glacee (strawberry icecream).
3.15pm – Crossed Pont St Louis and watched street buskers for a bit of free entertainment. Stopped for a rest in the square at the back of Notre Dame, which is also a great place to pass some (free) time in Paris. I made a beeline for the seats under the shady avenue of trees.
3.30pm – Visited Notre Dame, which is free entry (although you have to pay if you want to go up the towers) – and marvelled at the stained glass windows and vaulted arches. Amazing building.
4.30pm – Crossed to the Left Bank and browsed legendary bookshop Shakespeare & Co. (Tip: the upstairs window gives you one of the best (free!) views of Notre Dame. There are also lots of chairs and benches for (free!) reading.
5pm – Wandered around the back streets of the Left Bank, visiting tiny churches and looking in shop windows, before getting another single Metro ticket (€1.60) back to Gare du Nord station to catch the Eurostar back to London.
TOTAL SPENT: £70.20
USUAL COST OF DAY TRIP TO PARIS:
£309 (Fully-flexible standard Eurostar fare)
£15 (Standard bistro lunch for one)
£20 (Standard bistro dinner for one)
£5.80 (One day Mobilis Metro ticket)
––––
£349.70
TOTAL SAVED: £279.60Take a look at the video of my glorious €11.20 day in Paris…
Oola Moola goes to Paris from OolaMoola on Vimeo.Posted in Entertainment, Fashion, Food, Travel, Vintage
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Day trip to Paris for £50 [Part 2]
So, I’m off on my day-trip to Paris tomorrow. As you may recall, my challenge is go to Paris, see the sights, take in some culture and eat local food – for £50.The biggest hurdle, of course, is actually getting there (and uh, returning home to London) for less than £50. We always knew this was going to be tricky. I’ve been trawling Facebook groups, Ebay and Gumtree.com for the last few weeks, but I couldn’t find any cheaper tickets than Eurostar’s current return offer for £59. So a few weeks ago I bit the bullet and booked myself a return trip – thereby landing myself an automatic FAIL by going £9 over budget. Merde. Oh well, it’s still an exceptionally good deal, but I’m going to have to spend my money very wisely tomorrow to make up for it.
With that in mind, I’ve compiled a list of stuff to do for free in Paris. But actually getting around the free stuff presents another issue. At first I thought I would get a one-day Paris Visite ticket and zip around the city on the Metro, but it’s not exactly cheap at €8.50. And whilst the city’s free bike system is a fabulous cash-free – and green – way to take in the sights, I’m not the world’s most confident cyclist, and I don’t fancy ending up in the back of a baguette van. So I’ve decided to combine walking with two single Metro tickets (at €1.60 each).
I’ve used Google maps as a free tool to plan my walking tour, making sure that all the “free attractions” are within walking distance. At this point, I will take the Metro from Gare du Nord station to le Marais district, where I’ll take in the Musée Carnavalet, one of Paris’s free museums. After that, I plan to partake in a bit of lèche-vitrines (literally “window-lick”) around le Marais, which will lead me down to the Seine. I haven’t decided what to do for the rest of the afternoon, but I’m considering visiting Notre Dame, and having a picnic lunch in either Jardin des Plantes or Jardin du Luxembourg.
Here are my favourite resources for free stuff to do in Paris:
http://traveler.nationalgeographic.com/2008/03/free-city/paris-text
http://en.parisinfo.com/guide-paris/money/free-admission-and-good-deals/MuseumLet me know if you have any tips for free stuff to do around the 5th arr. Until then, au revoir!
Posted in Travel
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Car boot sales – the best for thrifty booty
Last weekend, my challenge was to put a car boot sale to the Oola Moola thrift test, so I headed off to one of London’s biggest in Battersea. My objective was to see what I could get for 10 quid, and to be honest, I didn’t really expect to be blown away by what was on offer. However, I was not only pleasantly surprised by the volume of quality thrift, but the prices were also extremely reasonable. (It’s an interesting sign of the times when one is used to paying high prices for other people’s tat.) But Battersea offered loads of bargainous gems, including vintage costume jewellery brooches for 50p, old Gina and Prada shoes for £20, and antique pewter for a couple of quid.
For a full directory of car boot sales in the UK, head over to carbootjunction.com.
If you’re thinking of visiting your local car boot sale over the long weekend, you might like to read my tips for success:
- Get there early.
- Be prepared to rummage – and haggle for a better deal.
- If the seller doesn’t want to reduce the price on a single item, try asking them to do a deal on a couple of items (e.g. “Would you take £10 for the dress and the brooch?”)
- Go with an idea in mind of what you’re after, and what price you’d expect to pay elsewhere (ie. you don’t want to pay antique shop prices.)
- Sunny days will be busiest – so cloudy, drizzly days are your best bet for coming away with a good haul.
- Don’t forget to take a couple of canvas shopping bags for all your thrifty finds.
I really loved having a good nosey around all the stalls, and I managed to pick up some really great bargains. I’ve had my eye vintage dog on wheels for a couple of years, and I finally got one! The asking price was £8, but I managed to get it for £6 - although I had to give him a bath when I got home! I also picked up a couple of vintage English chocolate tins for £1, and a pair of vintage ‘Empire Made’ cotton gloves for £2 (I talked them down from £3). To round it all off, I picked up a couple of old books (Oliver Twist and an English guide to birds, with the most beautiful colour illustrations) for another £1. Pretty good haul, don’t you think?
Battersea car boot sale
Battersea Technology College
Battersea Park Road, London SW11
Every Sunday from 1.30pm.
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The best thrifty investment
Here at Oola Moola we’re always on the hunt for clever thrifty tips, budget buys and easily-digestible money management advice. So we were naturally thrilled to discover that the latest book by author India Knight, The Thrift Book: Live well and spend less, rather brilliantly ticks all the right boxes.India’s known for her exquisite taste and sense of style – after all, she penned a book all about shopping! So she’s quite the expert guide in showing you exactly how to dress on a budget (and still look fab); make your own awesome gifts; travel the world with very little money, and grow your own delicious food.
And more. So much more, in fact, that you’ll just have to run out and buy it. But be warned – you might just surprise yourself and save quite a lot of moolah!
Posted in Beauty, Crafting, Decor, Entertainment, Fashion, Food, Gifts, Health & Fitness, Travel, Vintage
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Day trip to Paris for £50 [Part 1]
You’re sending me to Paris for the day? Tres bon!
(Actually, that was my initial reaction, until the £50 limit started to sink in. Then I had a terrible feeling that I’d been set up for failure. I mean, where on earth does one start with that kind of budget?)
Posted in Travel
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Wanna free trip to Denmark?
Those clever clogs over at Visit Denmark sure know how to get our attention. They want to put Danish holidays to the test, so they’re offering UK couples and families free flights and accommodation. You have until 31 March to apply to be a guinea pig, and holidays must be taken in 2009. Be sure to read the full terms and conditions, and take note that only certain dates are available. Run, don’t walk.Posted in Travel
