Posts Tagged ‘Free’
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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)
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£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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See the latest bands in London for £0
For me, one really annoying thing the recession has really impacted on is last-minute purchases, especially when it comes to entertainment.
But with ticket prices to bands costing up to £60 for two, I’m finding it really difficult to justify the expense. I usually only find out about a new gig at the last minute, so I haven’t had time to allow for it in my budget. Which means that I keep missing out on my favourite bands.
But I’ve managed to catch quite a few new bands – and a couple of favourites – at one of my favourite record shops in London, Rough Trade East. I signed up for their newsletter last year, and they email through weekly updates about upcoming instore concerts. They’re always free gigs, but sometimes you have to turn up at the store and queue to get a wristband to guarantee entry. But it’s well worth the effort. Last year I got an email about an upcoming Spiritualized show, so I headed over to the Shoreditch store to get my wristband. The show was brilliant, and I also got my new CD signed by the band. One of the best things about instore gigs is the size and intimacy - I’d never get that close to a band at a concert.
Check out the free gigs coming up over at Rough Trade - there’s Paper Cuts on Monday 13th April and Marianne Faithfull on Wednesday 15th April.
Many record shops in cities around the world have free in-store gigs from time to time. In New York, there’s Sounds Fix in Williamsburg.
What about you? Are there good record shops with free in-store gigs near you?
Images courtesy of Spiritualized (that’s them playing at Coachella - yep, couldn’t afford those tickets!) and Rough Trade East.
Posted in Entertainment
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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
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How much free beauty booty can you score? [Part 2]
I’m back – with a bag full of beauty booty! Though not nearly as much as I had expected – the recession seems to have hit the beauty counters as well. Some counters claimed they had no samples at all, and at times I had to sit through a one-hour skin analysis/lecture/critique just to get one sachet of face cream.
Posted in Beauty
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How much free beauty booty can you score? [Part 1]
I’m half-scared and half-excited by the prospect of this challenge. The idea of trying to score free stuff is certainly alluring, but the notion of spending an entire day schlepping around department store beauty counters fills with my dread.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my beauty products. Adore them, in fact. The thing is, I’ve been editing and writing about beauty for women’s mags over the past 10 years. I’ve got a pretty good idea of what works for me. So I have managed to avoid any “analysis” at the hands of the department store beauty counter for a very long time. If I ever need to stock up on product I swoop in and out as quickly as I can.
Then there’s that idea of coming across a bit, um, opportunistic, greedy and a total freeloader. And I’m not the most ideal blagger at the best of times.
But I see this as an opportunity to really put beauty companies to the test. After all, times are tough, and they really have to win me over these days to part with my hard-earnt cash. And there’s an overwhelming amount of product out there. How are you meant to know what really suits you without trying it first? I really think all beauty companies should offer samples so you can try – at home – before you buy.
So how will I get on? Which company is generous with samples? What will be my best freebie-scoring tactic? And will I actually get anything I really wanted? Find out in part two…
Posted in Beauty
