Despite the cool rainy weather, we had a wonderful time in the UK--even enjoying a two-hour Harry Potter walk in the rain. DH's family is all doing well, but man, Britain just gets more and more expensive. I read several stories on the cost of living rising almost 30% in the past four years. We economized where we could, cooking lots of meals in the cottage, but London, despite my brilliant new Oyster card for transportation, was a budget buster. I'm in a fight with hotels.com about the extra bed charge in the hotel, and despite eating a fair amount of supermarket food and using the hotel fridge, I hate to think how much we spent on food.
There was good news with my Study Abroad folks. I enjoyed meeting them, and they've sent me a list of faculty accommodation alternatives. I get a health club membership and a transportation card too.
Transportation now that we're home has run into a major issues: DH's car died yesterday on the way to work. It's old, but I thought we'd get another year out of it. But the mechanic says it's a blown head gasket and that's all she wrote. We're trying hard to figure out how much to spend on a used car that he mainly drives to the bus stop. For a brief moment, I wondered if we could do with one car, but my evening classes make that almost impossible. So--do we drain the emergency fund, or buy a less-expensive car that may only have a couple years in it?
Home Again Blues
July 17th, 2012 at 04:09 pm
July 17th, 2012 at 05:02 pm 1342544541
July 17th, 2012 at 05:02 pm 1342544563
July 17th, 2012 at 05:17 pm 1342545471
July 17th, 2012 at 05:23 pm 1342545797
Welcome home, we missed you!
July 17th, 2012 at 05:46 pm 1342547171
July 17th, 2012 at 05:58 pm 1342547921
July 17th, 2012 at 06:25 pm 1342549515
We're used to staying in Pimlico and Lambeth and around there, but stayed in Kensington this time. The tube stop was close, but the Circle Line isn't the most convenient. We like the bus better, and spent happy times in the front seat on the upper level. DD loves it. Kensington was the first place I ever stayed in London almost 20 years ago, so it was fun to be somewhere else. My Study Abroad lodgings next winter will probably be at a "scholars' residence" in Notting Hill so I wanted to take a peek around that area again.
I think we're leaning toward a cheap granny car too. DH's old one was from the 80+-year-old mom of a friend. Another Buick seems almost inevitable...
More on UK prices and how folks are trying to cope with them later...
July 17th, 2012 at 07:53 pm 1342554837
July 17th, 2012 at 08:04 pm 1342555486
Many types of cabbage, squash, potato/yams, turnips, parsnips, celeriac etc.
July 17th, 2012 at 09:25 pm 1342560307
I do have a plan to try and get some bonus miles credit cards, combine them and try to get one ticket using those. All I want is for my airfare to come in at $4K or less, so we have money for fun and, you know, food.
July 18th, 2012 at 03:50 pm 1342626607