Since I doubt I will be back in London with this much time in front of me for years, I spent much of Friday rambling in Hampstead Heath. It was sunny and glorious. There was even some hardy soul swimming in one of the ponds.
I bought a couple of cheap travel guides in the Oxfam shop, walked all the way down to Swiss Cottage tube station, then did some grocery shopping. I fell seriously short of my goal of funding three weeks shopping with my Nectar (loyalty card) points. But I did have enough for a single week's shopping, which I will cash in on soon.
After endless hours comparing travel sites and deciding against Ryanair flights, I've pushed back my Sweden jaunt for a couple weeks. I can get a decent timed flight on a decent airline, two nights in a downtown Stockholm hotel with airport transfers for under $400. The hotel includes breakfast. I've been a little worried about Swedish prices, but have been doing some serious reading on where to eat well and cheap(ish). I grew up with a Swedish grandmother and really feel drawn there. I'm very excited.
And the next month is full of many other joys--I'm trying to pence pinch a bit to help justify all these joys. I brought my own coffee today which is a rarity in London. Although travel mugs are for sale, you never see someone transporting coffee. And decent coffee is over $3 with even the university machine-made swill at $2. The fancy-pants grocery offers free coffee with their loyalty card so in the four-hour gap between my second and third class, I went over there for a cup. This coupled with my packed lunch maybe saved me 8-10 GBP today. Well, maybe as I usually bring my own lunch.
Tomorrow my office buddy is taking me out to lunch as I took her to dinner in November when she came to talk to our students. I also have a free theatre ticket to "Once,"so that should be fab. Another day in paradise.
Long Lists of Plans
March 2nd, 2015 at 09:37 pm
March 3rd, 2015 at 01:10 am 1425345024
March 3rd, 2015 at 07:26 am 1425367586
March 3rd, 2015 at 08:00 pm 1425412821
March 4th, 2015 at 08:52 pm 1425502322
March 5th, 2015 at 06:44 am 1425537847