Travel

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Some Things I’d Like to See and Do in London

This post was edited on June 28th, 2016, after my last full day in London, to reflect what I did manage to get to!

London has never been on my radar. It’s crazy expensive and the weather sucks. It is really one of the last places on Earth that I ever thought I would ever visit, much less vacation in! But now that I’m committed to a short holiday there, I’m getting rather excited at the thought of visiting this ancient city!

I’m only going to have three full days there, plus my arrival and departure days, so I don’t want to over commit myself. Here are a few things that I’d like to do that aren’t a million miles apart and would be easy to get to from my Airbnb.

British Museum

This is the only thing in London that I knew I wanted to do before I started doing research. It is one of the biggest and most amazing museums on Earth and has some of the best exhibits on Ancient Egypt that you can see outside of Egypt itself. I plan to spend a full day there!

The London Eye

This is the famous “Ferris wheel” I did some research and it sounds like such a great way to see the layout of the city. I will only do this if I get a clear evening for it, though.

Palace of Westminster/Big Ben

This is the UK Parliament buildings. I just want to see the exterior. This is the landmark that will confirm to me that I really am in London.

The Tower of London (sort of, I saw the exterior)

Simply for the historical factor.

St. Paul’s Cathedral

For the amazing architecture.

Abney Park and Highgate cemeteries.

Because I like cemeteries and these are two of the most special in London.

The Babbage Engine

This was one of the first computers. It’s in the Computer History Museum, which also sounds interesting.

Guildhall Roman Amphitheatre

Because it’s a bloody Roman amphitheatre! Need I remain y’all that I’m a history buff?! 🙂

I also want to do:

A Murder Mile Walk.

Just because I’m fascinated by this sort of thing.

Have afternoon tea. Not sure where yet. This will be a huge splurge, but I’ll be celebrating the fifth anniversary of the start of my transcription business!

Of course, have a pint, or two, or three at a pub, again, to toast my business. 🙂

And just walk around and see what I find because that’s the best way to discover a city. I may add and delete things to my list once I arrive and see what I stumble upon.

Because my Airbnb isn’t right in central London (but also not a huge distance away), I plan to be out for very full days and will need to balance lots of walking around with things that will let me rest for a bit.

My rough itinerary:

Saturday, arrival day, will be consumed by the long trek from Gatwick to the Airbnb and trying to stay up until it’s a reasonable hour to go to bed. I will very likely recreate my first day in Glasgow, where once I’ve checked in, I’ll just walk around where I’m staying for a few hours. Saturday is going to be my initiation to public transportation.

Sunday, with so many things being closed or having shorter hours, should be good for visiting the Palace of Westminster, perhaps checking out Buckingham Palace, having afternoon tea, visiting cemeteries, and capping the day with the London Eye. I’ll look at my list above and plot things on a map to see what’s close to each other.

Monday is going to be my British Museum day and possibly cap the day with a Murder Mile walk. I’m a fan of the BBC show “Sherlock” and the restaurant Speedy’s that is featured on the show is right around the corner from the museum, so I might do that for lunch.

Tuesday will be my last chance to see whatever else I’ve missed. I’ll do like Sunday and see things that are close together.

Wednesday, departure day, won’t be a complete write-off since I fly out at 4:30. My airport transfer is picking me up at Baker Street Tube station, so I’m thinking of exploring The Regent’s Park, which is nearby.

My list is a good mix of both pricy and affordable things. Many museums are free and, of course, it doesn’t cost much to just walk around. I’m still figuring out the Oyster system as public transportation will be a big expense unto itself.

Food is very expensive in the UK and it’ll be interesting to see if what I did in Scotland 18 years ago will be applicable to London, ie. having one proper meal out a day (usually at a pub), but otherwise getting inexpensive takeaways (pizza slice, burger, fish and chips, pasties) and assembling my own picnics from items purchased at the grocery store (bread, apples, cheese). But knowing that I’ll soon be back in a little village having to make my own food with few, if any, restaurants nearby, I may be less worried about food my budget when I get to London than I think I will be… I know I would like to sample an English curry and possibly eat my weight in fish and chips! 🙂

My flight from Regina to Toronto is taking off at exactly this time in a week. I can’t wait to revisit this post in 12 days and see how I ended up filling my time in London!

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Compression Packing Cube Experiment

I decided that traveling with more than carry-on isn’t an option. I will never forget struggling to get from SFO to my friend’s apartment in Russian Hill and battling the stairs of the BART station with a ginormous suitcase. Traveling with just one bag isn’t realistic, however, because of my electronics needs, but traveling with a carry-on bag and a personal item is.

I debated whether to go with a suitcase or a backpack and both won. For my carry-on item, I already own a very good suitcase in the appropriate dimensions. I’ve been traveling with it for years and know how to pack it. It weighs 1KG more than the best rated and lightest backpack I found and I think that the wheels will make losing that 1KG worth it. It is made by Skyway. The link goes to a very similar suitcase to mine, but the interior of the lid on mine has storage compartments. Skyway makes a really good suitcase and has a bunch of little details that you don’t find in cheaper luggage, like the handle at the bottom of the case to make it easier to grip as you’re lifting it into an overhead compartment. My Skyway luggage is plum, an unusual colour that makes it easier to spot on the carousel when I have to check it.

While researching packing a carry-on bag for an extended trip, I came across the notion of “packing cubes.” That’s just a fancy term for a sturdy zippered pouch you can use to compartmentalise your luggage. You can also get compression cubes that have an extra zipper that will smoosh your clothes and get rid of any extra space in the cube.

I really liked the idea of compression cubes and so I bought a set of Eagle Creek Pack-It Specter Compression Cubes. They were not sufficient enough for my needs so I added a set of Eagle Creek Pack-It Compression Cubes. The difference is that the Specters are much lighter weight and you can’t open them up fully the way you can the regular compression cubes. This left me with four large cubes and four mediums.

Everything I wanted to bring and then some fit into my four cubes. I couldn’t believe how much I could cram into them. But, of course, the more you put in, the harder they are to compress. All the tips I read said to roll your clothes before putting them in the cubes, but I found that folding them to the dimension of the cubes and stacking them flat allowed me to not only put more in them, but also to more evenly compress them. I did end up having to make a couple of deletions to compress the cubes fully.

Here are my two large ones. The black one has bottoms, the purple one has tops (including a rain jacket and a fleece hoodie). As you can see, they pretty much take up the entire suitcase.

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Add in my two smaller cubes, my shoes, and my jewelry box (subject of a future post) and you can see I’m going to have a problem. I don’t have my French press in here or my toiletries bag.

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Yeah, this is not going to work…

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Now, here is everything in my compression cubes put into my suitcase with no effort made to maximise space or prevent wrinkles. I just pretty much threw everything in there.

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The suitcase closed without any issues. I still have room for my toiletries bag and my French press. I bet that with a little effort, I can even fit in a couple of the things I discarded.

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For the curious, the bag weighs just over 10KG, which is right on target. I weighed it with a Dunheger digital luggage scale. WestJet doesn’t have a weight limit for carry on, but many other airlines do, so I decided that I should leave with my luggage at the common allowable weight of 10KG if at all possible to save me possible grief on other flights.  The bag does not include my airport outfit, which I may change. Right now, I’ve got myself traveling in a skirt, which would be like wearing pajamas all the way to London, but I may have to reclaim space in my suitcase by wearing a pair of jeans instead. Of course, I’m wearing my heaviest and most cumbersome shoes on the plane.

I really love how neat the compression cubes are, but they end up being like a brick and do not let me make use of all the nooks and crannies in my bag. I’m not convinced at this point that I will be using them, or I may only use a couple and leave other items loose.

Before I make any decisions, I am going to wait for my computer bag to get here. This was a last minute purchase that I think was a smart decision. I was going to go with a soft sided messenger-type bag that wouldn’t have been able to carry much because it would have been too difficult to carry. I had a vision of me trying to get all the way across London with that heavy thing strapped across my body and went nope! By going with a slim backpack that I can slip over the handle of my suitcase, I’ll be less fatigued. I made sure to get a bag that would fit WestJet’s dimensions for a “personal” item since most backpacks would be too large. This will also give me a backpack for day hikes, even if it’s not made for that purpose.

An idea that I have at this point is that I may have room in the backpack for one of my smaller cubes as well as my toiletries bag. I would pack a full outfit in the compression cube so that if I decide to get changed upon arriving in London, everything is right there in one neat bag and I can also throw dirty laundry into the cube. Of course, I can’t overload the backpack as I have to make sure that it can fit under the seat in front of me.

I’ve spent a couple of hours already experimenting with packing both with and without my packing cubes. I’ll be glad when the computer bag gets here so that I can practice packing up my office and see if there’s any room left in that bag for the few things that won’t fit in the suitcase. I think that I’m doing well for a first time trying to pack minimally for an extended trip, but I’m still very much at the beginner stage.

The last thing I need to decide on is a purse. I am trying not to bring me beloved leather tote because the top doesn’t zip, but I haven’t get found anything I like better. Whatever I decide on has to travel in either my suitcase or the backpack on travel days.

So to recap what I’ve learned about compression packing cubes:

  • You can fit more in them and more easily compress them if you pack things flat instead of rolling them (especially heavy items like jeans);
  • If you fill them fully, you will not be able to compress them (pack less or buy regular, less expensive, packing cubes instead);
  • Once compressed, they become a brick with no give at all;
  • They are great for compartmentalising your clothes and keeping your bag organised, but do not let you use your bag space to its full potential;
  • They would be great for two people sharing one bag.
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One Week Left Till I Leave Indefinitely

I can’t believe how quickly departure day is sneaking up on me!

Here’s an update on my giant to-do list:

Reducing Expenses Back Home While I’m Gone

I can cancel the registration on my truck and have very minimal insurance to cover me for liability. This new policy will be $50 for a year. Savings: $70 per month. I have to do this at the last minute, so it’ll happen on my last trip to town next Tuesday.

I can cancel my SaskTel service since my contract is up. When I come back, I can either get service again with them if I can do so without a contract or look at Bell Mobility. Savings: $80 per month, but I lose my phone number. I have to do this at the last minute, so it’ll happen once I clear security at the airport next Friday. By the way, SaskTel has no customer retention program.

SaskPower will let me disconnect my power for a $170 reconnection fee when I get home. I pay a $30.65 connection fee every month. So assuming I am gone 11 months, I would have paid them $337.15 in maintenance fees. Savings: $15 per month over 11 months. I will get a new account number. I have to make sure I reconnect before a year is up, otherwise my meter has to be recertified by an electrician, negating any savings. I was able to put in a work order for this for next Friday or the following Monday. I didn’t realise that a technician had to physically come here. I really like SaskPower, by the way. I never feel like I’m out in the middle of nowhere when I deal with them.

Finding Healthcare Coverage

I actually didn’t have to do much research on this because the options were so limited and others had done the homework before me. I bought a policy with World Nomads. For just over $400, I am insured up the wahzoo for six months. The caveat is that my SaskHealth coverage needs to be valid for my trip. I put in a notice of extended leave with SaskHealth and haven’t heard back yet, but I’m not concerned as they didn’t have an issue with my doing this for my first winter in Mexico. Ha! I got email confirmation seconds after I posted that my request was approved!

Ensuring That I Have Insurance Coverage for Home and My Personal Effects While Away

As it turned out, my home insurance covers me perfectly even with the addition of my outbuildings, the RV no longer moving, and my traveling for long periods of time. The only thing I changed was increasing the coverage on my buildings, which was an extra $0.50 per month. I cannot discuss my home insurance in any more detail.

I got a nasty surprise that my electronics are not covered by my home insurance while traveling because they are used for business. I have an broker working really hard to find me travel coverage. If he succeeds, the policy will be able what I am paying right now for SGI (truck insurance and registration).

Understanding the Schengen Area Rules

What this boils down to is I’m allowed up to 90 days in the Schengen Area in a 180-day period. The area comprises most of Western and Central Europe, as well as some Eastern European countries like Poland, but excludes the UK. Now that I know I’ll be in Bulgaria, which is not part of the Schengen Area, for my full allotment of 90 days there, I have a better handle on how I’ll handle the Schengen Area to make sure that I can be in Portugal and/or the south of Spain for the bulk of January, February, and March.

Option 1: I leave Bulgaria for a Schengen country for a quick holiday at the start of July to open up a 180-day period that would take me the start of January. This would give me the option of doing Schengen countries like Poland and Greece after Bulgaria. I don’t like this idea because I would have to reenter Bulgaria.

Option 2: I complete avoid the Schengen Area until January. After Bulgaria, I’ll likely go to Serbia and a couple of other countries in the Balkans that are not part of Schengen and then very carefully make my way to Turkey. And by very carefully, I mean that I’ll have to fly because I won’t have the land option of going through Bulgaria and I cannot fly through Athens. Or I may travel straight to Istanbul from Sofia and then fly from Istanbul to Belgrade.

Planning My Packing List and Doing a Lot of Online Shopping

That’s done. I am washing the last of the clothes that I am taking with me for sure and will start packing for real in the next couple of days as I make time to take some photos for my series of posts about my packing list. Now that I know I’ll be in the Bulgarian mountains for three months I’m not so much having to make any significant changes to my packing list as being more certain of what items I can add since I actually still have some room and weight allowance left.

Trying to Learn Even a Smidgen of Bulgarian and At Least Getting Used to the Sound of the Language

My internet is behaving better and I can listen to a few YouTube videos every night. I don’t feel I’m making any real progress, but at least it doesn’t sound like complete gibberish now and I’m starting to recognise some Cyrillic letters…

Making as Much Money Before I Go

Definitely happening. I picked up a new client last night that I am still reeling from shock at adding to my list. I’m not making super good money, but steady easy jobs are the next best thing. I’m not worried about work. My clients are very supportive about my Europe plans.

What I’m hoping for my three rentless months in Bulgaria is to have a comparable cost of living as I do in Mexico as that will enable me really replenish my savings. I expect that any savings I have on rent will be lost with weekend jaunts in the area, but I may be surprised. I do think that I’ll save money over being at Haven in that food will be much cheaper and I won’t have all those at home surprises in the budget that I’m sure other homeowners know about.

What I still need to do:

1. My 2015 taxes. I just can’t be bothered when I have so much work, so this will happen probably on Wednesday next week. Before anyone freaks out, I’m a sole proprietor, so I have till June 30th to file.

2. Make sure I’m satisfied the roof is leak free. I had a drip the other day after a bit storm, just a couple of drops, which was do disheartening when I’d gone through two solid days of rain with no leaks at all. I bought tarps that are just the width of Miranda and instead of strapping them down, they will be weighted down.

3. Close up Haven.

4. Advise the postmaster that I’m leaving again and that Caroline and Charles can handle my mail.

5. Make sure I have both physical and digital copies of all my important paperwork before stashing my printer (and a few other things) in C&C’s basement.

I believe that’s it, in addition to a few work and volunteer projects.

I’m ready to get out there, much as I’m enjoying being home. And I am incredibly grateful that I can do this now, three years ahead of when I planned to, and that the project doesn’t involve selling everything I own or putting things in storage.

All those tough early years of freelancing have paid off. I did have to make sacrifices, but I was right that it would be worth it if I just worked at it. I can’t wait to toast with a pint in London the fifth anniversary of the start of my transcription business!

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Well, That’s Bulgaria Sorted…

One thing that I have learned in life is that things fall into place in their own time. There’s no use fretting about anything and if something feels huge and complicated and overwhelming and full of obstacles, it’s probably not the right thing to be doing. And I’ve also learned that if something falls into your lap that fits perfectly, it’s not “too good to be true,” it’s just meant to be.

An example of this happening in my life was when I moved to a rental house in Gatineau from my house in the Gatineau Hills. The “house” was more of a shack, a decrepit mobile house that was falling apart around me. No matter how much money I poured into it, something else would go wrong with it. The loan on it was paid off, so after signing the lease on the rental house, I decided that I would just leave my house keys on the counter and let the owner of the mobile home park have the place for storage.But  I still put an ad on an online classified ads site offering the house for sale in the hope of getting something for it. I was brutally honest about the condition of the house and that the owner of the mobile home park was difficult.

Well, in the days leading up to my move, many, many months after I posted the ad, I got an email reply to the ad from someone saying they wanted my house, what they wanted to pay for it, they had cash ready, and they were sure that giving the landlord a couple of years’ rent on the lot up front would smooth their relations. The transaction went through. One of my friends said about the situation, “Anyone else on the planet, I would have called bullshit. But because it’s you, I know it’s true.”

So with that said…

Shortly after I bought my ticket to London on Monday and paid for accommodation through to the 29th, I got an email through a house sitting website asking if I would be available to house and dog sit from July 1st through as long as I possibly can (which is just shy of 90 days according to Bulgarian rules).

I got a bit more info and this is a go!

So from London, I am flying straight to Sofia, where my host will pick me up and drive me to a small village in the mountains. I will be living there rent free in exchange for watching the house, walking the dogs twice a day, feeding the dogs and the cat, and doing some chores. I will have good internet for work and I will have the odd weekend “off” (ie. not responsible for the pets) so I can go off exploring if I want. The house is located near a village with basic shops, walking distance (6KM) to a larger community, and backs up to many mountain trails that I look forward to exploring with the dogs.

Internet should be “adequate.” It’s “not fast,” but is reliable and works perfectly for Skype and Netflixing. Um, that sounds fast to me..

Just… wow. 🙂

Knowing that I will have so few expenses for the next three months will really make it easy for me to enjoy my time in London!

After Bulgaria, who knows. But I’m sure something will come up by then!

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Paving Day

For some reason, people like to complain about how bad the roads are in Saskatchewan. I don’t get it. Maybe it’s because I drove in Quebec for as many years as I did and know what truly bad roads are like. Sure, we get potholes in the spring, but they get filled very quickly. Pavement also gets patched and gravel roads are frequently graded. Considering the small population here and low taxes, I’d understand having crappy roads, but road maintenance appears to be a priority, another reason to love SK. I still haven’t figured out how Quebecers can pay such taxes and have such bad roads, but that’s another discussion.

The weekend around June 24th is always a huge one for my hamlet. Bikers from all over come to our little park for what’s called the Boogie to camp, listen to music, and talk bikes. For days before the event, motorcycles roar through the area en route to our sleepy, so unimportant, and forgettable hamlet. One of the hamlet access roads is paved and it is always in rough shape by this time of year. Once the freeze/thaw cycle is over, the potholes are marked with signs and fluorescent paint and we locals know where they are and can slalom around them. But a week before the Boogie, everything changes. Our gravel road to Willow Bunch gets an extra grading and the paving crews come out in force to repave our other access road.

And I just happened to decide to do a town run on Paving Day. It was slow trip to town, but I’m not complaining! All the potholes were filled with gravel and the crews were starting on the paving. Big shoutout to them for all their hard work!

My town run was prompted by the fact that I was completely out of food. I’m doing a good job of not stocking up on anything… Before going to the grocery store, I stopped in at SGI (our DMV) to find out if I can lower my monthly registration and insurance fee for the truck since it won’t be driven for about a year. Absolutely. The vehicle won’t be registered (street legal) and I will be covered for liability only in case someone  steals the truck, goes on a joy ride, and destroys property or, worse, injures or kills someone. The cost will be $50 for a year, saving me an $80 monthly payment! Wow!

Next stop was the art gallery to pick up a ticket for a Great Plains concert on Saturday night! Saskia and Darrel are friends of C&C and put on a great show. I’ve seen them play a few times and they never disappoint. I’ll be going in with C&C and we might do dinner first.

I then had lunch, did a couple more errands, and finally got my groceries. I don’t want to get into the price of crappy tomatoes, but boy is pork consistently a great deal!

My thieving neighbour was in the store and we did a great job of pretending we didn’t see each other…

I took a secondary grave road home to avoid the paving crews. Even a gravel road in SK is better than a paved road in most other parts of Canada, especially in a zippy little pickup truck!

Now, I’m going to finish my work today and then start experimenting with my packing. My last order of clothing arrived today, so I’m ready to see how much everything I want to bring weighs and then start subtracting pieces. I’m starting to regret deciding to go with a suitcase since it alone uses up a full quarter of my weight allowance. I suspect that I may do a frantic run to Montana next week to pick up a super lightweight backpack rush ordered from Amazon… But we’ll see what the scale says tonight! 🙂