Happy Christmas from the UK!

No, that was not a typo - it's common here in the UK to hear "Happy Christmas" rather than "Merry Christmas." We've been hearing it all season, but neither of us has gotten used to it yet. And that's not the only difference we've seen as we've celebrated Christmas here...

First, we've been introduced to "Boxing Day" and Father Christmas. Boxing Day is the day after Christmas that is kind of like our Black Friday when the shops open up with tons of sales. It's also a time when families gather together for good meals similar to a Thanksgiving. Father Christmas is their version of Santa Claus, so you actually don't see the term "Santa" in very many places.

Second, it's been fun celebrating Christmas in a true winter climate. As you saw last week, we were hit with some pretty heavy snow, which was very unusual for this area at this time of year. It only started melting away the last 2 days, so we consider it close enough to be a "white Christmas."

Third, we've enjoyed learning about the food traditions for this time of year. A UK Christmas dinner usually features things like turkey, brussel sprouts, and stuffing (definitley NOT Stouffer's!). We had a great mince meat pie and Christmas pudding at our favorite pub recently, and we tried out some new recipes at home for Christmas Eve and Christmas this year. Brian made an AMAZING homemade squash soup tonight (yeah, we've gotten really into soups lately now that we are in a cold climate)!  Do you like the art he put into my soup?  =)

This Christmas was odd because it was the first time we have ever been away from our families and friends, but luckily we were able to talk to everyone today and even do a video chat to make us feel like we were home. And of course we had our dog here to keep us company. Here's Lilo opening up her Christmas stocking... Happy Christmas again everyone!

Our First Snow: A Winter Wonderland

As native Floridians, we don't have any experience with snow.  I have only seen it once, more than 15 years ago, and Brian had never seen it.  We've tried traveling to see it, but it's never worked out.  Luckily for us, though, snow came to us in England!

Several inches fell during the evening and overnight, and this morning we woke up to a beautiful winter wonderland around our town.  We don't live in a major city, so we got to play in the soft, white, pretty snow.  We spent all morning making snowballs and snow angels and just taking in the scenery.  (There may have been an intense snowball fight somewhere in there too...)  =)  I'm sure everyone watching us play like little kids thought we were a little weird, but we had fun.  I told Brian that next time we need to wear signs that say "We are from Florida."

We even took Lilo out to play in the field where we normally walk her - we're not sure if she's seen snow before, but it didn't seem to faze her at all.  Everyone who knows our dog knows how much she hates rain, but she loved playing in the snow all morning! 

The snow could not have come at a better time.  Today was Brian's Friday off of work, so we played all morning and bundled up in the afternoon and enjoyed our first snow day.  Brian and I even made our English cups of tea to help keep us warm.  After talking with the locals today, we found out that Bury hasn't seen snow like this before Christmas in about 30 years.  The weather officials say the chances of an actual white Christmas are slim, but this was close enough for us.  =)

Here are some pictures from our adventures around town this morning - all were taken within half-a-mile of our home.  Hope you enjoy (especially our friends and family in Florida who have beautiful sunshine right now!  We loved the snow today, but I'm not sure how we're going to do with the rest of the winter!) 

And we couldn't resist sharing this cute video of Lilo and Brian playing in the snow. 

Budget Travel Series: Eating Out While Traveling

You don’t have to spend a fortune to have good, authentic meals when traveling. We have made errors, but now have a few techniques for eating well on a budget while traveling.

First, try to avoid eating in the main tourist areas if you can. They will be the most expensive, and in our opinion, the food quality is not as high. Even venturing off to a side street can make a world of difference.

If breakfast is included in our hotel price, definitely eat there. However, if it is an additional charge, forego it and find a nice bite to eat in a local café. You’ll save tons of money and see how the locals really eat.

For lunch, you don’t have to do a sit-down restaurant. Some of our best meals have been from take-away cafes where you can grab a sandwich and then go find a nice park bench where you can eat. In Cinque Terre, we had amazing tomato and mozzarella sandwiches for less than 4 Euros each; in Germany, we look for bratwurst stands; and in Amsterdam, we found great Middle Eastern kebab houses.

Dinner tends to be our nicest meal of the day, but even then we try to keep it affordable. We made a HUGE mistake in Ireland when we thought a Chinese restaurant would be a cheap option; it ended up costing us $70 for dinner and we didn’t even have alcohol. Ask the locals where their favorite places are to eat, and be sure to check with the hotel or B&B staff for good, affordable choices nearby. Our favorite meals have been the cheapest ones.

So that’s it for our budget travel series (at least for now until we learn new tips). We hope you enjoyed reading it and that you gained some helpful information. As always, feel free to contact us if you are traveling to Europe and have any questions. =)

Budget Travel Series: Transportation

Luckily, a good portion of European cities have amazing public transportation options. Sometimes though you do need to get a rental car. For both options, here are some tips that have saved us money.

In our opinion, there are only 2 times you need a rental car: 1) if you are touring a country and want to be on your own timetable and path, and 2) you are visiting multiple European cities that are not easily connected by public transportation.

If you must book a rental car, go for the smallest car you can. This not only saves you money in the rental price and gas, but it will also help you navigate the tiny, winding roads and miniscule parking spots throughout Europe. When booking a rental car, we start by identifying which companies are located in our destination airport. Then we find the best quote, making sure to check the special offers and other promotions at the time. Be aware that you will pay extra for more than one driver.

If you’re not renting a car, you first need to decide how to get from the airport to your hotel. Check for airport shuttles, buses, or trains to find your least expensive option. Many times Ryan Air and Easy Jet will offer a shuttle that coordinates with your flight times and takes you to and from the city center. Our biggest tip is to avoid taxis if at all possible.

Most major cities offer a multi-day, unlimited use public transit pass. We highly recommend these for larger cities when walking from Point A to Point B may be quite far. It’s also easier than trying to figure out every day what tickets you need to go where. The key is to do your research and plan your itinerary well to maximize your public transit pass (it also helps to marry an industrial engineer who always makes our trips so efficient!).

Stay tuned tomorrow for the last in our budget travel series: Eating Out When Traveling.

Budget Travel Series: Accomodations

The name of the game when booking accomodations in Europe is to find something that is clean, near the center of a city or close to public transportation, and most importantly, AFFORDABLE. You don’t have to stay in hostels to sleep on a budget in Europe though.

Trip Advisor has become our best friend when booking hotels in European cities. We find the top-rated hotels or B&Bs based on traveler recommendations and then start going down the list to find our least expensive option. Our experience has been that in large cities like Amsterdam or Munich, it’s least expensive to stay in a hotel. In smaller cities like Kerry in Ireland, you can find some real bargains by staying in quaint B&Bs.

Be aware though when reading reviews that European accommodations standards are very different than America’s. Rooms, and especially bathrooms, in Europe tend to be much smaller and aren’t known for the “frills” of some American hotels such as shampoo and conditioner, washcloths, etc. Our requirement is that they are clean.

Sometimes we try to save money by staying outside the main part of a city. When looking at hotel rates though, make sure to factor in additional transportation costs you will have to incur each day to go to the city. Norway, for example, had insanely high public transportation costs (about $8 for a one-way bus ticket), so for that city, it was worth it to pay a bit more to be in the center of town. You also lose time when you have to transport in every day, so if you’re on a short time schedule, decide if you want to save your money elsewhere and pay a bit more for the hotel.

Some cities are just more expensive than others, but in general, we have been very lucky with finding amazing hotels at very great prices. If you’re visiting a city we have been to, let us know and we’ll be happy to give you our recommendations. You can also check out our reviews on Trip Advisor. =)

Budget Travel Series: Flights

When in Europe, and especially when you are fortunate like us and live close to London Stansted Airport or Luton Airport, you have the HUGE advantage of two competing no-frills, budget airlines: Easy Jet and Ryan Air.

For Ryan Air, we look for the flights with the “Free Online Check-In.” This saves you the cost of taxes and fees, which is usually most of the price with these airlines. With the exception of maybe 1, all of our flights have cost us less than 50 GBP (~$83 USD) for a round-trip ticket. The bottom line is that we don’t go somewhere unless we can get a cheap flight. In our experience, Easy Jet is pricier than Ryan Air; however, they usually fly to main airports so you save the travel costs associated with getting to cities from rural airports. For Ryan Air, make sure to determine the cost to get to your final destination and incorporate that into your ticket price before deciding between the two airlines.

Both airlines make their money with the “extras,” and they get you with higher fees if you don’t know the system. Here are some of the tips we have learned:

1. The first “extra” is baggage. For no cost, you can take 1 carry-on bag weighing up to 10 kg (~** lbs) and measuring 20x40x55 cm. For our friends in the United States, this is considerably smaller than what you are used to taking on U.S. flights. For an additional cost, you can check bags, but you will pay based on weight (for example, you pay 20 GBP to check 1 bag weighing up to 15 kg (~** lbs) round-trip). As a result, Brian and I have gotten very good at packing our luggage wisely. We maximize our carry-on bags and tend to travel with only 1 checked bag that usually tops out at 14.9 kg. We have traveled only using carry-on, but some airports wouldn’t allow us to take our camera tripod on-board. (HUGE tip: Buy a small luggage scale to take with you. It saves you from having to redistribute weight at the airport, and even if there are scales in the airports, you usually have to pay for them.)
2. The second “extra” you will encounter during the booking process is the potential upgrade to speedy boarding. Both airlines do not have assigned seats; therefore, it is first-come, first-served. However, you do not need to purchase this upgrade. The key is to get to the airport early and patiently queue once the gate number has been announced. If you do this, you will get a good seat even on a crowded flight.
3. The next “extra” is food and drink on-board. Just like the movies, it definitely saves you tons of money to bring your own drinks and snacks. Ryan Air and Easy Jet offers them, but at ridiculous prices (I made this mistake once and paid 2 GBP (~3.33 USD) for a mini-can of Pepsi). Now, as soon as we get through Security, we buy a huge bottle of water or other non-alcoholic drink (you can’t bring your own alcohol on the plane). We take those and pre-packed snacks with us in case we want to eat something while on the plane.
4. Other “extras” that will cost you include Ryan Air scratch lottery cards, smokeless cigarettes, and duty-free items available through the airline catalogue.

So this is the first major part of how we have been able to travel affordably throughout Europe. Stay tuned tomorrow for our tips on booking nice, but affordable, hotels.

Budget Travel Series: Introduction

Brian and I have lived in the UK for more than 6 months now, and we have been able to see some of the most beautiful cities in Europe. The question we always get though is: how do you afford to do it? It’s taken research and experience, but we now have a system that allows us to travel in Europe on a budget without feeling like we’re on one. We stay in nice hotels, eat local food, and are truly able to experience the cultures by finding ways to save where we can.

Before you begin planning your trip, there are a few general tips that can make a difference. First, it is helpful to check out travel deals through Web sites such as Travel Zoo (www.travelzoo.com or www.travelzoo.co.uk). Myvouchercodes.co.uk can also offer you great savings on destinations in the UK specifically. Expedia and Travelocity are also great resources for traveler information, ideas, and savings. Many of these sites offer a regular, online newsletter with travel deals delivered straight to your inbox.

Over the course of the next 4 days, we will share our tips for saving money when booking flights, choosing hotels, getting around town, and eating out. We hope you will find the information helpful when planning your next trip to Europe!