Sitting Down to a Medieval Banquet

If you've ever been to Medieval Times or Exacalibur's Tournament of Kings in Las Vegas, you probably decided it was more money than it was worth and you did it once and that was enough. The food isn't all that great and you have to (get to) eat with your hands. Though the show is fun, it can be pretty hokey. I'll admit, I love such cheesy activities whether I'm at home or on vacation – though I'm more willing to pay for it on vacation – but agree that they can be expensive unless you can get a really good deal online. 

Last time in Vegas, we received free tickets to Tournament of Kings. Had we not, we probably would not have paid the price and it had put us off these dinner and a show things, though I was still willing to spend money to go to something similar in London. The problem? Tickets were upwards of $80 per person. With the price of everything on this trip costing more than anywhere else, I had given up hope on getting to do it this trip as well. Fortunately, I had signed up for all the daily deal sites that offer deals in London and happened to see one for the Medieval Banquet that was 51% off! I couldn't turn that down, especially since dinner out would cost almost as much...and I would have to entertain myself!

Even though I was excited to experience what it might be like to be a member of the King's court, I had little hope that the food would be any good. We figured it would be some kitschy fun and an interesting way to spend an evening. Let me tell you, it was so much better than we ever expected. It took us a while to find the actual "dungeon", but after asking for directions from a nearby business, we found it and descended into a Medieval "castle". It was definitely not anything I thought you'd find in the middle of London next to the docks. 

You have the opportunity to rent costumes to make your evening even more fun. We decided to skip that and were shown to our table where we sat between a nice couple from Kent (he did dress up) two girls from America who were living and working in the city. We had fantastic conversation (does this ever happen???) and then the food started to come. Cauldrons of piping hot soup and large loaves of bread were set on the table, along with pitchers of water and "grog". While we dug into this first course, they explained the rules of the banquet. You should address your waitress as wench and do so in a loud, booming voice if you need anything and she isn't standing near the table, how to participate in a toast and when you like something, you should pound on the table vigorously, hoping your silverware – yes! there are forks and knives here – doesn't fly onto the floor.

You get to drink your soup from a bowl. Amazingly, it is a really good veggie broth. Next, comes the salad. Nobody really knew what to expect, and I wish I got photos, because it consisted of lettuce, tomatoes, pickled carrots and cucumbers and slices of liverwurst. Interesting! I'm sure most of you are cringing at your screen, but I loooooooove liverwurst. Eric does not, so I traded him for my tomatoes. I liked the authenticity of the salad, because in the middle ages, you would not get served a Caesar or chop salad. It was rustic and really delicious. This is when the entertainment started. 

Unlike at Medieval Times, there are no jousting knights or horses. The banquet room has low-ceiling alcoves where each group of tables were situated and you wouldn't eat a meal while watching something that takes place outside. No, you would get jugglers and singers and the like, so that is what they had. A very bendy girl did some contortioning, hula hooping tricks and ribbon-twirling while the King and Queen sang, old timey instruments were played a guy juggled and a lady dressed as a unicorn danced. The entertainers would rotate, so everyone had a chance to easily see everything. 

The main course came after much fanfare and they had thoroughly embarrassed some "volunteers" by making them engage in a little dance with the performers. What came was some of the juiciest chicken I've gotten anywhere and platters of roasted root veggies that were amazing. Since coming back, I've been making my own version for many dinners. This is when the sword fighting began. Some excitement for the main course! Dessert did not disappoint either. A lovely apple pie with soft crust and cream came. Though we were all pretty full by then, we managed to enjoy every last bite. 

The courses came in long enough intervals that you had time to digest and hang out, but not feel like you were waiting forever for the next one to show up. After the food, there was a small dance party, turning the banquet room into a little disco with modern music. We danced a little and then spent some time talking to the folks at our table and getting to know some lovely older ladies at the next table. The four of them were celebrating their friend's birthday. Three of them had been friends for 65 years! I really hated to leave, since the night was so much fun, but alas, all good things must come to an end and tomorrow was another day of seeing the city, so we wandered back to the Underground station and back to our flat to get ready for it.

I'm really happy we took the chance on what we thought would be totally hokey, because it turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip. Have you been to the Medieval Banquet or want to go? Subscribe to London deals on KGB Deals. They even have special meals if you're a vegetarian, so don't let that stop you from considering it. For more info, check out their website.

New Year, New Travels

Happy New Year! Can you believe 2013 is behind us already? It seems like the year just flew by and I didn't have nearly enough time to get everything accomplished that I hoped for. That's okay though, because a new year means new chances to achieve goals and make new ones. I had a lot of resolutions last year, so I should be happy with the amount of them that I was able to cross off. The last few months have seen me move to working at home "full-time", which means I'll be writing more. Not so much on the blog, but freelancing and other projects I have going. This change is going to help me work on my first two goals this year.

Second book edition

Yes, I said this was going to happen last year, but between my freelance projects, the blog, work and having a personal life, this fell to the wayside. Once I settle into my home-working rhythm, I plan to put a schedule into action that will include heavily working on a new edition of Shereen Travels Cheap, which will have a whole new look and title!

A travel cookbook

I hoped to have this out by Christmas, but I had the same issue with this that I did with my second edition. I did make many of the recipes and took photos, but that's as far as I've gotten. My hope is to put together a selection of foods you can make before you travel to snack on when you fly and road trip and then a whole bunch of easy ones that you can prepare with minimal ingredients you can find at the local farmers' market. Cooking on vacation may not seem fun, but it can save you money and give you time to just chill out in your room and rest up before you head out again.

Go somewhere I've never been before

This was on my list last year, and I ended up going to Vancouver BC quite by accident and only for 8 hours, but I'm still counting it. This year I'll be going back to my childhood stomping grounds of Williamsburg, Virginia, but I'll also be headed to Washington, DC - though I've driven through town, technically, I have not "been" there - and Virginia Beach. I'm not sure what else my year has in store for travels, but I'm sure that won't be it. Where are you traveling in 2014?

I was a little afraid of this pate en croute, but it was really good

Do something that scares me

This was also something on my list last year...though I tend to keep it on my list all the time. It's important to get out of your comfort zone when you travel. In 2013, I slacked on my resolve to learn more French. I guess I did learn more than before, which was pretty much nothing, but not nearly as much as I hoped. We jumped full in again on our trip to France and were afraid no one would understand us, but that didn't happen at all. Turns out, Eric learned more than I did and he was better at communicating, though when I actually got a joke from a waiter, I felt pretty smart. I'm not sure what I will do this year, but hopefully it will be exciting and won't be because I was a lazy planner. Did you do anything scary this past year?

Not have to get a part-time job

I'm hoping the need for working to make money will be incentive enough for me to fully pay my bills by writing alone. If not, I will have to find a part-time job outside the house. Of course, luck is an equal partner in my hard work ethic, so cross your fingers for me and help me out by clicking on those affiliate links I use in posts and on my travel links page. And if you like my posts, I totally appreciate comments and shares.

Hopefully, our 2014 (and yours!) has more moments like this

I'm  not going to stress myself out over tons of travel and blogging goals, so I think these five are a good place to start. Are there things you would like to see from me in 2014? I'd love to hear them, so I can bring you more of what you love. 

How to Fly for Free

It's the holidays and usually that means packed flights and lots of drama from some passengers who think it's all about them. What this means for you is a good chance of getting bumped or the chance to volunteer to get on the next available flight. Why would you do this? To get a free flight, of course. 

Everyone has heard the term “bumped”. If you haven’t – or if you have and are not sure what it means – it is the term given to a person who has the misfortune to get to the airport too late (read: after almost all the other passengers) to check in for their overbooked flight and loses their seat. They are “bumped” from the flight. With the amount of overall flights being reduced, there are now more people who want to fly on those that are available most days. There are a certain number of no-shows or ticketed passengers that miss their flights each day. The airlines have always planned for this, but in these tough economic times they also want to fill their seats on the limited flights they have, so they overbook. (This was always a common thing on their most popular flights before the recession.) Sometimes everyone shows up and that leaves around 3-5 people without an actual seat. The airlines will rebook them on the next available flight, but will also always ask if others are willing to be bumped instead. This is how you get comped free travel/hotel/food.

Tip: Ask for a credit voucher instead of a free flight voucher. This works like a gift certificate for the airline and allows you more freedom when booking your flight with it (i.e. you can use it for international airfare if you wish or to buy more than one cheap ticket).

When you get to the gate, you will normally see on the monitor at the check-in desk if there is a list of passengers. These people are already on the “waiting” list. They may have checked in after everyone else or were able to be put on stand-by. If someone else doesn’t show up, or someone gives up their seat willingly, they get to board that flight. If you aren’t in a hurry to get to your destination, then maybe you wouldn’t mind volunteering to hang out until the next flight. The more people on the list, the more willing the airline will be to work with you in giving up your seat. Go up to the airline employee and ask if they need volunteers to be bumped. If so, ask what you will be compensated. Usually, because you have been helpful and friendly (this is certainly key in any customer/customer service conversation), they will give you a voucher for a free flight or credit to use at a later date. You’ll, of course, not have to pay extra for being rebooked on a new flight.

This is what everyone seems to look like during holiday travel

Depending on how long of a wait it will be until your next flight, you might also be able to negotiate a free hotel room and/or dining vouchers for the airport while you hang around and wait for the next flight to come in. While you end up with a free flight (and probably more), the airline doesn’t really lose any money by giving you these things in exchange for your seat. They will be flying that future flight anyway and your seat was already paid for by the passenger who will be filling your seat when they purposely oversold the flight. You get all the perks for just being nice (even if it was selfish) and you might have made someone’s day by letting them take your place. This is a great way to be able to stretch your dollars and be able to vacation more throughout the year. You’ll also get more frequent flyer miles added to your account (if you are compensated with a voucher for a dollar figure and not a free flight)!

Tip: If the airline pays for you to stay in a hotel overnight, they must also pay for your transportation to that accommodation.

Want to avoid getting bumped? Make sure you get to the airport early instead of the last minute. It just takes that one person to get there before you for the flight to be full. I always suggest getting to the airport at least one hour early for domestic and at least two hours early for international. Of course, I get excited for any travel I do and want to allow time for anything that might delay me (traffic, long security lines, etc.), so we tend to get to the airport two hours ahead of any flight. We use the extra time to browse shops, watch people and eat. It’s always nice to be able to sit down and have a decent meal, instead of grabbing fast food right before you get on the flight. It gives you time to relax if you stress right before you travel. It also boosts your energy and helps reduce jet lag. Make sure you drink lots of water, too. I always buy a big bottle of water after security to take with me on the flight, since I am often thirsty, flying dehydrates you and I don’t always want to wait 45 minutes to an hour before they bring around the drink cart.

Tip: Want to finally get into the fancy schmancy airline lounge? Ask for a pass to use it if you’re bumped and have to wait a few extra hours.

More tips on getting “bumped”:

• If you want to get bumped, it helps to get to the airport early as well. Get your name on the list of volunteers before anyone else.
• Book on a flight that is likely to be overbooked (holidays, afternoon flights, early evening flights, last flight of the day, red eye, etc.)
• Be polite. Don’t demand higher compensation than what they are offering you. If you know they are desperate, you can use it to your advantage, but negotiate in a polite manner.
• Know the flight schedule. This can be just as useful to you and your travel plans as it is to the airline employee rebooking you.
• Make sure you’re booking on an airline that does overbook flights. Some airlines do not. (Of course, this information is also helpful in not getting bumped.)
• Be willing to fly on a different airline or a different route. This makes it easier to rebook you as well.
• Pack light. While this doesn’t really help you to get booked, it does ensure that you keep all your belongings with you and the airline doesn’t have to figure out how to reroute your bags in addition to you (and your travel companions).
• Fly through busy airports when possible. Obviously, these airports have more passengers flying everyday and have more overbooked flights than smaller airports.

I haven't had the chance to get bumped yet, but I am open to it. If it can help me budget a trip for cheaper the next time I travel, then it’s totally worth it. What about you? Have you ever purposely volunteered to be “bumped” in order to receive free travel?