Where to Spend Halloween

Do you like to be scared or to visit disturbing places, especially during the Halloween season? There are so many awesome destinations to check out. I'm partial to theme parks, ghost walks, and cemeteries, because I don't really want to get scared or depressed, but I also like a good medical museum (think Mutter Museum in Philly, the Pharmacy Museum in New Orleans, or the Old Operating Theater Museum in London). Here are some non-traditional October destinations:

Where will you be visiting over Halloween?

How London Explorer Pass Can Save You Big

Last month I visited London. This was our third trip to the city, so we've done a lot of the regular touristy things already. Even so, we plan to return again in the future to see more, both in the city of London and outside. If you want to save big bucks in the city, then London Explorer Pass can help you see and do more for less.

I had the opportunity to work with London Explorer Pass on this last trip to show you some of the great things included on the list of attractions it can be used on. Choose from a 3, 5 or 7 attraction card, depending on how much you want to do. Plus, the more you do the more you save. It's easy to find great ways to enjoy in London, so why wouldn't you save money on them if you could?

The Coca-Cola London Eye

The Eye has been part of the city's skyline since our first trip, but we decided to see it in other ways. Because of our love of the High Roller in Las Vegas, we gave the Eye a shot this trip. We weren't disappointed. We chose to visit at night, because we saw everything from above during the day all those other times. London has a whole different vibe at night and I love it. 

See the river crisscrossed by glittering bridges, the Parliament buildings, boats, and park blocks. The capsules of the Eye are large and easy to share with others. There were 5 of us in ours and we weren't ever in each others way. There are tons of photo ops, whether you visit during the day or evening. Near the end of your 30-minute ride, you're encouraged to go stand by one of the windows for a group pic that you don't have to take yourself. 

Download the Coca-Cola London Eye app and use your phone to not only take pics, but also see what you're looking at out the windows. This is a great way to learn what you want to see on your other days in London or, like me, find a place to eat dinner (we saw how close the S.S. Tattershall Castle, aka The Pub On the Thames, was and hightailed it over there after our ride). If we paid full price for the London Eye, we would have spent £30 each.

Wesminster Abbey

Since hearing about the opening of the Jubilee Galleries, I have been looking forward to making a visit to Westminster. Not only is the church large and gorgeous, but it's full of amazing Gothic architectural features and historical religious artifacts. Unfortunately, you aren't allowed to take photos inside, because they all would have been stunning. The church has been the site of 16 royal weddings and nearly all the royal coronations. The stained glass is worth admission alone.

If you've seen the Abbey on TV, then chances are you've wanted to see it in person. You can view the choir chairs, the Coronation chair made of King Edward I, and Poets' Corner, where over 100 poets and writers are buried and commemorated. Your entrance comes with an audio guide, so you can learn as much as possible about this church that's over 1,000 years old. 

The Diamond Jubilee Galleries have a separate admission of £5 per person, but they are well worth the cost. You can see the whole Abbey from above, plus see artifacts that haven't been seen by the public for 900 years. On display are all the funeral effigies of future kings and queens, with original clothing, the oldest surviving alterpiece, and even more amazing stain glass. Our visit to Westminster Abbey would have cost £28 each, but with our London Explorer Pass, we only spent £5.

[Make sure you go across the street when leaving the Abbey to the small park and view the awesome statues that pay tribute to everyone from Winston Churchill to women in war.]

Churchill War Rooms

Speaking of Winston Churchill, London has an Imperial War Museum devoted entirely to him. The Churchill War Rooms are the actual rooms where Churchill and his government team ran the entire war effort. Inside you will see his actual desk, map room, bedroom, and private dining room. There's a lot to see in a small space, since it remains untouched (aside from some walls being taken out to be replaced with glass) for the over 40 years. 

There's an area where you can see artifacts that were better to be seen up close as well as first-hand accounts from those that worked in the war rooms. 6 years working long hours in close quarters bonded those pretty tightly, making them more like family than coworkers. Each stated how much they were proud to work under Churchill, even though he wasn't easy or fun to work for. 

To make room for more artifacts, interactive exhibits, and videos about Winston Churchill's life and career, a new space was opened up underground next to the war rooms by drilling through a 10-foot concrete wall. It was a necessity during wartime, but not now. It took three months to drill through it and it made way for an entire timeline of the life of Winston Churchill and his family. 

If you're interested in British history, this is a must see. You'll have to queue for this, since there's only so much room in the underground. If you want a shorter wait time, try to get there at opening. This museum regularly costs £22 and includes an audio guide. 

[Across the street from Churchill War Rooms is St. James's Park, which is lovely to walk through and you'll find Buckingham Palace on the other side. On the Churchill War Rooms side, you may see a group of pelicans being fed.]

Kew Gardens

Other attractions we've visited before that can be included in your London Explorer Pass: 

Tower Bridge

Kensington Palace

The London Dungeon

SEA LIFE London Aquarium

Hop-On Hop-Off Thames River Cruise

HMS Belfast

Royal Botanic Gardens (Kew Gardens)

Royal Greenwich Observatory

St. Paul's Cathedral

Shakespeare's Globe (this year we actually took in a play at the Globe and it was awesome!)

Attractions that we've not yet visited, but also included on your London Explorer Pass:

Madame Tussaud's 

Body Worlds London (we saw Body Worlds in Las Vegas and we highly recommend it)

Palace of Whitehall Banqueting House

1-day Hop-On Hop-Off Bus

Emirates Arsenal Stadium Tour

Royal Albert Hall

DreamWorks Tours Shrek's Adventure

Planet Hollywood (free meal)

Chelsea FC Stadium Tour

Cutty Sark

As you can see, there's a ton of options for your time in London, whether it's a short break or a long vacation. My best advice for choosing the right London Explorer Pass is to look at the list of attractions, decide which you want to do most, and then purchase your Explorer Pass based on that. If you have a longer list than the 7-attraction card, then choose the most expensive ones to use your pass on. 

Don't worry about having another thing to carry either. Your London Explorer Pass can be downloaded to the app, and one person can keep your whole travel group's passes on their app, making it easy to deal with everyone in your party at each ticket counter. Not only that, but your app shows you all the attractions available and their hours. You can star the ones you like most. There are transport maps, so you can get to each attraction easily, any offers attached to your pass, and useful information on the city, including where to find free WiFi. You can purchase passes through the app as well, so if you plan to return, don't delete your app and be prepared for your next visit.

Our 3 attractions would have cost £70 each, but with the 3-day Explorer Pass, they only cost £64 (or would have had we not been given complimentary passes). If you chose the most expensive attractions, your savings could go from £6 to £39. Either way, any savings is money that could be spent towards delicious food, the Tube, or cool souvenirs. 

Learn more about London Explorer pass on their website, or follow them on social media:

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

What are your favorite attractions in London?

Disclaimer: I was provided with 2 3-attraction London Explorer Passes for the purposes of this post, but all opinions are my own. 

Activities That Preserve Edinburgh's History

There was nothing that we did in Edinburgh that I thought was terrible or boring. I feel like they really know how to preserve history in cool ways. Ways you probably don't expect of a city like this, and then ways you completely expect and would be disappointed in them not having. 

As you walk around the city, make sure to look up and down at all the fun details you'll find on buildings and sidewalks. While plenty of stuff is out in the open, there are some awesome things tucked away too.

Camera Obscura & World of Illusions

In 1853, a clever female Victorian scientist created the Camera Obscura. It's an inverted dish and three mirrors that allow you to view what's happening outside without cameras or windows. Your visit to the World of Illusions comes with a 15-minute show that shows you how the Camera Obscura works and lets you play with the images. Women in science, yo! My brother-in-law was so into it that he asked a bunch of questions to see if it was something he could create at home. This old technology is amazing, even for people who have all the modern technology.

After the view of the Camera Obscura, you have the views of the rooftop terrace to take in and then 4 floors of optical illusions to check out. There are over 100 inside and they are almost all interactive. Switch noses with your friend, see a giant spider climb out of a picture, walk through the hall of mirrors, try to walk straight through the Vortex Tunnel (we thought this was so entertaining, we each did it 3 or 4 times), play a tune on the musical stairs, and try your luck at seeing 3D magic pictures (why did they ever go away?). 

There are so many things to see and do here, and it's especially fun with friends. 5 of us visited and spent several hours making our way through room after room of things we had never seen before and taking pictures of wacky and weird things we tried. One of our favorites was the box that looked like your head was on a platter on a table and the forced perspective room that made the person on one side look huge and anyone on the other side looks small. This is one of those places you have to see to believe.

St. Giles Cathedral

I'm not a religious person, but that doesn't mean I don't like beautiful things that are rooted in religion. Right on the Royal Mile is a massive church with gorgeous stained glass windows. Inside is even more breathtaking and you can still go to services here. I can't imagine being able to pay attention to anything other than the awesome construction. Between the brilliant ceiling, the Thistle Chapel, and the gorgeous pipe organ, there's no part of the building, built in 1124, that isn't beautiful. 

Much of Old Town wasn't even built when St. Giles went up, which should tell you how important of a landmark to Edinburgh it is. St. Giles allows visitors to explore the cathedral for free, though they ask for donations or £2 if you want to take pictures of any kind, because first and foremost, this is a working church that costs £20,000 a day to run. Attend afternoon service, Sunday services, and even Holy Communion. We contributed a few pounds to the cathedral for photo taking and also by making a purchase in their gift shop. You'll also find a small cafe in the basement. 

Check the website for tour times, if you want to know more about the cathedral, services and hours. There is a rooftop terrace, but the person who could take me up there wasn't in when I visited, so I didn't get to check it out. (This does cost a fee.)

The Real Mary King's Close

Old Town is full of little alleyways that lead to other buildings, shops, and restaurants. These are called closes. Mary King's Close was once the second widest street in Edinburgh, only matched by the Royal Mile. This seems like a feat when you visit, because it's probably only 6 feet wide. This small alley used to be the main street for housing and was 11 stories high on both sides. During the day you'd find stalls on either side selling wares and also stairs going to people's front doors. 

Mary King's Close has remained unchanged for the last 400 years, except for the electricity and safety measures added, and can be found underneath the streets of Old Town. As such, you are not allowed to take pictures, but that just makes it that much more authentic. Learn about the poor people of Edinburgh and how they lived, including those who contracted the plague. Your one-hour tour teaches you about Plague Doctors (and how they avoided contracting the plague by sheer luck), what life was like in the Close, the ghosts that might still reside there, and the man who had the first indoor toilet and was so proud that he would use it with the door wide open. Gross, right? But it's still there, so he moved on up to a better life.

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Even if you just want to learn about how Scotch Whisky is made, the @scotchwhiskyexp gives you a quick, but in-depth education on how it's made, what the different regions are and how they influence their particular whisky flavours. There are longer tours available for those that want to learn more + drink more, but your regular tour comes with a tasting and ends at the tasting room. Very cool 😎🥃 . . . #jetsetter #jetset #ilovetravel #tourist #tourism #tblogger #tbloggers #travelblog #travel #travelblogger #travelgirl #travelgram #instatravel #traveler #traveller #budgettravel #budgettraveler #ftblogger #ftb #vacationmode #travelgoals #womenwhotravel #traveladvice #traveltips #scotchwhisky #scottishwhisky #discoveredinburgh #drinkinginedinburgh #gifted @visitscotland

A post shared by Shereen Travels Cheap (@srayle) on Sep 17, 2019 at 11:52am PDT

The Scotch Whisky Experience 

So, there's this thing you should know about me: I love whiskey. I'd rather have whiskey than most other alcohol. I like it room temperature without ice, but I also like it cold, with ice, or mixed in drinks. The Scotch Whisky Experience takes you through all the steps to make a whisky and focuses on the flavors each region of Scotland brings to their different whiskys. Scotch whisky doesn't have an "e", which distinguishes it from all other whiskeys. 

Your short tour starts with a barrel ride that takes you through the whisky-making process to the bottle. Did you know each distillery has its own style of still? I didn't, but I know now. The next part of your tour shows you the different regions of Scotland and what flavors are brought out in their whisky. After this, you go into the tasting room to learn even more about these smells and flavors and it's where you will choose the one you want to try*. 

Hold on to your hats, because the end of your tour takes you to the Whisky Vault, where thousands of unique bottles from a private collection surround you on all sides. This is where you actually learn to taste your whisky correctly and see if you can taste the individual flavors. At the end of your tour you get to take home your whisky glass and are taken to the bar. You can choose to try even more whiskys than the handful available on the tour. And then you move onto the "gift shop", which is just a huge store that sells a ton of bottles of whisky and whisky foods and candies. 

*if you don't drink, but still want to learn about the process, you don't have to miss out. Your tour guide will offer you a bottle of Irn-Bru, a Scottish soda with its own unique flavor. You still get to keep your glass.

*Witches Well

All over the world witches were persecuted for being who they were, and many more were wrongly accused. To honor those who were burned at the stake, Edinburgh put in a memorial fountain to remember them. If you blink you'll miss it, but it's on the left-hand side of the walkway as you're coming from Edinburgh Castle. 

*Armstrong's Vintage

As a person who loves vintage goods, I've been following the awesome vintage clothing finds at Armstrong's Vintage on Instagram for quite some time. If I'd had more time in the city, I certainly could have spent hours in this store, and quite a lot of money. I took a quick spin through the labyrinth of rooms stuffed top to bottom with gorgeous old clothes and accessories. If you find yourself in awe of the Scots and Brits in their fantastic fashionable coats, then you can get yourself one here with vintage flair. There are racks packed with them. 

Everything I saw was amazing quality with equally amazing prices. Next time I visit, I'll be bringing along an extra bag to bring home all my treasures there. You can find them right at the bottom of Victoria Street, across from an adorable little ice cream hut. 

Who's interested in my Harry Potter tour of Edinburgh? Not just the actual tour, but the tour we took on our own over the course of the week? Well, I'll be talking about that next, because it was awesome! 


Have you been sucked in by Edinburgh's history yet?


Disclaimer: My admission to the first three paid attractions were complimentary of Visit Scotland, but all opinions are my own, and I'm truly grateful for the opportunity to work with them on this whirlwind trip. *These are just places I visited that I thought were cool and should be added to this list. They have no affiliation to Visit Scotland.