Taking a London Staycation

The last month has been a busy one, even without being able to do much outside, but we finally penciled in a Destination Date Night, where we visited London. As you might know, London is one of my favorite cities. It feels like home for me, but also like I can never explore it enough. The neighborhoods are all very unique, the food is delicious, the people are lovely, and the architecture is beautiful. 

Now that I think about it, maybe I should have saved London for my birthday this week, but I didn't (we'll be going back to Italy for that). I had a whole plan for this date night though, which required me to hit up a couple different food places that I adore. My first stop was Lovejoy's Tea House, who are doing orders for entire tea services or separate pieces, including shepherds pies and crumpets. 

I jumped on Lovejoy's online ordering system and got my starter - their homemade pumpkin soup - and my dessert - scones, petit fours, and macarons. We'll talk more about that later. After I picked up those things, I headed to our nearby food cart pod (BG Food Cartel) to get fish and chips from The Frying Scotsman. Usually, I order their fried haggis, which I think is delicious, but our London theme called for fried fish and a side of mushy peas. 

I got Eric a large order of cod, which I thought would be served as an extra piece of fish, but instead just came as the same two pieces, but twice the size as normal. LOL! 

I chose the regular size of Mahi Mahi. We probably could have split one large order, as we both had food left over to eat at later time. So, if you're trying to be more budget-friendly, definitely make sure you know what the portion sizes are  when you order. It's possible you just need to order an extra side of chips. For the record, this place gives you just as many chips as fish, so you aren't lacking anywhere. They want you to be full, and we were, for sure.

We've visited London several times, and each time we go, we have totally different experiences. I set up a playlist of YouTube tour videos to enjoy while we ate and took in the view of Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster. I love this building and one day we'll visit again and try to take a tour. 

One of the tours showed some of the history of the London Bridge (not the iconic Tower Bridge), which originally burned down, because it was made of timber. The replacement bridge fell into disrepair from lack of use. It was rebuilt and maintained again, but was destroyed by a tornado. Another fire came and burned the next London Bridge, which was the last time they built the bride of wood. 

The bridge was rebuilt made of stone and had a better archway support system. It became very popular and buildings housing shops crammed onto, creating issues with the structure. Another fire broke out, engulfed the buildings and a bunch of people were trapped on the bridge and killed. Several more fires followed and created a firebreak to it, which helped save it from The Great Fire. More buildings were added to the bridge and it was home to heavy traffic as well, all of which collapsed arches over the years, and finally the London Bridge Act was passed, allowing the city to buy all the houses on it, demolish them and fix the bridge. 

Unfortunately, they added a Great Arch, and this weakened all the other arches, resulting in tons of costly repairs. They finally decided The Old London Bridge was costing too much and built another one further down the river and tore this one down. This new modern bridge was only 100 feet away, but proved to be better constructed and soon became very popular again. This caused the bridge to sink several inches on one side, and they knew it would need replacing yet again. 

Instead of destroying it to build a new one, they had the crazy idea to sell it. This is how the New London Bridge was acquired by Robert McCulloch, disassembled piece by piece, meticulously hand numbered and shipped to America where it was reassembled in Lake Havasu, Arizona. The sale brought in $2.5 million for the City of London, allowing them to cover most of the cost of the new London Bridge, which is the one you see today. One one end of it, you can view some of the original supports, as well as a very old timber plank that was part of the bridge before it was replaced with stone. Sorry, but I find the history of this bridge eternally fascinating and I will be visiting that piece of wood next time I travel to London.

For dessert, we "walked" down Bond and Oxford Streets to see the Christmas lights already up for 2020. They are beautiful and stretch across the street between buildings. Some are angels and some are illuminated, changing screens with winter scenes or greetings on them. We saw them once when we were there, but haven't been back late enough to enjoy them again. 

We paired this with current scones, petit fours, and macarons. The petit fours I chose were chocolate mocha, which tasted strongly of coffee, and pear & rosemary. Our macarons were Earl Grey and peanut butter & jelly. Clearly, the whole meal had to be accompanied by hot tea. We had Earl Grey, because it is mild and goes with everything. 

You can easily create this Destination date at home. Learn about some traditions, foods you're likely to encounter, tour the markets, or even people's apartments like we did. Make your playlist longer or shorter, add games, talk about your vacation memories or go through a travel book to plan your next trip. It was lovely for us to reminisce and enjoy some familiar sites. It was also fun to learn some new stuff and add to our wish list for later. 

Here are some things to help you create London at home:

• A backdrop or two
• a Tower Bridge backdrop
• a Big Ben backdrop
• A fun teapot (we also have a tea kettle, because we're those people)
• you'll also need tea! (I just really love this packaging)
• and teacups! (Get ones that match your teapot, get ones that match each other, get ones that don't match anything. The possibilities are endless. I had a tea party several years ago and scoured Goodwill for random ones, because I like the mismatched look...and they were cheaper, but I also have some great ones from Etsy, too. Use them for tea, coffee, cocktails, soup...)
• A tiered food server - you might know it as a cupcake stand and you might even already have one. If you're not doing a full tea service, you can use a cake stand like I did for some height. 
• Clotted cream
• Lemon curd (or another curd you like)
• Some Brit swag
• I loved this mini Routemaster
• A Sherlock Holmes figure
• A Shakespeare bust
• A Union Jack Flag
• A Telephone Box that's also a light
• A playlist of walking tours or travel tips. Here's mine.
• A cookbook if you want to create the menu yourself. I like this one that has recipes from London restaurants, pubs and cafes. I also really like this one.
• A fun game

Make it a pub night or afternoon tea. Combine it like I did. Make a whole day of it that starts with tea and ends with pub dinner. 

Have you ever been to London or other parts of England? If so, what did you like best? If not, what are you most looking forward to?

Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links, and I may be compensated should you choose to make any purchases through them. This allows me to keep this blog running for you. Thanks in advance! 

Get Your Car Road Trip Ready

I know some of you are getting ready to travel for the holidays. Maybe it's to a secluded place to spend some time away from home or to a family member's house. While many of us aren't going to be flying anywhere for a while, road trips are a much safer option. If you aren't renting a car, then you need to get your own road trip ready.

Have you checked your car recently?

I love a good road trip, but winter can be scary if you aren't ready for the weather conditions being thrown at you. This is not the time to just "see how it goes". You need to prepare. Now, I know the very basic of car maintenance. I can check my oil and put air in my tires and I could probably put on a spare if I was strong enough. I can even jump a car if need be, but that's about it. It's always smart to go get your car checked out before your trip. A licensed professional can do this for you, but they can also show you how to check it yourself, so you know when to come in and get the replacement parts you need. 

Is your car comfortable?

Even though I got into an accident over the summer and had to get a new car, I purchased a used car to get what I wanted in the price range I was comfortable with. Going into winter, I'll be getting new tires, because old, crappy tires when you might encounter ice or snow is not at all optimal. My old care was coming up on 12 years old and I knew that a big repair was on the horizon. It took me on several really great, long road trips, like the one that I did solo to Vegas and back and the one I did with my mom and the dog to Montana. 

My new car is a Kia Soul, which gives us quite a bit more room to stretch out for long and short trips. It also gets a lot better gas mileage, which means I can go farther on a tank of gas. That means road trips are more budget-friendly for me, in addition to being more comfortable. 

Are your brakes good?

If it's taking a little more pressure than needed to stop your car or you hear some squealing when you slow down, those aren't good things. You don't want to find out your brakes are shot when you're in the middle of nowhere. Just because I read about how to slow down a car on the highway when your brakes fail, doesn't mean I want to have to use that information. Make sure you know when to get yours replaced.

Are your fluids topped off?

Don't forget to check important fluids, because there's nothing worse than ignoring crucial maintenance and then ending up either broken down, overheated or doing irreparable damage to something that then cost hundreds or thousands of dollars to replace, making your road trip totally not budget-friendly by the end. You can check all your car's fluids yourself, so you know what needs to be taken care of before you head out...and remember, keep a large bottle of water (a two-liter or gallon jug) in your trunk for emergencies.

Do you have an emergency kit?

Even though you have taken care of the important things, that doesn't mean that something unfortunate still won't happen, like a flat tire or something equally annoying. Be prepared by making sure you have your emergency kit in the trunk. If you don't have one, you should make sure you get one that has the essentials in it, in case you break down or otherwise need to call attention to your unmoving car. Things that you should keep in your kit are:

• Flares -- Make sure you keep yourself and other drivers safe by alerting them to your situation.
• Hazard Triangle
• Jack, because you aren't He-Man and need some help holding the car up to change a tire.
• Lug Wrench. I like this non-slip one, but if you're a wimp like me, this electric one is even better. 
• Jumper cables -- Just because you can get a stranger to help you, doesn't mean they have the necessary equipment.
• Flashlight -- You can't always see in the dark or find things easily in the trunk, even during the day. That fancy headlamp you have at home is perfect for this.
• Rags or Paper Towels -- It's just nice to not ruin your clothes, especially when you've packed light to save space. This is also where antibacterial wipes come in handy. You should have these in your Covid Safety Kit.

Some optional items that are good to have, just in case are:

• Foam Tire Sealant or a Portable Compressor and Plug Kit, because nails and other sharp objects happen and these will at least get you to the next service station.
• Portable Battery Backup for your phone, because you aren't always near civilization when the least convenient things happen.
• Fire Extinguisher, because you hope there isn't a fire, but things don't always go the way you expect.
• A paper map is always a good idea when your phone can't get a GPS signal.
• Portable jumpstart battery, that can be used to charge devices. It also has a light on it. I have a Halo Bolt and it has saved me several times when my battery has died and I don't have anyone near me to help jump my car. You connect the clips, push a button, wait a bit and then start your car. It's also come in handy to charge my laptop and phone, but also to plug in a light when the power has gone out.

Are your tires road-trip ready?

If you haven't done it recently, take your car in to have your tires rotated. Traveling through snowy or icy passes? Consider getting a set of studded tires for the season, or just specifically for this trip. If you're like me and don't love the idea of tearing up the roads if they are clear, get a set of chains or cables just in case. These are good to have on-hand anyway, just because you never know if a snow or ice storm is going to surprise you.

Now that you're all prepared for your trip, you can worry about narrowing down all the stops you'll be making on your way. Go out and have an awesome and affordable trip. If you need help with how to safely road trip during the pandemic, check out my post here. And then learn how to pack a great road trip cooler. And check out this post for traveling with your pup.

What are some of your best road trip tips?

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through any of them, I may be monetarily compensated, and I will be super grateful to you for helping me keep my blog running. Cheers!

How To Be a Responsible Local Tourist

In this time when we aren't traveling, Eric and I have been trying to find ways to explore our city while still staying safe. In addition to watching streaming concerts and comedy shows, we've been trying to get out and about to get some fresh air and out of the house. 

One of the things we enjoy doing is going to different food trucks, and that brings us within a lot of different murals around Portland. Our buildings are covered in amazing creations from local artists, and I love it. 

The old Sunshine Dairy building is no longer in operation, but the entire building is covered in cool art of all different genres. I'm partial to this piece of advice: Life is full of distractions. Pay attention to what's really important. 

Someone also did a great portrait of a cow to commemorate what the building used to be and the animals responsible for the awesome milk they produced.

 

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A post shared by Shereen Travels Cheap (@srayle)

Here are some other pieces I've come across lately while driving around. We have a great love of individualism, the Portland Trailblazers basketball team, and the nickname The City of Roses.

Every few months we hit up the Pix Patisserie Pix-O-Matic. At the beginning of the pandemic, Pix put a dessert vending machine outside of their door as a way to bring in money for their restaurant when it couldn't be open to the public. It brought in revenue and gave folks the safest possible way to indulge in some sweet treats when they need it most. After several months, the Pix-O-Matic was so successful that Pix added a second machine.

During normal times, we've visited Pix for their afternoon tea service, which is brilliantly displayed and equally delicious. You know you're there by the vineyard grapes outside and the giant bull on the roof. At the start of the pandemic they gave him a mask and now they've added huge google eyes and it makes me so happy to see.

Back to the Pix-O-Matic machines. In April, when there was a run on toilet paper, you could get a roll of TP, a disposable mask, and a pair of latex gloves for $5. There were also RBG socks and Rick Astley buttons, among other things, like local handmade goods. You can choose from any of the desserts made at Pix, champagne glasses (you can order champagne and wine for pick-up at the restaurant), fancy sardines, caviar, and marinated olives. Sometimes we all just need a little something exotic or indulgent. 

Not only are there two machines with a huge variety of goodies, there's also dance music, a disco ball, and now they've added a selfie camera. 

Each time we visit, we try something new. Eric picked up their Opera Cake. 

I was looking for something a little less sweet and chose the Tiki Tiki. It turned out to be a little tropical vacation in a take-out box. That little drink umbrella was included. The Tiki Tiki had mango and coconut and a sponge cake base. 

Before leaving, we decided to try out their new camera. I didn't realize I chose the boomerang option on my first try, so you get our second video that I had posted on my Instagram story when we got home. Sorry it's so washed out. It decided to be super sunny right then. 

I love this cool little bright spot in Portland. There's always someone at the Pix-O-Matic, looking for something to make their life more exciting. Usually we have to wait a few minutes before they are done (standing on the sidewalk by the street to be considerate and properly social distanced), then we take out turn (there's a handy menu between the machines to show you what the dessert options are and what's in them) to choose desserts and any other things we might want, take a couple pictures, dance a little, and then we head out for someone else to browse. 

You might have something exciting like this in your city. Ask friends and family if they know of anything cool. We share things we've discovered each week in our Sunday Zoom brunches. We also use that to suggest our new favorite shows or music or podcasts. It's nice to see people's faces and chat with friends. I highly recommend setting up friend meets via Zoom or Discord. It's a wonderful way to feel connected. 

What cool things are you doing in your city to make quarantine more fun?