I finally gave up on dual voltage appliances and bought a cheap hairdryer and curling iron. I also have a European heating coil for hot drinks. I bring along my European heating coil as well.

If I'm staying at hotels, I don't bother with the hair dryer, but this trip I'll be staying at a Goethe Institute where I doubt they'll provide hair dryers.

I meant to say adapter plug the kind that fits over your appliance's plug with round prongs that fit into European plugs. In older buildings in England the wall outlet may have three prongs so an adapter plug that fits that type of outlet is necessary, When I needed one I bought it in a local shop in London.

At the risk of repeating myself, I once had a US hairdryer with a dual-voltage switch. It is now somewhere in a landfill near Dublin because the dang switch wouldn't switch. And Trinity College does not have hairdryers in the rooms. Purchased one at Tesco or similar and it worked a treat.

Thanks for the GPS tips - we have a garmin - I shall have to look into it