Merseyheart

The next time you want to go for pizza look for the all you can eat signs. Pizza Hut and several other pizza places advertise these meals. For what you paid for that small pizza you can go in and get more for your money.

You might look into doing a home exchange, which would eliminate your hotel costs and possibly also provide a car for side trips. Do a search on this board for past threads on home exchange, there have been some very thorough discussions. We did a 3-week vacation in London this way.

KandKsmom, I meant to write $200/day, not 200GBP. Sorry for the confusion. I think you'll need to do some planning to keep it under that amount but it's certainly doable. Keep the questions coming! Lots of willing helpers here.

You've probably already searched for budget restaurants, but in case not, here's recent thread that includes a number of Kavey's suggestions.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34519917

Are you all still planning to take your overnight trip to Paris?

obxgirl,
Thanks for the clarification. And no, after seeing that the airfare is going to be steeper than what I had anticipated, we are going to stay in England and forgo the Paris sidetrip this time. Also,(although this may seem silly to some)being the novice traveler that I am, I didn't feel totally comfortable going to another city in Europe-especially for such a short period of time. I am planning on doing a couple of day trips outside of the city of London itself, which I think will be more cost-effective and still let us see a different side of England. It won't be Paris, but I think we will be happier in the long run. Maybe we can go to Paris to celebrate one of their college graduations someday! Thanks again.

rj007, good point about the all-you-can-eat buffets. I know I've done that at Pizza Hut sometimes. Actually, until I wrote that posting, I had never figured out how much the meal cost me in USD, which underscores my philosophy , "if you convert everything you spend into USD, you'd never buy anything in England!"

Some people like me, are so mathematically oriented, that the conversion is done instantly. We really can't help it! What has helped me a bit is to realize that I would still go if I had to spend $100 or $200 more on my plane ticket, so if I have to spend a little more on food, so be it.

It doesn't seem silly (to me) at all to skip Paris this trip. I like to focus on a single place really try to get the hang of it. Going another place for a short time (traveling with kids & into a different language, currency, hotel) would cause me stress more than enjoyment. I think it's a wise decision.

I took my family of 6 to London at Christmas last year and discovered the following:

1. We stayed at the hostel down at Picadilly Square which was a huge bargain. It was 15 pounds per person per day and included breakfast of toast and beverages. It was enough to keep us all going until we had lunch.

2. We splurged on the Tower of London and it was expensive but VERY worth it!! My kids are 13, 10, and twin 7 year olds and they all loved it.

3. We did the red bus tour and it also was expensive but worth it.

4. Museums were free for the most part.

5. We ate well and for the most part cheaply. If you want exact numbers email me at [email protected]. I wrote a trip report for family and can email it to you.

Have a wonderful time!!