michaelpianko

I am the same guy who posted the other message about visiting London, I am leaving in a few weeks. My thinking or planing has evolved since then and now I don't want anybody to see my other thread.

In general I like art museums. Typically I like the sort of over-detailed old paintings from before photography was discovered, not that other stuff won't be worth glancing at. There are 6 art museums I have read about that seem appealing. (National gallery, Wallace Collection, Victoria & Albert museum, Tate Britain, Courtald Gallery, Dulwich Picture Gallery). I probably want to acquiesce to the fact that I will skip some of them and see other stuff.

I probably want to see:
British Museum
Buckingham palace
Tower of London
Museum of London
possibly Hampton court
possibly Kew Gardens
Possibly skip some of this and see Stonehenge and/or Bath.

So far I only bought one play-ticket. I'm not sure whether I will be too board on the the other evenings.

Other information:
I have a reservation for 8 nights in a Hostel in Soho in London. I don't drink or smoke. I am a single man traveling alone. I don't cook, I'm on a radically restrictive diet high in fruit. My approximate budget does not include food because I don't think I can or will spend more on food than I do on average on any other days.

$2,500 or a little more as a budget guess?
-$1,984 (hostel + airplane tickets)
-$40 play ticket
= $476 left for train rides, admission fees, entertainment, and so on.

janisj

You are lucky the £ is down right now. And most of your museums/galleries are free.

Your basic transit will cost £32.40 / $45 (a 7 day zone 1-2 travelcard) plus additional £ for your partial 8th day. Buckingham Palace costs £21.50/$30. The Tower = £23.10/$30 advance purchase

So that leaves £275/$365 for everything else. That would have to include any journeys outside of zone 2, your food (even on a restricted diet you still need to buy food), about $90 for a tour of Stonehenge/Bath.

Doable -- yes, barely - but you will REALLY have to watch it.

MmePerdu

Michael, don't miss the National Portrait Gallery, my favorite in the world, around the corner from the National Gallery. I recently made time to go twice during a very full week in London.

If you make it to Kew, given your interests, make a beeline for the Marianne North Gallery, pictures covering the walls of a delightful Victorian building, commissioned by Miss North herself, to house the paintings she did as she traveled around the world for years, 1865-85. Fascinating, I think.

sparkchaser

Well, food certainly will not be an issue for you. Fresh strawberries everywhere!

michaelpianko

I am afraid food will be a bizarre problem for me. As of now I am staying at SoHostel:

https://www.sohostel.co.uk/hostel-facilities/

and I made my reservation through a travel website. The fine print, which I found earlier today but I didn't see earlier and I can't find again, says something about outside food not being allowed in the place... the place has a bar that sells food...

sparkchaser

No, food will NOT be a problem for you. You eat fruit so buy fruit at the grocery store and eat it while you are out and about or sitting on a bench. Cafes sell fruit too so you can buy a beverage and some fruit.

michaelpianko

Janisj:

You missed the part about how my food is outside my budget, so the cost of it doesn't get subtracted from the approximately $500 US dollars I expect to spend further.

janisj

No -- I didn't miss anything. I know what you said - >> My approximate budget does not include food because I don't think I can or will spend more on food than I do on average on any other days. <<

But you do need to account for the fact that produce/fruit will generally cost <i>more</i> than you are used to in Michigan.

. . . And now you find you can't take any food into your hostel (I've never ever heard of such a thing w/ a hostel -- not sure how you found such a weird set up) That will definitely complicate things.

michaelpianko

Here is what you find if you look up the hostel, click Rates, then under "what's included", under the third bullet point, there is a link to "SoHostel’s Terms & Conditions":

7.2 Customers and their Guests may only consume food and drink purchased from SoHostel in the Hostel. No externally purchased food and drink may be consumed in the Hostel.

Maybe it's time to find another place to stay? I have 9 days before I leave...

MmePerdu

Michael, can't you just buy the food you'll eat each day and eat it outside the hostel, since you don't need to cook anyway. It doesn't say you can't carry it into the hostel, only that you can't eat it there. Keep it in a pack. There are any number of more interesting places for a picnic than inside the hostel and you'll likely spend little time there anyway. I wouldn't cancel for only that reason.

michaelpianko

... I picked the hostel/hotel I picked because of the reviews... which were obviously written by people who eat typical food... The last Hostel I stayed at was in Canada and it had and a kitchen on the first floor with dishes and utensils... Suppose it is raining for half the time? You are probably right... Note to everybody: always read the fine print and click every link in the descriptions of hostels/hotels. I have discovered that I screwed up on my choice of Hostel before arriving there.

nytraveler

Sorry - but I think your budget is substantially too low. You have no room at all for anything unexpected. How will you pay to get to and fro the airport. Will you not be buying anything else? Or want to go into any other sights? Take a boat ride on the Thames?

I recall taking $700 in spending money the first time I went to London for a week - but that was in 1977. And I spent almost every penny - NOT living high on the hog.

MmePerdu

I don't think you've screwed up. As hostels go, it looks pretty good to me. It doesn't seem to be much of a problem. I'd rather have a clean place, for instance, than a grubby one where I could eat my apple, and this looks clean. Dirty would be a bigger problem for me.

If you can find an available bed in a place with a kitchen and good location, and if you can cancel this one without losing money then why not. But do check availability elsewhere before you cancel or you could end up with a real problem.

michaelpianko

I could blow $1,500 US dollars if I really wanted to, but I would feel that much guiltier or stupider if I did. I already spent almost $30 on a quick drying towel at a camping supply store...

historytraveler

If you've spent $30 on a quick drying towel ( a non-essential IMO ) you shouldn't worry too much about food either in or out of a hostel. Having a decent budget for food is not stupid nor does it mean you have to splurge.

Gyhtson

I suspect the ban on outside food really relates to take-out food; you know, like bringing in a pizza or a MaccyDs. I really think you'd be fine with a banana or an apple or some snack nuts that you "just happened" to have in a bag.

bilboburgler

Fruit etc,

http://www.lfm.org.uk/markets/bloomsbury/ might interest