London

Laying over in London this month. The prices here seem to keep going up. Today I went to take the subway, or the tube as they like to call it. A one way ticket is now costing 4 pounds which is equal to $8 one way, as compared to about $1.50 in New York City. I don't know how people live here??? I instead purchsed an Oyster Card, which costs about $6 to get, and then they top it off for as much as you want to add to the card. This allows you to take a one way trip for about 2 pounds, I think, anyway, much cheaper than just paying the one way rate. You just hang on to the card, and use it anytime, you happen to be in the city. It is like a phone card or bus pass that you just top off when the balance gets low. It is a better deal than paying each time. The other thing to do is to pay the one day pass, at about 5 pounds, that is $10, and you can get on and off, all day as you choose. It used to be somewhat reasonable to get around here, although, not as "cheap" as New York City, if you can call New York cheap? It just seems that things here keep going up. I try to keep the prices down by buying groceries in the store down the street from our layover hotel. Prices on groceries, thankfully, seem to be in line with what we pay in the states, even if the cost of everything else here is overpriced. The other bargain is the theater, and tickets for half price can be found at the TKTS booth near Piccadilly Circus. They were offering tickets for Wicked for just $30, but, since I already have tickets for later in the year in Miami, I skipped it. It is still a good price, however. A good deal to is to go to the theater and see if the have "standing room only" tickets. I paid about $15 to see Lion King. Yes, I stood for the entire show, but for such a low price, who cares. The other thing that you can do in London, for free, is look. I love to go to Harrod's, and just people watching is fun. You can see all the well to do Europeans shopping, and the store is just fun to be in anyway. Stay out of the "Halls of Food", the food looks wonderful, but unless you are interested in paying about $30 for a pizza, I wouldn't eat there. Anyway, there is a McDonald's right around the corner that is much more in line with U.S. prices. There are a few museams in the London area that are free. The museam of natural science, the Victoria and Albert, is partialy free, unless they have a special exibit, and then they only charge for the special area. The British Museam is also nice. There are also a lot of things to see just by walking around, such as the Palace, of the queen, and the changing of the guard. In any case, London need not be over priced. Just realize that you will probably have to pay on the transportation and hotels.