London Archives - Page 3 of 6 - One Hundred Dollars a Month

How Much Do Groceries Cost In London?

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By Mavis Butterfield on February 20, 2014 · 13 Comments

The Girl and I were at the market today and thought we would snap a few pictures to share with everyone. I don’t know about you, but I love wandering around grocery stores in other countries. It’s sooo much fun.

Corn Flakes 2.19£ = $3.64 per box

Tropicana Orange Juice. Wowza! 3.85£ = $6.41 <— Might be cheaper to buy this at a gas station?

Milk {approx 1 quart} 1£ = $1.66

2 Avocados 2.10£ = $3.49

Toilet Paper 2.35£ = $3.91 <– Kind of high don’t you think?

6 Free Range Eggs 2.25£ = $3.76 Wow. Those are farmer’s market prices right there.

22 Pampers Diapers 4.40£ = $7.30

Did you see it says Nappy?

Ahhhh, I LOVE the British!!

What do you think? Are the prices high or low in London?

~Mavis

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221B Baker Street Sherlock Holmes Museum

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By Mavis Butterfield on February 20, 2014 · 6 Comments

Right now we are in London and over the next few days I’ll be sharing some of the cool places The Girl and I have visited on our latest adventure. I hope you’ll follow along and don’t forget to checkout my instagram page for more travel pictures.

Being the HUGE Sherlock Holmes fan that The Girl Who Thinks She’s a Bird is, one of the first things we did when we arrived in London was to stop by 221B Baker Street and have a look around. If you aren’t familiar with Sherlock Holmes, 221B Baker Street is where the fictional character {written by Arthur Conan Doyle} lived.

221B Baker Street Sherlock Holmes Museum

We paid 16£ {total} and stood in line for a good 45 minutes before it was our turn to go inside.

When the books were written, 221B Baker Street didn’t exist. Baker Street only went up to 100. Over the years, the street was extended and the address housed a couple of different entities.

The Sherlock Holmes museum is on the street, but actually is closer to somewhere between 237-241. When the previous tenants of 221 vacated, the museum received the address.

The museum itself is kind of an homage to the fictional character and the rooms are filled with all sorts of antiques and trinkets from the time period. The picture above is staged as Mrs. Hudson’s room. If you are at all claustrophobic, watch out because 221B Baker Street is jam packed with not only stuff, but people too.

Cool fact: Apparently, before the museum existed, the business in 221 Baker Street had to have a full time secretary to open mail addressed to Sherlock Holmes. 😉

The Girl became a huge fan when she started watching Sherlock on Amazon. The Girl and I are pretty much suckers for any thing PBS–so add in that it’s a Masterpiece classic, and we are basically hooked. I know, I know, we are PBS nerds. I accept it. At least we have never actually written a letter to Sherlock Holmes and mailed it to the address–that should count for something, right?

If you haven’t ever seen the show, seriously, check it out. It is very well written {to the point I have to rewind it sometimes just to keep up with the smarts of it all}. Benedict Cumberbatch {what a name!} plays Sherlock–and let me tell you what, he nails the character. He is brilliant.

Season 1 is FREE to stream with your Amazon Prime membership.

Off to explore,

~Mavis

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Save the Red Phone Booths in London

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By Mavis Butterfield on January 16, 2014 · 6 Comments

I came across this article on NPR the other day, and HOLD THE PHONE because I think The Girl and I might need to do some oversees investigative reporting to really get a grip on the situation. The iconic red phone booths in London are slowly becoming an obsolete thing of the past. Sure, people want to have their picture taken NEXT to them, but no one really steps IN them to place a call anymore. The booths have gone from 92,000 payphones in 2002 to 48,000 on the streets today. I know, I know, 48,000 is still a big number, but how sad that a tiny little relic that literally helps to define a country is losing its purpose? Time marches on, though, I guess.

Luckily, due to the 20th Century Society, some of the booths have been put on Britain’s register of historical places. I guess that protects them from disappearing from the landscape entirely.

The Girl and I LOVE the red phone booths–to us, they are as much a part of London as the Tower of London and the Queen herself. Sometimes “progress” feels almost sad, don’t you think?

The article made me want to head back to one of my favorite cities in the world, what do you think? Are there any London readers out there who would allow us to take you to tea if we made the hop across the pond?

~Mavis

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Travel Tips – Getting Around London

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By Mavis Butterfield on September 26, 2013 · 12 Comments

The Girl Who Thinks She’s a Bird and I have been dreaming about taking another trip to London just as soon as we get enough points to earn a pair of free plane tickets again. One of our favorite parts about the city {besides all the cool museums, shops and food} is deciding how we are going to get around the city each day.

Even though getting around London can seem like a daunting task, they have a FANTASTIC transit system, and with a little planning, renting a car is completely unnecessary {plus who wants to navigate the left side of the road in busy traffic?}.

Here’s what I have found works best:

Coming in from Heathrow Airport – I totally recommend taking the tube. We usually stay in the Knightsbridge area and it takes only 45 minutes to get into the city. If you are going to stay longer than a day or two, an Oyster card is totally the way to go. You can get them at any Tube or major Rail Station. They are 5 pounds, which is just a deposit, so long as you return the card at the end of the trip, and they offer pretty substantial discounts on the Tube, Railways, and buses. You can load them in the station with cash or credit card. Here’s a link for more information on the Oyster card. If you are there less than a day or two, just purchase your ticket.

If you’re a Harry Potter fan, you can stop at King’s Cross Station for a photo opp at Platform 9-3/4 {We did last time we visited London}.

Inside the city, the bus system can pretty much take you anywhere you need to go, plus the double decker red buses are iconic, so at the very least, do it for the experience.

If you plan on taking a spin through Hyde Park {which, in my opinion, is a must not miss}, renting bikes is a great option. You can also venture into the residential streets fairly easily this way. I love to see how people really live, so winding up and down the streets makes for an awesome afternoon.

And last but not least, the official Taxis in London are called Black Cabs. There is a minimum charge of 2.40 and it is metered from there. They are a great option if you need to get somewhere quick on your own time frame, rather than waiting for the next bus or taking the underground and walking. Plus London cabs are just plain cool. 😉

If you get lost, just ask for help! The people are so incredibly friendly here.

Cheers!

Mavis

P.S. Have you been to London before? What was your favorite part about the city?

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