Money, Money, Money...

 And Finally...

It's back to my notebook and cash records for the end of the holiday....

Month 6 - Bite 29

Having recorded all the spending as I go through the holiday it's time to total up where we spent what and how. 

The cash totals help me to work out what we'll need in terms of currency next time and the credit card purchases provide a guide as to how much all the other costs come to.

This time it had been so long since we'd travelled abroad that I took far too much! Mind you, I'm dithering about changing the spare back as a quick check online shows exactly how much worse off I'll be if I simply go and change it back into sterling. Patience is needed for this one as it may be that the conversion rates change, in which case I'll get my cash converted. However, if I think the hit is too much I'll keep my Euros for the next time or until I know someone who is going abroad and would like to buy them from me at a rate that's fair to both of us!

Month 6 - Bite 30

This is something I keep meaning to do and never have, so now's the time. Today's the day to research an easy access account with the best possible interest rate to open. This account I want to keep separate from my other finances and it will have a target too. The target is going to be the total cost of our holiday so that next time (even if I don't reach the full target) financing it will be easier on the day to day household budget.

So, that's this month all sewn up...

My favourite holiday saying though is a true money saver and helps the planet too.....

Take only photographs, leave only footprints...

Don't know who said it, but, boy, were they right!

Water, water everywhere..

 

Now I know it goes against the grain to pay for water at any time, but sometimes there's just nothing for it! So these next couple of bites look at minimising the costs...

Month 6 - Bite 27

The first problem starts with the airport. Because of security rules taking water through into Departures isn't allowed so that's a non-starter. We always take our own water bottles and empty them just before security. That means that we've got a container for filling on the other side.

Unfortunately the water quality and taste at the airport isn't always wonderful. When this is the case it's the inevitable trip to the shops in Duty Free to buy a bottle or two. It's always overpriced, but necessary and at least it gives us a spare bottle for the holiday. These spares we use if we need more than our more robust bottles for a day out. We also fill them for the return trip and ditch both the contents and the bottles before going through to the Departure Lounge coming home.

Month 6 - Bite 28

Once at our destination it's time to get some water for the duration of the holiday. A trip to the supermarket is in order to buy a large pack and fill our bottles on a daily basis. Of course, once out and about they may well need re-filling. Sometimes, as I mentioned, we take a second bottle. There are, thankfully, alternatives. In Rome for example there are drinking water points. We tried these the first time we went to tennis in Rome and the water tasted fine, so that's what we do now. There are also drinking water points around the city so that's a saving.

It doesn't just go for abroad either. Even here in my own neck of the woods there are free, public filling stations for everyone..a great addition to the local facilities.

When travelling within the UK we also tend to take a pack of bottled water when we're unsure about local facilities. Having some already bought at our local supermarket saves on the awful prices for small bottles while away - and our own bottles have now saved us far more than we spent on getting them originally!

Make your own lunch (but never stint on pastries)

 Month 6 - Bite 25 +  1

The last post sort of links straight into this one with the thought of bought snacks and supermarket visits.

We do like to experiment with meats and cheeses and breads so making our own lunch at times helps us to explore new ideas. This also tends to help on the financial front too! Some fresh bread filled with cold meats, cheeses and sliced tomatoes is always welcome.

As mentioned, the supermarket near to where we stay (opposite in fact) is great for this the local markets are brilliant too. When in Florence a stroll round the market there makes you want to groan about the fact that you don't have enough days in the holiday to work your way through all the different types of produce. One of the other bonuses is the way you can get invited to taste before you buy. SOmetimes a walk is needed to make space for the food you've bought for lunch!

However, pastries are not to be passed up on. Buying local versions of different cakes, pastries and bakes is one of the sheer delights of being away from home (all that walking around will make sure the waistline is safe).

                               

Month 6 - Bite 26

Eating like a local did come into it in the last post. There's more than one way to view it though. Breakfast is a real pleasure when it's taken at a pasticceria or coffee shop. (And that goes for other incarnations across the globe in their own localities). In Florence for example we popped acfross the road from where we were staying for breakfast in this way. The thing to remember is that there is often a different charge for your breakfast depending on where you eat it. We prefer to prop up the bar like the others in there rather than sit at the tables and voila, good chats with other customers and a cheaper price.

In fact with time on our hands at the end of one trip we decided to go to Caffe Gilli - the oldest cafe in Florence. We'd seen it on a TV programme and thought we'd take the plunge and accept the hit on the budget. How wrong were we - yes, it was great, yes it was a particularly good establishment, but budget breaking... the coffee at the bar was 1 Euro and the pastries just as cheap as elsewhere..... Always worth a try - you never know how pleasantly surprised you can be....

Living Locally

 Month 6 - Bite 23

Now my favourite part (well mostly) of any holiday is the food! One of the best bits of advice I wass ever given was to check where and what the locals eat. Whether that's a local cafe or hostaria or .. well you get the idea.

On our recent trip my niece's husband took us into the hills to his father's favourite eating place. The food was plentiful and cooked within sight of our table. It tasted wonderful and the place was full of lunchtime diners looking very satisfied. 

Not only was the meal great, but the prices were too. The children weren't charged for and the whole lot (including wine) came in at 20 Euros a head - oh and that included an extra course that we we're told about, saw delivered to someone else and then, when we'd drooled over it, was presented to us at no extra charge....

Month 6 - Bite 24

Eating and drinking like a local may mean stepping out of your comfort zone and trying new tastes and flavours, but you'll rarely regret it. I know we joke about the times that gravy browning and certain types of chocolate or spread have had to make it in our luggage, but generally sticking to food that is produced, cooked and served close to where you are staying makes sense.

Picking out an option from some too-bright photographic menus of variations on the Great British Breakfast have never been our way - although if that's what you crave.... Once you've been introduced to the favoured dishes in your country of choice you'll soon build up a list of recommendations to pass on to others.

By checking out some of these when we've returned from holidays has meant that our repertoire of home cooked food has grown and quite often it makes good financial sense. Cacio e pepe makes it on our menus virtually every week and it costs so much less than many other things, especially when I knuckle down and make the pasta. My niece's husband is always raving about how cheap 'proper' pasta is - and he's right... Give it a go!

Month 6 - Bite 25

Visit a supermarket... Not just the flashy delis - although they have plenty to offer. The supermarket opposite where we stay has a great range of quick and easy snacks - including freshly made pizzas, lasagnes and so on.

Quite often (and this is where renting an apartment scores over an hotel room) we get back too tired to eat out or pop back at lunchtime so eat in. It does mean either of us is tied to the kitchen as the supermarket supplies the food freshly cooked or we can put some super local meats together with fresh salad ingredients for quick, cheap and easy eating.

Seize the Opportunities

 Month 6 - Bite 21

Planning is important, however being flexible or spontaneous on holiday can bring huge benefits too. We had earmarked St. Peter's Basilica for a return trip along with the Vatican Museum. Our first visit was with a wonderful guide and it was worth every penny, but there was so much to see and take in that we felt the need of more time. We hadn't done anything about tickets as we didn't know how we'd feel around crowds on our first trip abroad after COVID so mentally moved that visit onto another holiday.

Imagine our surprise when we walked over to St. Peter's Square and saw that the normally long and tedious queue for the Basilica was moving quite speedily. Queuing gets you in for free, but can take an hour or so - hence our delight at the quick pace. Abandoning what we had planned for the rest of the day we joined the tail and within 15-20 minutes we were inside St. Peter's with plenty to explore, including the crypt that hadn't been open on our previous visit.

You just have to grab opportunities sometimes and this was one!

Month 6 - Bite 22

Sometimes being flexible includes things that don't make it onto the 'Top 10 Tourist List'. When we were last in Florence we fancied getting out of the city and took a bus into the town of Fiesole. Wandering around looking for the bus stop led us through a lovely market with craft stalls as well as vegetables. Well, you just have to take the chance to get something unusual when you can don't you...

Having arrived at Fiesole there was an Etruscan/Roman site to explore, unexpected and quite easy on the pocket. Now if we hadn't taken a punt on going somewhere different we'd never have seen it!

To help us extend our 'off the normal track' fun our apartment owner gave us a book as we left to begin to look at other ideas for visits...

                                                 

Some great new ideas to look forward to!

Free Site seeing

Month 6 - Bite 19

Many of the sites and venues featuring as essential viewing come at a cost, and that's fine - there is a price for the upkeep and maintenance of all such highlights. There are, however, many sites that don't cost a thing! It doesn't take much exploring or researching to find them and this trip we've discovered lots that we hadn't visited before.

Churches are one huge storehouse of interest and fascination. Whether that's marvelling at the work of  masters - like this statue of Moses by Michelangelo in St. Pietro in Vincoli....

or looking at the monuments to the long dead (and sometime seeing them too) or finding out more about the revered relics in their care. This time it was the chains that held St. Peter and a fragment of the manger. Whether you hold these in esteem or look at the effect they have had on the faithful over time they add new interest to a trip.

Churches aren't the only free sites.

Our walk along the Appian Way with its monuments and relaid original paving led us to the Villa di Massenzio with ruined buildings and a Circus worthy of any chariot race. Not only was it free, but we were virtually the only people there!

There are sites like these around in many countries (including our own) some appreciate donations or if there's a shop (most of the sites we went to this time didn't have a commercial outlet - just a warm welcome) then buying something will help swell the coffers, but most are there to celebrate and inform.

Month 6 - Bite 20

Many years ago I went to Greece as part of a tour and it was explained to our group that on Sunday we would be going on a boat trip out of Athens as this was the day that the sites were free and the tour operators tried to take their customers out to enable locals easier access to this. I'm not sure we totally believed that as the sites needed tourists to pay in order to keep going, but anyway the boat trip was great!

It is, however, still the practice in many countries to have a free day for visiting sites either weekly or monthly. It's worth finding out and then booking ahead if need be in order to make use of the offer.

Some places have cheaper entrance rates on different days or at varying times of the day - we found that when we rocked up early at the Pitti Palace in Florence one time and got in half price.

A little research goes a long way!

Getting Around

 When we first went to Rome we played it safe - I've already mentioned getting out accommodation and event tickets through an agent/third party as we weren't too sure about either. We did come up trumps in both cases, but subsequent visits have been much cheaper with our new knowledge and contacts.

Now it's time to consider getting around...

Month 6 - Bite 17

Again on our first trip we looked carefully at the maps and decided that our route to the tennis was a bit out of our comfort zone so took taxis. Then, when we visited my niece and her family she and her husband drove into Rome to pick us up - his journey back was awful and so we decided not to be so faint-hearted the next time and to explore public transport.

What an eye-opener! Our journey by metro and tram to the tennis was simple and soooo cheap. The tickets for a single trip (and on some combinations that means a total of 100 minutes travelled even when changing buses) was 1 Euro 50. Buying tickets was simple as you can just get a strip of them from the kiosks around town and date/time stamp them on board. They even covered our trip out into Labaro where picking us up was quick and fairly traffic free! This time we used the buses too to get out to the Appian Way - it couldn't have been much easier and again really cheap. It certainly beats paying around 10-15 times more by taxi...

Using the train from Sorrento to get to places like Pompeii was straightforward and far less expensive than any other way of getting there. It's an experience not to be missed...

Month 6 - Bite 18

Embolden by our experience (I know, others will have done Grand Tours, Gap Years and so on - we hadn't obviously) we looked at travel further afield. When we were in Sorrento it was ferries around the coast and from Florence the buses into Siena and beyond were really easy from the coach station and a fraction of the price of joining a tour or hiring a car.

The trips also had the advantage of us choosing our own time within the schedules (even if the 'last bus' from Vesuvius went rather earlier than advertised!) and giving us the chance to enjoy the scenery rather than consulting maps and concentrating on unfamiliar roads if we'd driven ourselves or searching for parking, etc.

Definitely to be recommended.