Cornwall and Wales

As some of you know I am making a journey around the UK, but somethings I have noticed that would make your life easier.

So far I can give tidbits on Cornwall and Wales.

In Wales, specifically Cardiff check out your hostel online. Since I was on study abroad for 5 weeks all I did was check price and proximity to city centre. I didn't take into account that I would have to lug my luggage up 5 flights of stairs. My hostel though was amazing and I would recommend it for anyone looking for a decent stay at a decent price.

Housing

• It was called Riverhouse Backpackers, it was extremely close to city centre and the train station, very convienent. Wifi was availiable in all the rooms, not just downstairs. The female only dorms are in the attic and you have skylights (Amazing). Good price (22 pounds a night). Breakfast: not your regular hostel breakfast, they went all out. It was worth the price. Although next time I am in Cardiff I am going to make sure I travel light.
• In Cornwall I stayed in Bodmin because it is in the middle of the county and it is a 1 hour bus ride to everything. So I just used that as my starting and ending point. I stayed with a lovely family I found on Airbnb.com. If you're ever in a rut trying to find a place to stay and there is no hostel around I would recommend this. It was significantly cheaper than staying in a regular bnb.

Food

• For me, I went to the food stands or I went to a take out place. These tend to be cheaper and offer cheaper prices if you want to eat out instead of in. Also bring snacks with you, for me I have a jar of peanut butter and bread with me. Bread and cheese is good too but I haven't done much carrying of that because I don't want the cheese to spoil.

Traveling

• If you want to save on housing but want to travel at the same time, try and get train tickets that are during the night so you can sleep on the train and save money on a place to sleep.

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Shopping Haul

Okay honestly I love shopping. I have a lot of clothes and it is SUMMER in Florida. This means it is really time to store away those jeans and pants and only wear shorts.

Now I don't have any shorts that fit me well anymore, so I went shopping.

This is my haul for 5/17/2013. Yes this is late don't judge me.

Okay so I love sales, but I also love buying items that flatter my assets.

I got these shorts from Macy's for 29 a piece with a coupon on 2 separate purchases. Normally I would think it was too expensive but it's so hard to find shorts that flatter me so well so I went back and bought my favorite colours. For me this was my splurge

American Rag

Calvin Klein

This I also bought from Macy's and with the coupon when I bought the blue shorts it was practically free. I have been wanting to buy a lace sleeveless top, this one is well made and isn't see-through. WIN! The coupon are the ones that you get in the mail for being a Macy's cardholder. They're quite good. Although you can't use it to buy Sperry's anymore. :(

American Eagle

This was on sale and it's Medium although it looks huge, I bought this for 12 bucks! Such a cute lounge around top. I can imagine me drinking a cup of sweet tea with this and some yoga pants on. Sweet Southern Comfort.

Now I got these 4 from TJmaxx. I am a Maxxinista! This was on clearance and it has these little bows on it! Cute! Then I have been looking for luggage tags and these were 3.99 for both, I don't have time to make any at the moment so these will suffice. Then a new water bottle, since I will be doing work in the field when in Europe I need more than 1 water bottle. Then I bought this luggage scale to make my life easier. 

So that's it. I hope you enjoyed. I'll see y'all later!

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Frugal Eating on Vacation

           As some of you may know I had a kitchenette in my hotel room last weekend. And with good reason, it is a good idea to always get a room with one or even a microwave and fridge.
          Before you leave depending on how long you are traveling you should stop at your local grocery store and buy cheap and easy food items as well as snacks. For me I will always lean for sandwiches. (I can't say no to a good PBJ or Turkey sandwich) These items are good to have so that you  don't have to buy overpriced and unhealthy foods at the restaurants. Trust me your wallet will thank you.
           If you still want to go out and not eat in your hotel, you can always make a picnic. Everyone loves a picnic.  That's why sandwiches are a great idea, also food items you can make easily like potato salad, cole slaw, any items you can make in your simple kitchenette or hotel room. Sometimes you don't have a stove or availability of utensils and pots to make fancy dinners. Last I checked we are not the Prince who will have eggs benedict made on a hot plate in a dorm room. Unless you bring your own hot plate then you can but that is all you honey.
          These items I would recommend the most based on my personal experience

•  Bread
• Deli meat
• PBJ
• Jelly
• Some fixin's for you sandwich like maybe a premade salad and you add the lettuce and dressing to your deli sandwich for flavor. (Hey don't judge me I am a college kid)
• Mayonnaise
• Potatoes -Some stores allow you to buy individual .
• Coleslaw mixings - I know there are prepackaged mixing for this, I have bought this before
• Some snacks - chips, peanuts, bananas- try to stay as healthy as possible. Bananas are easy cleanup and can be bought individually.

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