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December 25 2008: Dressing For England

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In the thirteen hours of babysitting I did today, I started mentally preparing a capsule wardrobe to take to England with me. I basically have three requirements: warmth, comfort, and versatility. It needs to be warm enough for the typical January in England (which Wikipedia tells me is zero to ten degrees celsius, oh. my. god.). It needs to be comfortable, as I’ll pretty much be on my feet all day for two and a half weeks, as well as on a plane for about three days. It needs to be versatile: stylish (or at least, not daggy), with each item able to be mixed and matched with other items for everything from backpacking in the north to going out in London. And perhaps hardest of all, it’s all got to fit in a backpacker’s bag.

I’ve decided on two colours: black and grey. You can’t go wrong with black and grey, everything will go with everything else. Items I’ve decided to bring (so far) include:

  1. 2x Black tights.
  2. 2x Black dresses (one short-sleeve for layering, one long-sleeve).
  3. 2x jeans.
  4. 2x Black pants.
  5. 4x Singlets (for layering).
  6. 2x Short-sleeved tops (for layering).
  7. 4x Long-sleeved tops.
  8. 2x Black knit jumpers.
  9. Black leggings (full-length)
  10. Black scarf, black woollen hat, black gloves.
  11. Grey fleece jacket for warmth.

I need to whittle it down further (ten tops is a bit much - eight should do me, so I’ll probably get rid of two singlets), but that should do me - I should be able to mix and match them enough to create up to fifteen different outfits…or as different as black, black, black, and grey can get. My only real worry are shoes, as my sneakers would be my preferred footwear as I’ll be on my feet all day, but they’re a lighter colour (cream/beige) that won’t go with the clothes I’ll be bringing. I could buy a pair of black sneakers, but that would go against my “don’t buy anything just for this trip” mantra that I keep repeating to myself, especially since the trip is costing me so much already.

I’ll also need a pair of dressier shoes to wear with my dresses when I go out at night. My black boots would be ideal for the cold weather, but I don’t want to have to carry them around in my backpack for the thirteen out of fourteen days that I won’t be wearing them. Black flats would be the space-conscious choice, but they don’t go well with tights and I don’t want to go bare-legged in January in England, as I rather prefer my legs without frostbite.

So um…the real point of this entry was to warn the people I’ll be seeing to not be shocked when they meet me in person. Baggage restrictions means I won’t have the chance to be the clothes-conscious person I am at home, and I’ll probably stink from not having enough time to launder my clothes. Just a warning!

P.S. Merry Christmas.

December 18 2008: A Budget For England

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Things I have already been budgeting on:

  1. Airfares ($2000AUD off eBay rather than the usual $3300AUD)
  2. Accomodation (I’ve got some couches lined up around the country to sleep on, and will be sleeping cheap in youth hostels. Total cost of accomodation will probably come to about $500AUDAUD, as in some places {e.g. Alton where Jane Austen was from}, I have to stay in actual B&Bs rather than cheap hostels)

Things I will be budgeting on:

  1. Food (I won’t be eating out for every meal, I’ll just be buying loaves of bread, a jar of peanut butter, and fruit and having an occasional pub dinner)
  2. Shopping (I’m not going to buy any clothes or anything like that, as I’m not a local and don’t know where the big sales are. I don’t want to start paying inflated prices for things - instead, I’ll buy souvenirs selectively, for quality rather than kitsch value)

Things I won’t budget on:

  1. Sight-seeing (whenever I want to go somewhere, I’m just going to go at full-price. Who knows when I’ll be in England again, I might as well do it all while I’m there!).
  2. Inter-country travel (I’m determined to see everyone, and if it means taking a million and one trains, then I’ll take a million and one trains!)

Basically, I’m budgeting on everything except experiences. I want to meet everyone, I want to do things in England that I can’t do in Australia, I want to have the full tourist experience. If it means paying full-price, then so be it!

December 15 2008: To Do List

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Things I need to remember to do:

  1. Buy return flights from Melbourne to Sydney
  2. Set up international roaming on my mobile
  3. Organise $300AUD in GBP to get through the first few days
  4. Arrange for my HSBC debit card to work in HSBC UK ATMs
  5. Call and inform credit card company that there may be charges on the card from the UK/France
  6. Accommodation!!!!
  7. Check up on train timetables and prices
  8. Travel insurance!!!!
  9. Draw up daily budgets based on activities
  10. Arrange to borrow my friend’s huge backpack
  11. Figure out how to rug up for a European winter with clothing designed for an Australian climate
  12. Keep my lies straight (scholarship at Oxbridge is apparently for a Masters course in Community Development and Strategy which comes complete with a guaranteed three-year position at a UK local government branch post-graduation, yes I realise I’m making it too complicated)

…I think that’s it.

Oh, and I need to remember to pack socks. Every time I go overseas (no exaggeration, every. single. time.), I always forget socks, and end up having to buy more. I always tell myself to pack socks, but forget at the last minute…and end up remembering when I’m at the airport ready to leave, at which point it’s just too late. It’s a particular quirk of mine.

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