Great Question! I was asked recently by a friend planning a trip to the Med, what is the best way to stay connected? I have tried all the different methods of staying connected for both data and Voice. There are many choices and ways to go about it when traveling and will vary based on the individual and their needs.
Traveling short term the best bet is to make sure your current plan has international roaming and a set price plan for the voice and some basic amount of data. Then turn off your cellular data roaming. Then use wifi strictly for data. Once you get to this side of the pond you will find that everyone has free wifi unlike the states.
If on the other hand you are going to spend some time traveling then the far better choice is to simple get a pay as you go sim from one of the many providers. I currently use EE in the UK. I get 10 gigs and unlimited calls and texts for 29 pounds a month. Way cheaper than the US!
Remember to turn off the cellular data and make great use of all the available wifi spots! Be mindful because everything you do except call a phone number uses data now days.
There are a large number of communication APPS you can use to make calls, text and video calls over the internet for free and I will address them in another article soon.
If you have more questions you can always send them to me @ [email protected]
Retired, traveling for a living, Blogging for a living?
You need business cards to represent yourselves. You will meet so many great and interesting people in your travels and if you want to stay in touch, and have a bit more than just adding them to your iPhone directory, a business card still fits the bill. This is our new card front and back info. Hope you like it, we are awaiting their delivery by mail. thanks to Vista Print you don’t even have to go and find a printer!
No surprise, you’ve heard all the stereo type about English food: its bland, its fried, its well, Its English!
The UK really is trying to shake that stereo type and there are great chefs and gourmet restaurants and a food awakening in jolly old England, And in some parts, they are really getting it figured out.
We had some of the best Thai food I’ve ever had in my life in London. Oh wait, but that’s not English food, that’s because the Thai chefs were cooking! hmmm that’s true. The Indian food in the UK is Awesome and wow hot! nothing bland there. Oh but that is because the Indians are cooking not the British. And yet, the Brits LOVE their Indian food the way Californians love their Mexican food.
Ok, so for the most part, the stereo type English food is well, just “ok” and very bland with no Wow factor. So my question is? Brits love Indian food for all its spices and heat, then why don’t they cook like that in their food?
We did find some REALLY good new food coming out of areas around Windsor in the country, North of London -there are some great restaurants. In fact, this is becoming the foodie area and people come from London to eat at the new restaurants and 5* chefs are opening up and creating super creative dishes.
Manchester has a small chain of private owned restaurants called The Botanists that the food was Wonderful.
But overall, I don’t quite get why England does continue having just “ok” food still. And of course don’t get me started on any menus having ORGANIC food on the menu, it just doesn’t happen ever!
My quest continues to find consistent good food and we’ll let you know as we post areas we are traveling, where we find that good tasty food. The good news is, the best quaint pubs that are old old always serve a great Pint so the meal isn’t totally lost with gorgeous atmosphere and a steady pint to quench your hunger!
As a vegetarian (newly for only 5 months) and 100% organic, Non GMO for 4+ yrs my food is my lifestyle not a “diet” and I am very concerned and focused on maintaining organic and non gmo.
I have spent hours and hours cracking the code in grocerers in England and here is what I have found so far:
Most all of the stores as of May 2015 are still 99% Non Gmo as England and Europe have stayed on the No Monsanto path. HOWEVER just late 2014 there was a break thru for the evil chemical company and England at least, has now folded its strong arms against GMOs and is allowing/letting a crack form in its grocery stores to carry GMO products under force of Monsantos evil ways. The top grocers are No longer standing true and stating they are 100% non gmo any longer
I can save you a lot of time shopping: do NOT shop at Sainsbury or M&S and parts of Tesco. they are no longer standing by their word and carrying Non gmo products. so its a crap shoot if you shop there.
Waitrose is the only one I have found so far that is standing by its word that no GMO products will enter their stores thus far May 2015.
Depending on what township you are in, there ARE small tiny independent grocers that are also non gmo and you have to google them for each spot you are in.
Organic? now that is an entire different rabbit hole and the very hardest one to find. Even in the tiny non gmo grocers, they won’t and don’t carry all organic. and it is a never ending search for my food on a daily basis! just when you think you found the best mom/pop shop on a tiny island BAM no, they are not organic 🙁
Waitrose again wins the war (and it is war on our food supplies in my opinion) of having the most Organic sections Usually. it totally depends on the township you are in, how much the grocer carries, some more than others.
But for me for now, we only shop at Waitrose as much as possible. In a pinch we go to Tesco and then you have to search and search for their Organic markers but you can find them. You just have to Really want/and mean your food to matter to you; I am finding here in England. The Blank faces we get when we ask is it Organic? is it Hormone free? shows us that England is educated as America was in 2000 not 2015 🙁 sorry to report negative. And even when they know Organic/non gmo means their following comment is its too expensive! and its REALLY not that much more, 20 pence maybe and yet you choose pesticides for you and your family over 20pence? really?
At the stores, the clerks have NO clue 99% of the time and we search it out together. So far in both Waitrose and Tesco their staff is highly misinformed and don’t trust what they say, do your own research. I found in both stores I cracked their codes and figured it out Before the employee came back to tell me what a manger said!
The secrets of Organic :
Waitrose, look on the shelf tabs that are white for an upper left corner of Green circle showing organic. Mainly only items that are organic are fruits/veggies. some Breads, yogurt, jellies, pasta and pasta sauces are the main categories I have found. NO chips,cereals or other products have been in the stores we’ve been to.
Tesco, NO shelf markings and usually never together, you have to look at every single package of veggies/fruit and its on the actual package in bold letters ORGANIC but they will be in each section of food products not all in one. they ONLY have organic fruits/veggies and some meats and once only, orange juice. No breads/yogurt/juices nothing organic only produce.
Sometimes they will have the fruit box itself that is white and says organic on it and makes it easier to find. Only at Tesco.
HINT: most Organic foods that are produce: fruits/veggies are in plastic bags (which makes me crazy–earth pollution with all the plastic and you take a gorgeous organic item and place it in plastic to get hot and off gas!) sorry I digress, but whereby most NON organic produce is loose American styled, the organics will be wrapped in plastics.
Morrisons: again search every single plastic bag and there is a tiny, dime sized (pence) green apple that says Organic on the apple. you will need your glasses for this company! also they do not group items together so its a search in each category and we are ONLY talking produce. we found NOTHING on the shelves that was organic at all so ONLY produce/fruit/veggies here.
Hope this helps saves you tons of hours that I have spent figuring this all out. It can be done and you feel so Victorious after scoring a good healthy lode but wow it takes a lot of time and your husbands won’t be happy! Now we know what we are looking for and just rebuy the same thing over and over. But even on the tiny Isle of Wight where local produce is a big thing, none are organic 🙁 I had really hoped we would get here to the mom/pop shops and find them all organic non gmo but so far not good. will update if I score!
Traveling and staying in other people’s home for free; sounds Great right?
Well it is- But there are some challenges such as trying to cook dinner in a kitchen you don’t know where everything is and everything is different. Simple things like a really good knife are not always found in other’s home. And most/all kitchens don’t look like this one!
More like this one in Europe:
Rice cookers and toaster ovens are more random but two items that are really important to me when cooking and have yet to find them in anyone else’s kitchen in Europe. simple enough just buy your own right? well yes and no. First off they are expensive and you only have so much space in the car but some things are a must.
For us, its the rice cooker and the good knives so purchasing was required. There are just some things that make life easier and if you cook, knives are the biggy. As you cannot fly on a plane with these in the luggage that is something that must be purchased once you get wherever you are going.
Ok, so the biggest thing to think about and know before you pack all those electrical items and ship them clear across the world:
England has the wackiest plug-ins and your American or even European appliances won’t plug in! so you have to pay 5-6pounds to buy adapters to plug them in; so either you plug/unplug every time you need to use one with the one adaptor or you have to buy several of the items you use the most. do the math and figure out if its worth shipping them over, because shipping cost money too and its done by weight.
And a scary lesson learned today: the outlets in the UK or 220 voltage and some small appliances cannot handle this if the amperage is not right. Trust me because I KNOW, I just blew up my heating pad that I put in the socket with the trusty adaptor and BAM black smoke, light flash and popped the main breaker and thank god, only turned off the tv not blew it out!
Scared me to death! Now I paid to ship over my trusty heating pad and now just got off the page at Argos appliance store, ordering a new one after almost burning my husband with an exploding heating pad! My advice, maybe just leave those non UK small appliances at home and know you get brand new ones here. Or maybe find a second hand store and buy used but either way is a better idea I am thinking!
elf that is white and says organic on it and makes it easier to find. Only at Tesco.
you have to buy several of the items you use the most. do the math and figure out if its worth shipping them over, because shipping cost money too and its done by weight.