UK Trip 2016: Biggest Purchase DONE!

I am writing this blog today with great excitement, for I have just spent $3747.21 in one go. So, you ask, what does $3747.21 get me? I just purchased the flight and hotel package for my sister and I. It includes two round trip flights and eleven nights in a four-star hotel. The trip itself lasts from June 20th till July 8th. Wait a minute. That's longer than eleven nights. I know, and there's good reason for it.

A little pricer than 2013, but worth it!

Our plan is expanded from what we did in 2013. The flight on the twentieth is overnight and doesn't arrive in London till the next morning. Next plan is to go to a reasonably priced hotel near Paddington Station and stay one night. In 2013 we stayed at the Days Inn for £89. The next morning (June 22nd) is when the real fun begins! If things go like they did in the past, we'll be hopping on the 7:06am train from London Paddington to Castle Cary. You may be thinking to yourself, what is there to do around the rural station of Castle Cary? Answer, The World's Biggest and Greatest Festival, Glastonbury!

The Famous Glastonbury sign

I first heard about Glastonbury Festival in the spring of 2012. The olympics were getting closer and closer and I was learning more about UK culture. I proposed the idea to my sister that we should try and save up and go to the festival in 2013. We did, and it was one of the greatest things I have ever done.

On the hill above The Park 

So, back to 2016. The plan is to camp at Glastonbury for five nights from June 22-26, just like in 2013. Some pretty big acts are strongly rumoured for the gig and it should be amazing. The first act was officially confirmed yesterday as being Jeff Lynne's ELO. The rest of the lineup is usually revealed closer to ticket day. Tickets were purchase on a £50 deposit scheme back in October. They sold out in thirty minutes. The balance £183 per ticket is due in April.

The Hives on the Other Stage in 2013

After Glastonbury is over, we make our way back to our eleven night hotel in the London neighbourhood of Cricklewood. We'll likely need a refresher day and then it'll be straight out to the tourist attractions! To help with the costs of all the tourist attractions, we have decided to purchase a London Pass for the second time. We were happy with how the pass worked in 2013 and will be getting ten day passes with travel this time around. The pass allows free access to many attractions for ten days, along with unlimited tube, bus and train travel in the capital.

The Elizabeth Clock Tower

The trip is sure to be a lot of fun. Check back here for regular updates. I've also thought about doing a daily VLOG while overseas. We'll have to see how it goes.

Blog Update

I started this blog last year to primarily cover my trip to England last June. My last post was on day 8 of that 13 day trip, due to poor internet connectivity. I have decided to go back to England and Glastonbury festival in the summer of 2015 for the 45th anniversary of the first festival, therefore I'll be starting my blog back up again. Hopefully I'll have solved the internet issues I had last time by next year. I'm not just going to use this blog for that specific trip. I will however try to stay true to the theme of the blog, traveling. Any major trips I make will be covered extensively in this blog, whether it be a weekend trip to Toronto or anywhere out of town. Last year in the lead-up to the England trip I started a little late in the planning phase. This time around I hope to have the entire process covered extensively. I want to have a method of sharing my opinionated travel experiences with the world, and this, along with Facebook and Twitter, is a great way.

Me at Glastonbury 2013