I don't think anyone had much idea what their Christmas would be like this year. Certainly, for myself I had no idea where I would be spending Christmas. As it ends up, I am now writing this post from a hotel room.
For those who read my last post about The stress of moving homes, you'd know that I moved on the 20th December. We sold our property a few months ago and was hoping that we could complete the transaction after the new year so we could spend Christmas at home. Unfortunately, the buyer said if we don't complete before Christmas, she would pull out of the transaction (yes that's allowed under English law). That threw all my plans out of the window as my new place will not be ready for at least another month.
After a lot of last-minute arrangements, I managed to move all my things to a temporary place and we left home with two suitcases. It's funny how things work, as this is exactly how we arrived back in UK from Taiwan, with the intention for staying about a month or so, but 22 months on, we're still stranded here. So this is my home for the next two weeks till after New Year.
I'm still staying around in London, and have made sure we go out every day for walks so we get some fresh air. We even went into central London today but one of the major shopping malls was a lot quieter than I expected for Christmas eve. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't much Christmas vibe there.
The hotel I'm staying is comfortable and cost effective, but the downside is that we have to eat out all the time. After a few days, is already getting a bit expensive. One of the reason I went into central London today was to go to Chinatown to get some instant bowl noodles ie the ones you just add hot water to. I figured that would work for a hot light lunch and cut down on the cost for at least one main meal of the day. Hotel and instant noodles, I feel like I'm in quarantine!!!
I'm still haven't decided where I will go after these two weeks. It's low season now and because of Covid not many people are going away, so hotel prices are pretty cheap and plentiful. I have a lot of options. One option which would kill two birds with a stone is a cruise - something that's never been our preferred way of travel.
Cruises got a bad rep when Covid started as there were so many people confined to a small space causing massive outbreaks on a few liners. In the new Covid world, the cruise companies are being a lot more cautious and don't operate at full capacity. Plus all guests have to be fully vaccinated and tested on board.
There are a lot of bargains around nowadays, such as this 7-day cruise to France, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany. This cruise works out to be under £40 per person per night inclusive of food and accommodation and is a really good deal. However since I saw this two weeks ago this particular sail on 11 Jan is cancelled as France and Germany doesn't allow UK citizens to enter their country 😭.
There are other cruises which are (still) available like this 2 week cruise to Spain and Portugal. It works out at £47 per person per night, a bit more expensive than the previous one but still very good value. I'm going to see how things pan out in the next couple of weeks before I decide. Who knows? Perhaps I might end up with fresh travel content soon!!!
In the meanwhile, I get to spend Christmas this year with my Christmas fairy. I just got her yesterday as I felt I needed something Christmasssy in my temporary home. By the way, my Christmas fairy doesn't have a name yet. Suggestions anyone?
