Debt-Free Wednesday: London
Written by cbte on May 19th, 2010
Being debt-free has led to the relief and removal of a lot of stress in my life. However, as you may recall from a previous post of mine, the key is to not become a tightwad. For a brief tenure of my debt-free life, I resorted to only saving, saving, saving. I wasn’t having any fun with my money, and that’s not good. Money should be used to give you security, stability, and pleasure! It’s very important to remember that third item in my list.
I have often spoken about taking the love of my life to faraway places, but I didn’t act on it. Granted, at the time, I was getting out of debt, so I didn’t want to go any further in. However, even when I was saving money, I thought I would need to save much more than the cost of the trip before I would “deserve” to take a trip like that. After a good deal of sould-searching and an awakening like none I’ve ever had in my life, I bought the plane tickets. It was as simple as that. I am debt-free, and I can take a trip to another country – with cash.
I spent four weeks planning the trip. I booked a reservation at a swanky restaurant – four weeks in advance. I’d like to think it was that advance planning that got us the best seats in the place when we arrived. I booked one of the nicest five-star hotels in London, because come on – it’s London! I’m not staying in the Red Roof Inn after sixteen hours of travel! I planned every tube station we’d need to start and stop at to get to each of our destinations. Even though we flew by the seat of our pants and dresses for the most part, it was nice to have planned it anyway. It was sweet. I think my sweetheart would agree.
We went to the beautiful Covent Garden, where we found an absolutely delicious croissant filled with vegetables and potatoes. It was piping hot, and it was delicious. Also in Covent Garden, we saw a street performer juggle three swords while riding back and forth on a twelve-foot tall unicycle. The sights were brilliant and vibrant, and the smells were crisp and inviting.
We went to a quaint little bookshop with books written by women and for women. The shop owner had the most fantastic British accent we heard on the whole trip. I could have stayed there and listened to her all day. Of course, I wouldn’t have, because I wanted to spend every waking moment with my love. We went to Platform 9 3/4, but they were doing construction, so we didn’t get to go on the Hogwarts Express. Boo.
We went to Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park and listened to Muslims, Christians, and fervent Africans, all promulgating their views with zeal and volume. It was absolutely frigid (perhaps because I didn’t take any thermal underwear), but it was absolutely worth it. We went to the Spitalfields market, at which we stopped in multiple bike shops. While in the market, I almost felt like I was in Italy again. Everything just works in London. There’s no need to go anywhere else. It’s all just so right there.
We also made a stop at Harrod’s. I didn’t know what Harrod’s was before the trip. My love thought she wouldn’t like it. That might have been our favorite stop of the whole trip. Harrod’s is a wonderland of adventure. You think you’ve seen a mall? Even the prettiest mall in the world isn’t as amazing as Harrod’s. We partook in the best pizza either of us has ever had, in the Harrod’s “food court”. I hesitate to even call it a “food court,” because the food was at an infinitely higher level than that of any American “food court”. Harrod’s was completely sublime, and I cannot WAIT to go back.
We took a beautiful stroll along the Thames. The London skyline is gorgeous. I can’t think of a better place to take a jog than along the Thames. We saw a book market being closed for the day, but we’re totally going back to buy some books when it’s open again. I found my dream flat, smack dab in the center of the Thames. It’s black, orange, and red. It’s amazing. We also looked at the outside of the glorious Tate Modern. We weren’t there in time to explore, but it’s another thing to add to the list for next time. My love got a delectable foot rub outside the Tate. You can ask her how much she liked that. 
I might have missed a few things, but my love and I hold the memories very close to our hearts. They’re not memories in the sense that we’ll never be there again – quite the opposite. They’re the embers that will support our fire of desire to go back. My chesapeake was already in love with London, and now I am too.
