BRISTOL / SAVING MONEY

We're going to head to Bristol on our first weekend in the UK to see a couple of friends who are moving to Australia soon after we arrive. (That makes 3 friends vacating the UK just in time for our arrival. Is there something you're not telling us about? Other than your screwed up government?)

Anyway! I had been trying to wade through all the train/bus and hotel/hostel/b&b sites with little joy and much confusion, until I clicked a random link to Money Saving Expert. YES, I KNOW. But it's actually quite a good starting point to navigate this ocean of [insert nautical allusion here] information. I now know, for example, that booking intercity train tickets starting 12 weeks in advance in the UK is the thing to do to get cheap fares. And that they're searchable using The Train Line. And that Megabus offers super-cheap alternatives for some routes. Plus, I got a pretty good deal on a hotel for the weekend (not as nice as a B&B, but really, we'll only be sleeping there). I AM CLEARLY A CONVERT!

I've updated our 'Handy Links' section on the sidebar of this blog to include some of these sites.

I'd update more, but I'm too busy trying to finish this PhD!

MEMORY IS A FUNNY THING

A friend of mine is currently in Vancouver - on my strong recommendation as a place to visit in North America - and is loving it! Yay! Anyway, I was reminiscing about the city and noticed something curious (which I have noticed before, but maybe not commented upon here). When I think about being there, I can only remember the traffic driving on the left side of the road (as it does in Australia). No matter how I try, I can't remember the traffic being on the right side!

This has happened before. While I can remember the odd feeling of being on the 'wrong' side of the road while being driven around in the Netherlands, when I visualise the trips we took my brain puts the car on the left side of the road, driver sitting on the right.

I guess that shows just how plastic memory can be. Odd.