Like Leg 13, we ended up having to adjust this leg to accommodate family health issues. With the added time in America (where we have free accommodation in a family home), I was able to give us a very generous budget for our eight weeks on the road for Leg 15. Here’s how the numbers worked out for those eight weeks:
Where We Were
Countries visited: 2 – France, United Kingdom (including England and Scotland, which was new)
Cities visited (overnight): 8 – Lyon, Windsor, London, Kendal, Edinburgh, Fort William, Marseille, Paris (one more than the seven cities we stayed overnight in on Leg 14)
Number of hotels: 5
Number of hotel nights: 10 (more than normal due to our trip with Chad’s parents)
Number of apartments: 4 (two on our own, two with Chad’s parents)
Number of apartment nights: 43
Total lodging budget: $3,915 ($500 more than the lodging budget for our 18 weeks in South America)
Total lodging actual: $3,915 (though we did have to spend $225 on an extra hotel night in Edinburgh when our flight to Marseille was cancelled, we were reimbursed by British Airways)
How We Got Around and What We Did
Total transit budget: $5,185
Total transit actual: $4,686 ($500 under budget, mostly because the trains were cheaper than expected and our Marseille neighborhood was so walkable)
Number of flights: 4
Total food/entertainment budget: $4,400 ($550/week for 8 weeks)
Total food/entertainment actual: $4,003 ($500/week)
Totals
Total budget: $13,500 for 8 weeks ($1687/week average, over double our usual amount)
Total actual: $12,604 for 8 weeks ($1575/week, so $100/week savings)
Number of weeks over budget: 3 (our last 3 weeks; we were so far under budget that we lightened the reins on our spending quite a bit)
Number of weeks under budget: 5
Least expensive week: Week 5, October 21-27, $842, our second week in Marseille
Most expensive week: Week 1, September 23-29, $3,481, over 2/3 of that was our flight to Lyon from the U.S. and accounting for our old nonrefundable flight from Tirana that we didn’t take
The Best Parts
Best experiences (chronologically):
- Lugdunum Roman ruins in Lyon
- Touring Windsor Castle with Chad’s folks
- Seeing Chad’s folks enjoy the Big Bus Tour in London
- Hiking in the Lake District
- Driving through the magnificent Scottish highlands
- Time with old friends and new friends in Marseille
- Palais des Papes and everything in Avignon,
- Olympique de Marseille football match
- The speakeasy jazz club in Paris
- The cathedral and light displays at Chartres
Best meals:
Traditional buchon dinner at Les Fines Gueules (Lyon), Sunday roast dinner at The Royal Oak (London), decadent fish and duck lunch at Le Ramus (Aix-en-Provence), vegetarian mezze lunch at Matza (Marseille), picnic sandwiches from Bagalette and La Banettine (Marseille), dinner in Le Panier at Le Comptoir Aux Huiles (Marseille), crepes lunch at Divin’Art (Paris), brasserie dinner at Bofinger (Paris)