Blimey!

OK, so around the middle of last week I was up and couldn't sleep. It was about the honeymoon. I had heard back from a travel agent that day about the only place I was kind of interested in in Jamaica and it was going to be over the budget we had set aside for the honeymoon.

I couldn't do it, I couldn't pony up more money for a honeymoon I wasn't that interested in to begin with. So I started to cave: we could make Europe work right?

I've been wanting to go to London for a few years now. I've never been out of the country (I know, but when did I have the opportunity?) and I love all things Brit. Problem is, of course, that the dollar is worthless over there (roughly 1.8 dollars per pound) and London is the most expensive city in the world.

So I ran it past Jeff first thing in the morning (even though I was tempted to wake him up that night I couldn't sleep). He was down, but that's not surprising really. The way I figured it, we would each ONLY have to contribute another 1K to the honeymoon budget. That's not really THAT much is it? -- a few freelance stories, cut back on eating out a bit, and that's totally doable. 

So I went back to the travel agent, and she promptly dismissed the whole idea, quoting me way over the budget for something that didn't include half of what we want to do. We needed to go a different route.

Which brings me to this weekend, where I've pretty much been researching this honeymoon non-stop, trying to find the best deals without compromising. Some things I won't compromise:

1. The room. I don't need 5 stars, but I don't want to honeymoon in a hostel. 

2. The flight. It's not worth it to me to get $100 off a flight if it means I have 10 hours more travel time.

I started looking at hotels, and I found a pretty good one for a little over 100 pounds per night, but then I started looking at B&Bs and the prices crept down a bit... 

So right now our honeymoon itinerary looks something like this:

Three nights/four days in London at B&B just outside the city. Must do: London Eye, Buckingham Palace, Double-decker bus tour, Gordon Ramsay restaurant and maybe a show?

Day four/day five/day six: Day trip out to Windsor, pick up rental car (yes, Jeff has convinced himself he can learn the rules of the British road. I am very, very scared) and drive out to the Cotswolds, which is supposed to be amazingly beautiful. We found a good B&B there with great reviews, so we'll stay there for two nights in what Jeff is calling the "relax" portion of the trip.

Day six/night seven: Liverpool. This is about a two-hour drive from the Costwolds and here we'll do a perfectly cheesy Beatles tour. Fortunately, Liverpool is much cheaper than London so we'll save a bit of money going here.

Day seven/night seven/day eight/night eight: Edinburgh, Scotland. Jeff is most excited for this portion of the trip. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure I'll sleepwalk through the whole thing. But yeah, castles, Braveheart, etc ... it will be awesome.

So I'm already 100% more excited about the prospect of this honeymoon than the one I had been thinking of before. The question now is when to book? Will flight prices go down or go up? Hate to book too early and then have prices go down, but does that really ever happen?

Anyways, I know there are some girlies getting married who read this blog. I think I've got to suggest you forgo money worries and go where you want. This is your first trip as a married person, and with the way life works sometimes, it might be the last for a while. Go somewhere you've always wanted to go.

I think I am. And I already feel better about it!