London, England- WEEK 2

There are simple normalities in life we take for granted. Food. Water. Shelter. Most of all our parents. Then there are the luxuries that we become so accustomed to they can often be perceived as normalities. For example, a comfortable bed. I never knew how much I would miss my mattress. There is one simple factor that effects your perception of what is a normality and what is a luxury and that is COST. It all comes down to cost. The cost of living. As a child, you are blissfully unaware that this term even exists. Little do you know that you parents are dealing with these costs everyday, while you live in your beautiful house and go on your fancy holidays, your parents are crunching numbers and working budgets. And when I say you, I am really referring to myself, because I can't believe how blissfully unaware I was. I always knew I was lucky. I always knew that I was well provided for, but wow. My parents were and still are magicians because they made all this travelling and maintaining life look so damn easy. They say that Sydney is the fifth most expensive city in the world to live in and London is only at number fifteen. This I truly can't believe. The cost of everything is twice as much, due to the weak Australian dollar. Knowing we have a budget to last 6-9 months of straight travel without paid work, London somewhat terrifies us. We had to find a balance of having fun and saving costs. So far, so good.

It is now week 2 of London and the realities have kicked in. This past week has revolved around our mission to find the perfect camper van. We have travelled far and wide from Dartford to Essex to Bedford (paying a small fortune!) searching for a camper before narrowing down our choices. However, before making decision, came the logistics and research. Research on car insurance, european break down cover, tax and registration. There was so much to consider. Numbers. Budgets. Unanswered Questions. Instead of exploring London and seeing the sights, we spend days inside trying to find answers and get realistic quotes. This is the part of travel I never knew existed. It is harder than we thought.

Although the outcome has been positive, we have made an offer on a camper! We have an insurance quote and everything sorted. We are now just waiting to collect and pay for it all.  The real adventure is about to begin. Travelling the open roads of Europe and exploring the little quaint cities- there is so much to look forward to. In the meantime, the rest of our London experience will be (hopefully) from the inside of Michelin starred restaurants and we trial and experience some of the greatest kitchens London has to offer. I think the fun is just beginning. Stay tuned!