Dream Vacation Presentation Speech

INTRODUCTION

For my project I decided to travel to London, England. I chose to go there because I have
dreamed of travelling to London for a very long time. *NEXT* I love Europe and its history, and
dream of one day exploring many more of the countries in it. *NEXT* But, England is my
number one right now because I think it’s incredibly beautiful and historic. *NEXT* I’m also a
huge fan of Sherlock Holmes *NEXT* and Harry Potter, and there is a lot to see regarding those
two things because they originated in London, England.

DISTANCE

*NEXT* The total distance I will be travelling to get from my home to my accommodation and
back is 16,863km. I found this number by adding up the distances between my home and YVR,
YVR and the Gatwick airport, Gatwick airport and the hostel I’ll be staying at, and then the same
trip back (the only difference being a stop in Toronto for a layover). However for just the flight
round trip, that would be 16,685km.

WHEN

*NEXT* I plan on travelling to London from April 4th – April 10th. I would first be leaving
Vancouver on the evening of April 4th and arriving in London on the morning of April the 5 th.
Then I would be spending 5 days in London before leaving on April the 10th. *NEXT* I chose to
travel during April because this is a great time of year for travelling to London. *NEXT* The
gardens look really beautiful in spring, and it doesn’t have the muggy-ness of summer or as
much rain as in the fall or winter. There is no real peak-season since London is always pretty
busy with tourists, but mid-spring is probably the best for slightly smaller crowds (between
spring/Easter and winter breaks).

WEATHER

The weather in London is similar to weather here in Surrey/Vancouver, with highs of 13°C, lows
of 6°C, and an average of 11°C. The sunshine per day is roughly 5 hours and April typically has
16 days of rainfall. *NEXT* I would need to pack clothes similar to what I already have: jeans,
*NEXT* raincoat, *NEXT* sweaters, *NEXT* t-shirts, etc.

*NEXT* Similar to what I said before, because of its mild climate, you can really visit London at
any time of year. If you’re trying to go when it’s less busy, April is a good time because it
doesn’t have as bad of weather as say January or February.

TRANSPORTATION
To get to London, I obviously have to travel by plane. *NEXT* Using Travelocity, I found a really
good deal for my flight + hotel together. *NEXT* For both of them, the total cost was $908.90.
*NEXT* I included the budgeted costs for travelling to and from the airport in my
transportation during the vacation, but the money I budgeted was about $16 for both ways.
This is the cost for gas for driving there. *NEXT* All the flights are on the airplane line Air
Transat, and my flight going there is a one-way trip from Vancouver to London. The plane flies
from 5:05pm to 10:35am for a total of 9 hours and 30 minutes. Because this flight is a one-way
and is overnight, I had to pay an extra $25, but I think it’s worth it for such a good flight.

*NEXT* For my flight going home, I do have a layover in Toronto. The plane first flies from
London to Toronto for 8 hours and 20 minutes from 11:50am to 3:15pm. Then after waiting 2
hours and 50 minutes, I would board another flight from Toronto to Vancouver. This flight is
from 6:00pm to 8:15pm for 5 hours and 15 minutes. By the way, all of these times include the
time changes, so that’s why they may seem a little weird to you.

FOOD

For my food, I had to research restaurants that would work with my dietary needs. *NEXT* I’m
celiac, which means I’m gluten-free, so I had to find safe, gluten-free places to eat in London.
*NEXT* And I actually found a lot more places than I thought I would. To show you examples of
a few restaurants I could eat at, I’ll show you the menus from Beyond Bread, Farmstand, and
Hemsley and Hemsley. These are all cafés, and I chose them because they were all close to
different locations I would be visiting on my trip.

*NEXT* Hemsley and Hemsley is on Oxford street, which is a great place for shopping, and a
fairly central location. *NEXT* They offer a lot of different dishes *NEXT* for a reasonable
price. Here is their *NEXT* breakfast menu, *NEXT* lunch, *NEXT* dinner, and *NEXT* they
even offer a menu for afternoon tea.

*NEXT* Beyond Bread is a bakery and *NEXT* café in Charlotte Place. *NEXT* Their food looks
amazing, *NEXT* these are just a few of their dishes *NEXT*, *NEXT*, *NEXT*. And then *NEXT* these
are their menus for breakfast, *NEXT* lunch, *NEXT* brunch, *NEXT* and some desserts.

*NEXT* Farmstand is on Drury Lane and also offers a lot of good-looking food. *NEXT* These are a
couple photos *NEXT*. Then here *NEXT* is their breakfast menu *NEXT*. *NEXT* This is their lunch &
dinner menu *NEXT*. And then this *NEXT* is the interior of the café, and *NEXT* this is just a couple
more of their dishes.

*NEXT* So from looking at the prices from these restaurants, I budgeted £5 ($8.91 CAD) for breakfast
each day, *NEXT* £10 ($17.81 CAD) for lunch, *NEXT* £15 ($26.60 CAD) for dinner, *NEXT* and £5
($8.91 CAD) for snacks. *NEXT* The total budget per day is then $62.23 CAD, and the total budget for
food for the trip is $311.15 CAD.
LODGING

There were many different options of places that I could stay at, and I decided on one between
these three. All of their prices include the flights. *NEXT* First is the Gallery Hyde Park Hostel in
Notting Hill for $879 CAD. The benefit of this one was that it does come with free breakfast.
*NEXT* Next is the Safestay London Kensington Holland Park in Kensington for $877 CAD. The
benefit of this one is its 4-star rating and good location. *NEXT* And my other was the
Lewisham Hostel in London for $906 CAD, with the benefit of all of the rooms having either 8
beds or less.

*NEXT* I decided on the Safestay in Kensington for $883. This includes exchange and taxes and
everything. *NEXT* It is the hostel with one of the cheapest prices yet has a good location and
is rated the highest. *NEXT* This is the room I decided on. It has free Wi-Fi, park views, and
heating and daily housekeeping. *NEXT* And then here I just have some photos, so you can see
kind of what the hostel looks like.

TRANSPORTATION DURING VACATION

After arriving in London, I plan to use *NEXT* the Gatwick Express to travel from the airport in
to central London, and then vise-versa for my return trip because it is the most direct route.
*NEXT* The tickets cost £19.80 per journey, which is $35.55 CA. I will need to pay this twice for
the two times that I travel from the airport to London and back to the airport, so in total I
would be paying $71.10 CA.

*NEXT* For the remainder of my trip, I’m choosing to travel mainly using an Oyster Card. It’s
the cheapest way to pay for single journeys on *NEXT* the bus, tram, DLR, London Overground,
Tube, Tfl Rail and most National Rail services in London. *NEXT* I would then use these
different modes of transportation with my Oyster Card to travel around London and to the
Hostel that I am staying at near Holland Park. *NEXT* I would load the card with a £12.50 daily
price cap (which is $22.44 CA). Then, multiplied by 5 days, I would be putting a total of $112.20
CA on the card. If I don’t use all of this money, I can get a refund. *NEXT* And then, for any
short distances, I will be walking.

*NEXT* With all of these transportation costs added together, including the $16 to get to and
from the airport in Vancouver, I am budgeting $200 on transportation during my vacation.

ITINERARY

The activities I planned for each day were chosen either around a certain theme or they were
all activities located around the same place.
*NEXT* My first day, on April 5th, is going to surround Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, and
Museums. Since my flight landed a little before noon, I’m probably going to be pretty tired
from travelling. So for my first day I wanted to do some things that were closer to my hostel
accommodation. I chose to first visit *NEXT* Hyde Park & the Kensington Gardens, which are
both free. There I can see *NEXT* the outside of the Kensington Palace, *NEXT* wander the
Kensington Gardens, *NEXT* visit the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, *NEXT* and see the
Peter Pan statue. Next I want to visit two different free museums that are also in the area.
*NEXT* First is the Victoria and Albert Museum, *NEXT*, *NEXT*. *NEXT* Then I also really
want to see the Natural History Museum, *NEXT*, *NEXT* which is absolutely beautiful.

*NEXT* The total cost of the activities for this day is free.

*NEXT* On my second day, April 6th, I will travel to the region around Westminster. *NEXT* I
will first go for a tour *NEXT* of the Buckingham Palace State Rooms, *NEXT* which costs
£24.00 ($42.72 CAD)*NEXT*. *NEXT* Next is the Westminster Abbey, *NEXT* which costs £20
*NEXT*($35.60 CAD). *NEXT* Then I will be seeing Big Ben *NEXT* and the Palace of
Westminster, *NEXT* which is free. *NEXT* Lastly I will finish the day by going up in the
London Eye, *NEXT* which costs £24.30 ($43.26 CAD).

*NEXT* The total cost for this day’s activities is $121.58 CAD.

*NEXT* My third day, April 7th, is going to be centred around some things to do with Sherlock
Holmes. *NEXT* I’ll be seeing the National Gallery *NEXT**NEXT**NEXT*/*NEXT* Trafalgar
Square *NEXT*, which is free. *NEXT* Then there’s also Piccadilly Circus, *NEXT* and *NEXT*
also St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, *NEXT*. *NEXT* Lastly I would see the Sherlock Holmes
Statue and then *NEXT* visit the Sherlock Holmes’ Museum, which costs £15 ($26.60 CAD).

*NEXT* The total cost for activities this day is $26.60 CAD.

*NEXT* My fourth day, April 8th, is all around Central London. I will be seeing *NEXT* St. Paul’s
Cathedral, *NEXT* which costs *NEXT* £18 ($31.92 CAD) to tour. Then I will see *NEXT* the
London Bridge, followed by *NEXT* a tour of the Tower of London *NEXT* for £22.70
*NEXT*($40.26 CAD). *NEXT* Lastly I will finish the day by seeing Tower Bridge, which is free.

*NEXT* The total cost of the activities for this day is $72.18 CAD.

*NEXT* On my last full day, April 9th, I will be centering this day around Harry Potter. *NEXT* To
start off my day I will be visiting King’s Cross Station. *NEXT* This is Platform 9 ¾, and *NEXT* you can
get your picture taken there. *NEXT* There’s also the shop, *NEXT* where you can buy Harry Potter-
related things. *NEXT* Then the main centre of my day is going to be revolving around going on the
Harry Potter Studio Tour. *NEXT* On the tour you can visit all of the different *NEXT* sets,
*NEXT* see costumes, *NEXT* and explore many different *NEXT* inside aspects of the films.
*NEXT* This tour costs £41.00 *NEXT* ($72.72 CAD).

*NEXT* The total cost for the activities this day is $72.72 CAD.

*NEXT* In the grand total, all of the activities I have planned in my itinerary cost $293.08 CAD.

CONCLUSION

To summarize, *NEXT* my Budget was $1,950. *NEXT* I spent $908.90 on my Flight &
Accommodations, *NEXT* $200.00 on Transportation, *NEXT* $311.15 on Food, *NEXT* and
$293.08 on Activities. *NEXT* This leaves me $237.87 (roughly £26.71 per day) for Spending
Money.

*NEXT* After researching travelling to this destination, I would still love to go to London. I
actually want to go even more. *NEXT* Even though I now see how truly expensive it is, I still
think it is worth it for everything that I could do and see, and how amazing the experience could
be.

BIBLIOGRAPHY