Wise Thoughts

As part of a Europe tour I stayed at Hotel Schutzen, Switzerland for two nights. It was organised as part of a group tour package but prices are typically £120 per person per night. We had been advised that accommodation in Switzerland was very expensive and we might have to share a room with up to 5 other people. Hotel Schutzen has many rooms where you can book as part of a group booking to save money. Many of the rooms in the hotel do not have en-suite facilities but there are toilets on every floor and the communal showers are found on the second floor. I was lucky enough to have my own private room with en suite facilities.

I stayed on the third floor with a lovely view of the mountains from my window. Although the temperature was below freezing outside the hotel and the rooms were very warm and toasty, you could even turn up the temperature as all the rooms were individually controlled. There was a sink in the room with a small room in the corner that housed the toilet and shower. The bedding and mattress were very comfortable to sleep on.

Dinner at the hotel restaurant is too expensive so I wouldn’t recommend it, we ate there once and wasn’t really impressed, it looked good but wasn’t anything extraordinary. There are many other places to eat in the area that is cheaper and there is even a supermarket that sells sandwiches and salads for a few Swiss francs if you want to save money.

The area around the hotel is excellent, lovely views, shops and even a Laundromat. The train network can be reached by a short 10 minute walk; it connects you to all the ski slopes and tourist attractions such as Jungfrau – The top of Europe.

The owner of the hotel was very rude but reception staff was friendly and accommodating. The front door closes at 9pm when reception staff go home so if you need to enter you need to use the hotel restaurant door. After 11pm when the restaurant door closes you need to use a side entrance where the code is given at reception. Wi fi access is free, the code is available from reception and connection wasn’t a problem.

After finding that it costs £120 per person per night to stay there I find it overpriced as it was very basic accommodation.

Before I even got pregnant I always knew that I wanted to have a 4D san of my baby before he/she  was born, so when I did my baby budget I also included £200 for a private scan package so I wouldn’t be left short when the time came. A year after the budget was made I am now 30 weeks pregnant and went for my 4D scan at Golders Hill health Centre in Golders Green.

What is a 3D/4D scan compared to 2D?
A 2D scan is what is normally offered in all NHS hospitals as part of your antenatal care and so see of the baby is growing properly and to determine an accurate due date. 2D scans are flat images that are black and white and show an outline or skeletal image of the baby. A 3D image is shows you the features such as ears, eyes, nose and body parts such as the legs and arms. It is also more realistic and looks more like a photograph of the baby than a scan image. 4D is basically moving 3D images of the baby moving in ‘live time’ you can see things such as kicking, smiling, sucking their thumb, yawning and sticking their tongue out. It is also easier to determine the sex of the baby as it would be very hard to miss at this stage and with better imaging.

I know most people will not be able to justify the cost of a 3D/4D scan but it was one of those things that I wanted and I planned and saved the money long before I fell pregnant, but the money was never the issue in the first place. I wanted to find a place that was well known and had many satisfied customers and reviews.

Like all private 3D scan companies they cannot guarantee a good clear picture, it also depends on the co-operation from the baby and the size. If the baby is in a good position you will get good pictures if you are further along the baby may be squashed because they have run out of room so the pictures will not be varied.

Babybond Golders Green
I wanted my family to experience this with me as it is my first child and the first grandchild for my mum, I emailed and was told that up to 4 people could come in with me. I took along my husband (of course), mother, sister and my 76 year old grandmother. Being 76 my grandmother never had scans in her days for any of her four children as they didn’t exist then. She also never got to see her children have scans so I thought it would be a good experience for her to see how technology had evolved and we could now see our future children in 3D beforehand. The Golders Green centre have a small parking at the rear of the building for their clients but as appointments are on a Sunday you can park on the road outside if you wish too. If you have to use the A406 leave in good time as the traffic is really bad due to the road works that have been ongoing for the last few years. To enter you need to use the side entrance where there is a bell for Babybond.

We were 20 minutes late due to the horrible traffic but we were welcomed and told that they were also running behind by 20 minutes so we waited in a very cosy and clean lounge area. The receptionist brought down the paperwork and I signed and paid the remainder of the scan, they only ask for a deposit of £30 at the time of booking to secure the appointment. You can pay the rest on the day; I went for option II that was £179, so I paid the remaining balance of £149 by card when I arrived.

After a little while we went to the top floor but there is a lift should you need to use it, on the top floor there is another little waiting area where you can see a few pictures of previous 3D scans. We then went in and were greeted by a male sonographer. He took down my estimated due date and put warm jelly on my stomach area, it starts of in 2D then switches to 4D. It was amazing to see my little person with little features staring back at me. We didn’t want to know the sex so the sonographer told us to look away when he had to measure the femur (leg bone).

We got to see our baby move, make faces, stick out his tongue and open his eyes. It was an amazing experience and wasn’t rushed at all. We got a 15 minute DVD of the scan in 4D and another CD with all the pictures; we got 4 or 5 thermal 3D pictures and many more black and white printouts too. I really enjoyed the scan and thought that it was professional and fabulous; it only took 5 minutes to make the DVD, CD and print out the pictures.

Babybond in Golders Green was excellent and ideal as they did them on a Sunday making it more convenient for those who work during the week. There are many other clinic locations but my experience was for the one at Golders Green and I couldn’t fault it.

During my recent short break to Venice I checked into Hotel Venezia for two nights. Hotel Venezia is just 15 minutes from Venice with a bus service nearby; there is an abundance of shops in the vicinity for those that want to stock up on leather goods or good quality Italian clothing.

The hotel is not hard to spot as it has a large illuminated plaque showing its location; it is found just before the entrance of a shopping centre so is not hard to miss if you get lost. The reception area and lobby is very spacious and clean. If you like classic hotels then this is the one for you as all the furnishings are very antique but many may be put off with the room decor as it is pink and gold!

The rooms are nice though seem very old, the room has temperature control but the minimum temperature was 25⁰C and the maximum 30⁰C, even when switched off the room was too hot and I had to open the window to sleep otherwise I would’ve suffocated. The pillows are terrible so it’s advisable to get better ones from reception. It can get noisy during the evening so it was hard to get a good night’s sleep.

The bathroom is incredibly small with an oversized sink and toilet squashed into a corner, be prepared for flooding as most showers are wet rooms so the entire floor gets wet! We got an unexpected wakeup call at 7am even though we didn’t ask for one! Very annoying if you are a light sleeper and cannot get back to sleep afterwards. Breakfast was basic tea, coffee, bread, cereal, fruit and yoghurt.

One interesting point I would like to make is the wi fi access at the hotel, when you talk to reception staff you are asked to pay a ridiculous amount of €5 for an hour or so but the actual fact is wi fi is free! All you need to do is key in your room number as the password for you to have free internet access. So don’t feel obliged to pay for something that is offered free in practically all hotels in Europe! Another scam was that they have bus tickets on sale at reception but they add a little extra so they make a profit. If you don’t want to give them the pleasure of doing so purchase your bus tickets elsewhere!

Two weeks ago as part of a tour of Europe I stayed at Forest Hill Hotel, 15 minutes away from the centre of Paris. After checking in and leaving my belongings in my room I went out to explore Paris in the evening. Upon my return a few hours later to my horror another person had also checked in their stuff into my room! Reception had made an error and assigned me a room that was not meant to be mine but because I was there first I got to keep it! There was not safe in the room and feel extremely lucky that none of my possessions were stolen.

The hotel itself looks nice but us very old! The bed is squeaky and extremely uncomfortable! I had to ask for another pillow as mine was far too flat and deflated to get a good night’s sleep on. Reception staff do not know much and can be very rude, when asked about wi fi the reception staff said it was free but as they do not have a pin anyone from around the area can access it so the connection is very slow or in some cases nonexistent! For people that need an internet connection for business purposes it was very poor.

Breakfast was laughable, the queues sometimes were so long it was outside the entrance, people on business and groups use this hotel a lot so breakfast time was always busy. There was the standard, bread, cereal, fruit and yoghurt and that was really it.

The location is ok as there is a supermarket just opposite for those who want to save money on snacks and a few restaurants but we found that these were too expensive for the location. The metro is just a short walk from hotel around 5 minutes but not very safe if alone or even as a couple are there are many unsavoury characters lurking. There are many people who gather in the area with their enormous dogs as warning to beware when going out at night.

The hotel has a restaurant and bar on sight but staff speak very little English and the prices are too expensive. The Hippopotamus restaurant has too much hype surrounding it; you would be better off heading into Paris. The lobby is sometimes dirty and the chairs not very comfortable, I didn’t like this hotel at all and would not recommend it. It has an official 3 star rating but should be more like one star!

After asking my mum what she wanted for her birthday I decided to buy through Next, my mum has bought suits from them for years and they last a long time. Unfortunately for her she cannot afford to shop the regularly so usually asks for clothing from Next when it’s her birthday or Mothers day.

After shopping in store at Next I found that they never had her size, they did offer to order it in for me but I refused as I wanted to purchase the blazer, trousers and shirt together. I decided to do it online instead. I found Next online to be one the worst designed websites I have ever come across, the links at the bottom of the page do not work and the contact us section failed on me numerous times too. Anyhow I found the suit I liked a continued to check out, I then decided to buy a few other items as I had already reached more than £100, the total of my basket then came up to nearly £200.

I needed the items very soon and the website stated that delivery could be placed until 9pm for next day delivery; I placed mine early as I didn’t trust this statement. Most places I have shopped with online have given me free delivery for purchases over £75 I was very shocked that after spending twice that amount Next still had the audacity to charge me a further £3.99 for delivery. They were also cheeky to try and persuade me to get the catalogue for £3.75 instead of paying £3.99 for delivery, I couldn’t believe it!

Next delivery sham
I found that it clearly states that when you place an order for next day delivery you will be given a choice of delivery times either AM or PM I was given no such choice. I tried changing the day to get delivery time options but it remained the same, I even tried to change my delivery address and still was not given the option to choose my delivery time. Why do they state this on their website when it is clearly a lie?

I didn’t enjoy my online shopping experience with Next at all and their delivery service has just further put me off! I don’t like the claims they may for them to turn out false in the end, the only thing they did do right was send me an email on the morning of delivery giving me a one hour time slot that the courier managed to adhere to. If you want a pleasant online shopping service and flawless delivery then Next is not for you!

In this tutorial, we’ll introduce the art of digital photography and the use of DSLR cameras to accomplish that. It is important to note that photography in itself reflects the creativity of the person taking the pictures and not necessarily mean you need to get a top of the range digital camera. However the ability of your camera will determine how good your shots are going to be and hence it is advisable that you consider getting a dSLR than sticking with a point and shoot one.

Things we’ll be covering in this online digital photography course:

• DSLR vs Point and Shoot cameras
• Composition – How it affects your final picture
• Long exposure shots (we’ll talkt about light meter)
• Freezing motion
• Bracketing – Why do you need it
• Exposure compensation
• Focal lengths and aperture
• Why use aperture priority mode on your dSLR camera
• Taking pictures with a bright background
• How to maintain and clean your camera and lens

This tutorial will be updated as we go along and if there’s anything else that you want to know, then suggest it in a comment.

When I bought my dSLR camera (Nikon 5000), it came with an 18-55mm lens which is a very good lens. It gives me sharp pictures and I didn’t really have any complaints besides that it couldn’t give me closer shots. There were times I wished I had a more powerful lens to enable me to zoom on far away objects better and when I couldn’t take it anymore, I decided to buy myself a Sigma 70-300mm DG APO lens. See the difference in zooming capabilities for yourself:

Nikon Lens at 55mm

Sigma Lens at 300mm

Sigma Lens at 70mm

Sigma Lens at 200mm

The pictures speak for themselves and as you can see there’s a massive difference from the shot at 55m to the one at 300mm. Although the Nikon lens is a better lens than the Sigma and you can see that clearly in the images above because the one taken from the Nikon lens appears to be sharper, I opted for the Sigma lens because for the price (£160) that I paid for, it was a real bargain to obtain a lens with such a zoom. I’ve included pictures taken at 200mm as well so that you can have an idea how far the lens is going to reach as well.

Once you’ve bought your dSRL, you will soon outgrow the standard lens that comes with it and if you want to get great shots at long distances, then investing in a powerful zoom lens is a must. Many people choose to buy a 200mm lens and they’ve very decent as well but if you want to bring that far away object very near, then you would need a longer lens. You can go to as much as 1200mm if you can afford it.

Going on a touring holiday as opposed to going on short break holidays can work out cheaper and more convenient. Most touring holidays are done by coach or train but some may combine some air travel too, all accommodation, taxes and excursions are pre-planned so you have less to worry about. You can have a tour guide or an independent touring holiday that has a suggested itinerary to save you from doing it yourself.

There are many tour operators that are benefiting from touring holidays as more holidaymakers young and old look to save money but still travel to experience different cultures and places of interest. Europe is one of the most talked about tours as being part of the EU means you don’t need a visa so travelling through all the countries are easier, it’s cheaper too.

Most people like to travel by plane as its quicker but coach and train travel means that the journey is more flexible, for example if you were to fly directly to Italy you would miss some places of natural beauty in France and Switzerland, but if you go on a train or coach holiday then you can stop for a day or so and add another country to travel scrapbook.

Coach and train holidays can be comfortable, most have reclining seats, entertainment and toilets on board so you don’t have to worry about rest stops and the reclining seats make it more comfortable.

The only downside to touring holidays can be the accommodation if you are going as part as a large group then there may be places where you will need to share rooms. If you don’t mind or don’t have the money to spare to upgrade then you are stuck in a room with people you don’t know. Room sharing can be fun but for couples it may mean a lack of privacy. Some places such as Switzerland have hostels where the rooms are shared by up to 6 people and no private wash facilities in the room. It means that communal toilets and showers are on a different floor where budget holiday travellers can share.

Touring holidays can be fun and exciting but there are many things you need to check too, like what excursions are included in the price, what excursions need to be paid for, how much excursions are in general and what type of accommodation is used. It is your responsibility to check the small print and double and triple check all details. Otherwise you may find that it was a deal too good to be true for a reason.

To some people, it might come as a surprise to be quoted £1500 for a car which is worth only £500. However the car insurance industry seems to be getting more expensive every year. Blame it on the recession, the increased number of uninsured drivers or a rise in motor accidents but the fact remains that getting a car insured these days can cost you quite a lot. Therefore before even buying a car, it is worth looking at the cheap cars to insure as this will save you from beating your head against the wall afterwards.

Of course, this approach does not give you much choice in the first place. You could have set your eyes on the latest Audi out there but when you find out that it’s going to cost you several thousands of pounds to get it insured, you’re most likely to change your mind, unless you can afford that amount of money.

It is important to understand that cars which are cheapest to insure are also cars which are cheap to buy. This makes sense because if you buy a car for £3000 and it becomes a total write off after an accident, then the insurer will only have to pay out £3000 to get you a new one while a car costing £15,000 will be more expensive to insure. Things like easy availability of parts play an important role in the whole car insurance quoting process and that is why having a basic understanding of what goes on behind the quoting system is an intelligent way to reverse engineer the process and get you a cheap and decent premium.

Sure there are things like the amount of no claims discount that you own but this seems to be more geared towards people with more driving experience. So young drivers will definitely not benefit from it and are better off making the right choice in the first place. It isn’t a good feeling to have to do something against your own will but if you want a car that’s going to be cheap in terms of insurance purposes, then you’re going to have to swallow your pride and go for what’s going to benefit you financially.

You do not want to drive without insurance and risk getting banned. Believe me, you’ll get caught sooner than you think and regret it for a long time. So do your research well and stick with something that’s going to be economical and you’ll soon find out that it’s going to pay off afterwards. You need to be objective and buy the cheapest car to insure instead of feeding your ego and struggle with the finances of running a car.

During my recent visit to Iceland I did experience some local Icelandic food. It was a little strange eating Chinese food, Italian food and Indian food in Iceland but it’s an experience, most of these restaurants are owned by Icelandic people so the food is a combination of two cuisines.

Madonna restaurant in Iceland is located on a small quiet road near the city centre of Reykjavik about a 10-15 minute walk. Its located on Rauðarárstíg 27 very close to Foss Hotel and the central bust station, we discovered this restaurant when we stayed a few minutes up the road at Reykjavik Hotel. So you could say that finding this restaurant was more of a convenience than anything else.

From the outside the restaurant doesn’t look special or inviting, you can tell by the name and the menu that it is Italian restaurant. Madonna restaurant is also open during the day for lunch but only for a few hours. It closes and then re-opens for evening meals, when you go in its very inviting and big, very deceiving from the outside as it looks very small. When we went on a Thursday evening there was one couple and a single man already at the restaurant.

For an Italian restaurant I expected the menu to be very limited to pastas and pizzas but to my amazement there was a little of everything. Of course all the food was very Italian but they had other dishes that I would never have guessed would be an Italian specialty. I had a seafood pasta dish and my partner had a freshly made pizza. The seafood pasta was amazing it was unlike anything I had ever tasted and the pizza was also very tasty, not like the badly made ‘Italian’ ones made her in England.

The portion sizes were also very generous so by the time we finished we were very full, but I did manage to have a small chocolate dessert that was also very delicious. There was only one waiter but he was very efficient and looked after the handful of people that were there. It is a very romantic restaurant with soft lighting and new furnishings, I wouldn’t hesitate to go back again and recommend this restaurant to anyone who will be staying in the area as I really enjoyed my meal there. The only problem is it closes very early 10pm every evening so you would need to go a little early but the service is quick so you would be in and out within an hour.