GABIT attendees thread

[Tracy Jane]

Kat was talking about booking a group outing to the Pheasant, to make sure there was room for us all etc.

I really enjoyed it there. Nice, reasonably priced food (by our standards, LOL) and not too far!

I had a bad back last Gabit, thanks to a car accident I had about a week or two beforehand, so I wasn't able to walk very far or very fast.

[AmberMoon]

Just googling around and I found some good travel information.

If you want to make sure everything you bring with you is legal or allowed on carry-on (or even in checked baggage), here's the link at TSA that gives you the do's and don't's.

And here's a link to frequently asked questions of Heathrow Security. If you're not sure if the food you're bringing into the country is legal or not, try this link.

[antoa]

I am definitely up for a walk anytime. My definition of 'walking distance' is a bit skewed (I walked 8 miles round trip to the fabric store once just because).

Also, I am trying to get various opinions about how much I need to budget for food. I don't want to take out too much money and be left with a whole ton at the end of my week stay, but I also would like to avoid a second trip (and another fee) to the ATM. So far I am estimating about 20 GBP a day (this is one main meal and a smaller lunch - assuming I have the free breakfast or eat one of the cliff bars I am going to bring).

Also, the exchange rate between the pound and the euro isn't too bad, right? So I could just exchange my money in Ireland.

[Skydiver]

last i looked, .50 = 1 pound, .60 = 1 euro

my experience last time, prices are about the same there as here in that, a pub meal would be 7-10 pounds + drink, or a chocolate bar or bottle of pop is 1 pound'ish, so maybe 15 pounds for dinner at an average place, 25 pounds if it's a nice place, then double that and you have the dollar amount

[suse]

the pheasant, i was gonna say it was something bird like

and yeah, 'fish and chips' really means half a freaking cod with a few fries to break it up.

Does it have the head; tail and skin still on it?

I've hears rumors of fish-heads. I can't look at it and eat it.

lol It taked everything I have to eat crab legs, and I love 'em. I'm not fond enough of the taste of fish to ignore dinner looking at me.

suse

[Skydiver]

i think it had its head, or maybe it had been cut off, i can't recall, but it was covered in batter so easy to ignore

I don't do fish either really. I'm from the midwest, we eat stuff with legs and hooves, not fins

I'll take a steak over fish every day of hte week and twice on sunday.

beef baby. this is land of the feedlot, where the cows outnumber the people out west.

[suse]

i think it had its head, or maybe it had been cut off, i can't recall, but it was covered in batter so easy to ignore

I don't do fish either really. I'm from the midwest, we eat stuff with legs and hooves, not fins

I'll take a steak over fish every day of hte week and twice on sunday.

beef baby. this is land of the feedlot, where the cows outnumber the people out west.

Moo!!

I like beef.
I just wish we'd use all of the animal for something instead of wasting so much.


Envisions cheap leather.

suse

[Celandine]

i think it had its head, or maybe it had been cut off, i can't recall, but it was covered in batter so easy to ignore

I don't do fish either really. I'm from the midwest, we eat stuff with legs and hooves, not fins

I'll take a steak over fish every day of hte week and twice on sunday.

beef baby. this is land of the feedlot, where the cows outnumber the people out west.

Heh..your in Kansas. I'm in Indiana. Just a few states away and wow about the differences. Well, we have the Lake but still. Here, steak is big, but fish is just as, if not bigger. Trout, bluegill, pike, sturgeon, bass, muskie, etc... Heck, I've even been smelt fishing at night on the beach and have eaten frog legs before. Now, whether those are local or not I care *not* to know. Just as long as they're breaded and fried beyond web-footed recognition and I'm fine with it.

[AmberMoon]

last i looked, .50 = 1 pound, .60 = 1 euro

my experience last time, prices are about the same there as here in that, a pub meal would be 7-10 pounds + drink, or a chocolate bar or bottle of pop is 1 pound'ish, so maybe 15 pounds for dinner at an average place, 25 pounds if it's a nice place, then double that and you have the dollar amount

Sky, I think you might have it a wee bit backwards. According to the currency converter I use with Firefox, it's more like $2.00 gets you £1.00 and $1.58 gets you 1 Euro. This exchange rate changes on a daily basis so if you use a credit/debit card, the cost could be more or less depending on the date/time it's actually processed by your bank.

Here's a good universal currency converter site to help you figure out how much money you need to exchange... http://www.xe.com/ucc/

[Tittamiire]

One of my favourite treats this winter was when some of my friends would go ice fishing (ice is my thing but fishing isn't) and bring back fresh lake trout for dinner, they'd skin it, fillet it, bit of flour on each side and fry it. It was so good.

I love fresh fish, the fresher the better, but then I do also love lamb, pork, beef, chicken, turkey, horse etc, I am not fussy.

Mmm...a good beef steak is a real treat, we ate so well during the BSE scare when the price of beef plummeted. *g*

[ames]

LOL - no, the fish'n'chips you're likely to get from a local chippy will not have the head still attached. It will be breaded and deepfried within an inch of its life. And oh so very, very good - just make sure you either bring a buddy or one heck of an appetite!!!

Sky - I gotta move down there... don't suppose you happen to have a teacher shortage atm, eh? Mmmmmm .... red meat .......then again, we've got our fair share of moo-age up here (Southern Ontario) too, it's just the bulk of them belong to the dairy industry instead

Right, back to GABIT... if it's a Tesco's that you're on about (the shop at the petrol station), they have great pre-packaged sandwiches in a variety of flavours, as well as juice/soda/water and crisps/chocolate, etc. for a very reasonable price. I often stopped in there on the way to school to grab a packed lunch when I was lacking in the leftover department. They often have bulk deals going too, for the soda and crisps.

When it comes to prices, don't try to convert while you're over there - the sheer expense will drive you crazy. Simply pretend that the £ is actually a $, and your stress levels will decrease exponentially As for the taking out of money, on average stuff costs twice as much as it would at home (S. ON prices ... not sure how exactly that compares to the various states). You can survive fairly well on a fiver for lunch and then a 20 for a nice dinner ... so that's going to work out to approx. $50/day. Another thing to remember is that the tax is already in the price of things, so it may seem more expensive, but the price you see is the price you pay! *yay for no surprises at the checkout!*

[Erin13]

Buffalo, that's the best. My folks have a guy at work that goes to Colorado or Kansas hunting every 6 months or so and brings back the meat sells it. Great steaks and ground meat. Yum. From the West Coast though so I do love fish and seafood! Dunganess crab, the best! I'm hoping to try some fish and chips but I'd rather not have the head still attached either.

[SEREN LWCH (MAL)]

11 DAYS TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Skydiver]

i must have got it backwards, but yeah, just convert it at double...but honstly, dont' convert it at all. you start to think about paying two dollars for a soda and thirty dollars for dinner and you'll go nuts

the brit pound is worth more than the euro, but so few places really take it that you're better off getting the pound

[Celandine]

LOL - no, the fish'n'chips you're likely to get from a local chippy will not have the head still attached. It will be breaded and deepfried within an inch of its life. And oh so very, very good - just make sure you either bring a buddy or one heck of an appetite!!!

Sky - I gotta move down there... don't suppose you happen to have a teacher shortage atm, eh? Mmmmmm .... red meat .......then again, we've got our fair share of moo-age up here (Southern Ontario) too, it's just the bulk of them belong to the dairy industry instead

Right, back to GABIT... if it's a Tesco's that you're on about (the shop at the petrol station), they have great pre-packaged sandwiches in a variety of flavours, as well as juice/soda/water and crisps/chocolate, etc. for a very reasonable price. I often stopped in there on the way to school to grab a packed lunch when I was lacking in the leftover department. They often have bulk deals going too, for the soda and crisps.

When it comes to prices, don't try to convert while you're over there - the sheer expense will drive you crazy. Simply pretend that the £ is actually a $, and your stress levels will decrease exponentially As for the taking out of money, on average stuff costs twice as much as it would at home (S. ON prices ... not sure how exactly that compares to the various states). You can survive fairly well on a fiver for lunch and then a 20 for a nice dinner ... so that's going to work out to approx. $50/day. Another thing to remember is that the tax is already in the price of things, so it may seem more expensive, but the price you see is the price you pay! *yay for no surprises at the checkout!*

Thanks for the info on Tesco's. I just may be running cross the street to check them out too as I prolly won't know exactly *what* I'm doing till I get there. I am still considering stuffing some things in my check in though..I'm seriously not picky what I eat. I just thought along the lines of 'When in Rome..." and decided eating out would have been cool for the whole experience of it all. I love the fact that tax is included in the price though. *That* I didnt know at all. Thanks for the heads up.

And don't convert? Seriously, I must. Keeping tabs on how much I'm depleting my debit card just on food will be better for me in the long run when the auction on Saturday begins as I would like to try and bid on something if it strikes my fancy.