Yesterday we got our BritRail passes in the mail--which is not really that interesting all by itself, so let me explain.
The BritRail Passes are our gateway to all of England!! It was after several weeks of deliberations and calculations (at my Dad's insistance) to see if the passes would save us any money. (So you know: it took several weeks to weigh all the options because there are so many!)
BritRail Passes are designed for foreigners traveling in Britain (i.e. us!) Apparently you can't buy them in the UK, which is also why it took several weeks to decide whether to get it or not because we had to make sure that we would use it on worthwhile sidetrips.
The option we chose was England-only (not Scotland, Ireland, or Wales) and 8 flexible days over a two month period, because we're hoping to use the passes for some short week-end trips (that might not actually occur on a weekend :P).
All-in-all we save about $200 for the both of us--which is probably due to the youth discount. In some respects, I almost wish we got the Scotland and Wales trains included--but that was way more expensive, and we might not have time to use it to go see both (though that's probably not true...)
I won't discuss the trip-plans just yet because they aren't finalized--and people keep telling us what we should go see (just the other day someone was telling us to go to see Normandy beach while we're "across the pond"!)
Cheers!
~Laura
P.S. Thank you Eric and Jenn for continuing to read and comment on this blog... methinks we have lost our audience :P
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5 comments:
You're Welcome,
Now you see why mathematics is so important! It's even better if you can model your options as functions and use the 1st and 2nd derivatives to... *ahem*, got a overexcited there :)
AHHH!!! Eric, you know I can't think in Math--now you've just confused my brain :P Let's hope it's not permanent!! See ya later!
~Laura
P.S. wait a minute... do you mean to say that you would actually weigh all of your options based on a mathematical equation? Lol, by the time I'd solve it, I'd probably be BACK from England :P
But you did solve it. You bought what you thought was the best value. The hardest part would be figuring out how to make a model.
PS
I would use a really simple equation like taking the price of pass divided by the number of times you plan to use it. Price/uses = price per trip. The lowest one uses the least money per trip. simple division and comparison. Easy!
PSS
But making decisions like that is mostly an economic decision. Mainly opportunity costs. ;)
I am Scottish, Irish, and Welsh.
I'm offended by your decision to shun my mother countries.
Considering I am also English, I will look it over...this time.
I'm here. Now that I was able to subscribe to you on bloglines, I will be able to see all of your updates much more easily. :)
Love,
C
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