 Day 50: Party |
I think it ends up being one of the hottest days whenever we have some sort of party to go to around Sydney. It totally wipes us out, and I get really lazy when trying to make my daily post. So, in my laziness, I thought an idea for a cool compilation post — one that YOU can be a part of.
What can you do with $50 in your city?
For example, 50 bucks in Sydney won’t get you much. It might get you a bed in the YHA hostel in the Rocks and a kebab. Or, it might get 2 people a date at the movies (two tickets, a popcorn and two frozen cokes).
So, leave me a comment below with your current city and what $50 will get you there. I’ll put together the post with your responses next week.
>> See the results post: Fun with 50 Bucks in Cities Around the World
$50 in Edmonton can go a decent way if you come at the right time. In the summer there’s a lot of festivals and many are free (or cheap). You could wander around West Edmonton Mall and see free things like the Santa Maria or the fire breathing dragon. You can get around on the buses/train with daypass for $9. The last Thursday evening of every month the Art Gallery of Alberta has free admission. The Royal Alberta museum has $5 admission on weekends from 9-11am. There’s free tours at the legislature grounds, and lots of walking trails in the river valley. Wandering around Whyte Ave or High Street is always nice.
Where it get’s harder is the the food and lodging. Edmonton only has two hostels, and they start at about $35/night. Camping (legally) is about the same price. You could couchsurf and save money that way. Edmonton doesn’t have a lot cheap food, like street food, except in the summer when the festivals are on. But you can get a medium Tim Horton’s coffee and a muffin for less than $2. It’s fast food, but it’s Canadian…kinda.
In Ottawa, the Backpackers Inn is 25$/night and is right downtown. In the winter you can rent skates to visit the Rideau Canal Skateway for 16$ for two hours, grab a beavertail or two (yummy pastry) at 4$ each while exploring the Winterlude acitivies. In the summer, you can bus over to Gatineau for 3$ and explore Gatineau Park’s gorgeous hiking trails through the hills for free. Then come back down and enjoy a nice dinner at one of the many pubs and restaurants in the Byward Market. There is always a festival on in the summer here, In may the tulip festival, in June and July the music festivals and early august the Buskers festival are must-sees.
$50 in Santiago can go quite a long way. That’s usually what my husband and I spend on a nice dinner out, which compared to US prices isn’t too bad, but you can get far more than that as a visitor.
A night at a hostel in a good location downtown will run you $16 or so. Lunch at the central market (la vega central) is ridiculously cheap, quite good and includes free people watching – you’ll pay $4. Going up the funicular on Cerro San Cristobal for a great view of the city is a whopping $3.50, and a nice glass of mote con huesillo (peach juice with wheat hominy – really yummy and refreshing in summer) is another $2 or so. You can walk around the downtown area and see the main sights for free, so we’re at about $25 for most of the day, leaving you plenty of money for a solid dinner ($10), drinks ($3/beer) and even a souvenir or two.
I live in Stuttgart, Germany and for $50 you can have quite a nice day. First, I would start with a walk through the vineyards on the Wine Way that leads up to the beautiful Rotenberg Chapel perched on a nice little hill for excellent views of Stuttgart – all for free. Then I would head to either the World’s Largest Pig Museum or the Mercedes-Benz Museum, depending on your interests, both of which are close by. Admission for the Pig Musuem is ~$6, admission for the Mercedes-Benz Museum, ~$10.
Then I would head to the Stuttgart Market Hall where a selection of fine gourmet foods is just waiting for you – perfect for the picnic you’re about to have. You could get a nice picnic lunch for under $15. One minute later you have arrived at your picnic destination – The Castle Garden, where you can picnic in front of the New Castle and glimpse at the Old Castle just across the street. People watching is also a good option here since on the other side is the pedestrian only Konig Street.
To work off your lunch, it’s worth walking around the Castle Grounds, exploring the Stuttgart Opera House, and then checking out Stuttgart’s most famous church, the the Collegiate Church which dates back to the 12th century – all for free.
Now it’s time to eat again -no dieting in Germany allowed. We’re headed to an outdoor table at the Cafe Planie, which has the largest selection of mouth watering cakes in town, along with decadent cappucinos which will set you back about $10.
Throw in a return ticket for the train at ~$5, which you will need to get to the vineyards and you’re sitting at about $40 and have seen some of my favorite parts of Stuttgart.
Kraków/Poland – $50 can give you a lot:
- room for two/1 night in a good hotel
or
- great dinner with huge cold beer (for two or even three people) at Main Square
or
- 6 cinema tickets
or
- grocery shopping for a few days
or
- tickets to all rooms and apartaments (for two) to Wawel Royal Castle
or
- date at movies: $15 for two tickets + $35 dinner for two
or
- 3 bottles of vodka
Lets see… in Austin the hostel will run you $25/night.
Most shows downtown are free. If you go and see a big one you will have to fork over $15 or so.
If you arrive on a Thursday you can drink at my favorite bar where anything on tap (including Guinness) is $2/pint.
If you want to eat our awesome trailer fare you’ll probably spend the rest of your money there. Gourmet for cheap! And yummy!
You can also spend you day at Zilker Park (which is free) or spend $3 to get into the natural springs – Barton Springs – which stays open all year and is a consistent 68 degrees at all times. Warm in the winter and take your breath away cold during those 100+ degree days. During the summer there is free symphony under the stars. Or you can catch the bats leaving the Congress bridge to forage for food that night – free as well.