Bournemouth, UK + Cleveland, Ohio
It’s the 75th episode, and the epic-ness of this number completely got forgotten by our hosts. They make up for it by naming this episode the Diamond-ish Episode, because they’re not sure whether the 75th anniversary is actually a diamond anniversary. Amazingly, they’re right — so here we are, 75 episodes in, and it’s our Diamond Anniversary! This is an extra-special episode, not only because it’s a big number, but Lulu is recording on 10k Dollar Day’s brand-spanking-new Zoom H6, which has been on our real-life wishlist for over a year. THANK YOU to our Patreon sponsors who made that possible, and now Alison and Lulu are set to bring a true mobile recording studio on all of their trips!
The ladies run down their upcoming Sweden trip and talk about all their expenses so far — they’re really trying to create some 10k experiences but on, you know, a pretty realistic budget. Make sure to keep up with all the social media while they’re traveling to see if they can pull it off! Plus, Alison is gonna use her passport for the FIRST TIME in real life.
And it’s final call for the GIVEAWAY! You can enter the contest by doing any and all of the following!:
Post about us on Facebook = 1 entry
Tweet about us = 1 entry
Post about us on Instagram = 1 entry
Share something about us on your Instagram Story = 1 entry
Leave a comment on one of our Youtube videos = 1 entry
Be a Patreon supporter = 3 entries
Make a one-time donation = 3 entries
Review us on Apple Podcasts then email us a screenshot so we know it was you! = 2 entries
If you aren’t on social media, send us an email with what you like about the podcast, and we will read that on the air = 1 entry
Make sure you tag us, so that we see your entry! - @10KDollarDay
We will announce the winner live on social media when we are on our trip to Sweden (this week!) Stay tuned to #10KVacayStockholm to see all the goings on of our trip!
Alison is always on the lookout for great skincare, and she returned to one of her favorite brands, Sabbatical Beauty since she’s obsessed with their soy and rice scrub mask. She picked up a bunch of trial sizes from their website — perfect for testing and for traveling! Lulu is obsessed with rewards programs and travel points, saying that she is exactly the kind of consumer that is motivated by this. This spirals into a serious #lifehack with CVS coupons. #LuluLifeHacks could be a thing. #LifeHacksWithLulu? #LuluHacks? #Luluhax? We’ll get back to you on that.
We’re also really obsessed with YOU winning our obsession GIVEAWAY…so don’t forget to enter!
Alison continues her wishing-for-things-that-float by adding a Kai Seat Lounge — a beanbag that floats! — to her wishlist. She found them at Pottery Barn, but at the time of this writing, they’re not available there anymore. No worries — we found them here, and for cheaper than Pottery Barn! Hmmm… another lifehack!
Lulu’s passionately wishes for A Better Mammogram machine, or at least one that completely breaks away from the traditional design. Also, she just wants to lie down during the test. She even mentions a blanket. She may not have a realistic idea of how these medical tests are supposed to occur.
Alison starts off her day by asking Lulu if she remembers Downton Abbey, and Lulu is immediately excited. This 10k is all about a self-made Downton Abbey tour! Alison finds a 9-bedroom 1920s house on VRBO that features a sauna and a four-man bath. This generates some speculation on how four people could fit into a bathtub. Thankfully, they stop discussing this before it gets too detailed. For breakfast, she hires a private chef from Dine Indulge to come in and make it for her. She has to meet the minimum spend (technically for seven people), but isn’t that what 10k days are all about?
To take her around to her tour sites, Alison gets a first-class package from Blacklane, and she gets it for twenty-four hours, because her tour spans a lot of area. Her fancy car and driver zip her over to her first stop: Highclere Castle, Downton Abbey’s main location. She takes the castle tour and takes afternoon tea, and then heads to the village of Bampton, which was the filming site of the Downton village scenes. She budgets a cool thousand dollars to spend in the village.
There’s a specific dancing-in-the-library Downton scene that Alison wants to visit, so she goes to Alnwick Castle to see exactly where they filmed it. Alnwick castle has also been seen in Harry Potter movies (Harry learned Quidditch there!) and several other films. All of this sightseeing has definitely worked up her appetite, so she finds a place that has brunch every day! Her brunch at Blake’s Kitchen includes fancy toast and, of course, mimosas. She also picks up some cinnamon buns for her and her driver.
Next up: another castle! Alison goes to Lincoln Castle, where some of the jail scenes (or is that “gaol scenes”?) in Downton Abbey were filmed. She buys a family annual pass and then passes it on to a family she finds in the admission line. That’s true 10k spirit! After paying it forward, she discovers Kensington Gardens, a location from a Downton Christmas special. Now, Kensington Gardens is in London, and it’s around this time that it becomes clear that this day is definitely not do-able in twenty-four hours simply from a travel time point of view, but hey, 10k days are about dreaming, right? No rules. So we’re going to go with it.
Dinner isn’t themed to Downton Abbey, but it does feature “serious food in a chilled-out setting.” It’s at Arbor Restaurant back in Bournemouth. She enjoys this menu, which features “nibbles” before the appetizer. Then she eats… again… back at the house she rented. The private chef that made her the breakfast preps a “relax” platter for her. Never one to forget wine, she includes the New World box of wine (not to be confused with boxed wine) from The Jolly Vintner Too. That’s the end of the day. Whew! That chauffeur needs a break! And hopefully some of that wine. Believe it or not, Alison doesn’t break 9k on this day — but if she had included the cost of gas, she probably actually hit the full 10k.
It’s an Ohio kind of month! Even though Alison visited Dayton last week, Lulu decides to spend her 10k in Cleveland. She settled on Cleveland after searching for the world’s best hot dogs (more on those below). Sometimes your tummy does the talking.
First up, she stays at a tried-and-true: the Ritz. The Presidential Suite has everything from a dining table for eight to an iPod docking system. The girls question whether that’s an obsolete amenity. She realizes she skipped breakfast in this day, but since we know that in real life Lulu always travels with protein shakes and usually just has bulletproof coffee for breakfast, we bet she’s covered.
A Cleveland staple is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum, and that is right up Lulu’s alley! She picks up the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Live 9-DVD set while she’s there. That’s a lot to binge. And she’s not done shopping — she heads to the Cleveland Clothing Company for a cute Cleveland tote bag and, mysteriously, eight tee-shirts. Eight tee-shirts, you say? Our interest is piqued.
Next up: lunch — and she gets that hot dog! She goes to Happy Dog Cleveland, where they not only have gourmet hot dogs (and vegan ones, too!), but a lot — and we mean a LOT — of topping choices. Pulled pork on your hot dog? No problem. Froot Loops or Cheetos on there? They can do that too. We’re not sure how we feel about those toppings, but the girls are willing to try them.
Did you know that Lulu collects antique cookbooks in real life? She finds an antique and vintage bookshop which she calls Attendons (thanks, autocorrect), but is actually called Attenson’s Antiques and Books. She budgets a couple hundred dollars to find some old cookbooks, and she’s hoping to find some great ones from the 60s and 70s.
And now, it’s snack time! She picks up some beer-infused donuts at Brewnuts and pairs it with a coffee from Pour Cleveland — a perfect Cleveland afternoon pairing. She’s gonna need that caffeine to pull off the next few hours, since she’s about to throw a vintage dinner party!
She flies in the Sweden trip crew to join her at that eight-seat dinner table. Hmm. Where have we seen that number before? Oh, that’s right, eight tee-shirts! She tells her guests they have to wear a Cleveland shirt on their travel day. How does she get those shirts to them? That’s a 10k mystery. But Producer Ash, Alison, Lulu’s mom Dinty (remember her Guest Googler episode?), Lulu’s dad Ted, and her Swedish friends Hanna, Erik, and Daniel all show up at the Ritz for a 70s dinner party.
The menu is certainly vintage! She includes things like cherry pineapple cheese logs, duck mousse in gelee, beef wellington, lime gelatin salad, and hamburger helper dip (which she recently had at a college party. Should she still be going to college parties?). Also, don’t worry, some of those recipes are linked in case you want to recreate them. And if you do, please tell us. In fact, invite us over. Lulu has thought this through — she gets groceries from Heinen’s, a local grocery store, delivered via Instacart. She also snags some boozy ingredients from Total Wine. To finish off the party, she gets some of this luxe ($100!) salt and a nice Sir Spice selection of gourmet pepper. As an added bonus, everyone at the dinner party gets a Cleveland swag bag filled with more stuff from Cleveland Clothing Company, and includes some party favor jars filled with the rest of the salt! Who doesn’t like a swag bag?!?
CHECK OUT THE CHARITIES WE FOUND IN THE CITIES WE VISITED:
HEY, FRIEND! IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY, FOLLOW US!:
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. For a full understanding of how we use affiliate links on our site, please visit our Policy Disclosures page. Thank you!