Really, we had talked about this last fall and thought it might be fun for us to do a big trip before we have kids (here's hoping). This summer, if all goes well, could be our last with just the two of us. But when we did the research we felt the numbers were just too high and didn't want to see all that money go down the drain. So we ditched the plan. Until...
Nick discovered this website that made hoppin' military planes much more understandable. We realized how easy it would be for us to hop from here to California, and on to Delaware and then Europe (Spain or Germany). There are flights connecting these places going out almost daily, sometimes even two to three times a day, and all we need are two empty seats. With the cost of airfare out of the picture, suddenly a trip to Europe was much more accessible.
But I have been wrestling over the pros and cons. We had already made plans to see our families this summer and I've been very excited about it, especially my brother and his family whom I have not seen in TWO years! We were all going to get together in Zion Canyon, a place I fell in love with back in 2000 and have been trying to get back to ever since.
I have also been uncomfortable with the suddenness of it all - WOW, we need to plan for a six week vacation to Europe and be ready within six weeks! I would have liked to have had more time to think everything through, even researching customs and languages and stuff so I wouldn't be such a dumb American tourist. In addition, I have student teaching after I get home, not to mention a very important test to take to certify me as a teacher. In other words, I will have a few things on my mind as I am traveling through Europe.
There is another option. We could go sometime next year, maybe April, and then we could have more than six weeks. This has been another issue. As I look at where I want to go and what I want to do I realize that six weeks (more like five when you consider traveling there and back) really isn't much time to see much of Europe and all it has to offer. Waiting could provide us a few more weeks as we wouldn't have school to return to. I would also be graduated (YEAH!) and be completely at ease on my vacation. And, I could still see my family this summer, if only a little bit. I do miss them very much.
But... it's now or never. Or so we feel. Mostly because I will be working on starting our family very very soon and if God blesses me with a child then Europe will not happen, no matter what trimester I'm in. We'll also be getting our dog back this December (my poor mother has had to deal with the brat for two years) and I don't know about putting him in a kennel for months and I certainly don't wish the terd on anyone else for that long either. So the only way Europe would happen next year is if I remained barren and persuaded my saintly mom to hang on to my dog a while longer...
Better to not take any chances. After our long discussion about all the options, we decided that we need to go and we need to go now!
So the planning continues. I have been searching through tour company itineraries for lengths of about 30 days to see what are the popular destinations and routes of travel. This one looks the closest to what we are thinking, though a little more time will be spent in Spain and I'm not sure that we'll hit up Austria..
1 comment:
Are you kidding ? No airfare to pay and you're still debating? I'd say go go go :)
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