When I went away in the summer of 2013, it was a very impulsive decision made in March to go away in July for #RayRaysEuroVacay. (Yes that's what I called it. Sue me.) The planning time wasn't that long and I kind of made the decision very quickly and didn't look back. But it was of the best decisions of my life. It was a life-changing 24-day trip and I probably had some of the best times of my life. I was so happy and excited every single day of that trip and thinking about it just makes me smile.
One of the major reasons I want to travel now is not only because I want to see the world, but because although I complain about being single and lonely all the time, it does however give me the flexibility to do whatever I please and that includes traveling wherever I want, whenever I want. That is a big plus and as long as there is no one "tieing me down" I am going to see as much as this world as my bank account and schedule allows me to.
As much as I wanted to return to Europe last summer, I had a lot going on with a summer wedding, going home for bit, and volunteering at Camp Oasis so Europe had to take a place on the backburner. I did however to turn my so-called lemons into lemonade by turning the destination summer wedding into a two week trip to places I had never been. This summer though, I wanted to go back to Europe so bad. Of course I want to revisit some of my favorites like London, Paris, Amsterdam, and pretty much all of Italy, but I have to set my sights on new places as well.
For this summer, I decided I wanted to hit up Spain and Greece. These are two countries I haven't been to and really want to see. I had made this decision in early November and when I finally got the Insight Vacations tour book in the mail soon after, it was if it was meant to be. I felt like a kid in a candy store looking through that book. I wish I had all the time and money in the world to see it all. There are so many places I want to visit! Soon enough my friends, soon enough. I hope.
Unfortunately, the dates of the tour trips for Spain and Greece didn't work out (there was about nine days in between them that I'd have to figure out what to do with. Not to mention, doing both with a tour would be ridiculously expensive. So instead, I had to pick just one and then make an adjustment on where else I wanted to visit. So this time around, my Europe trip will be for 19 days and only seeing three countries. Compared to my first Europe trip that included travel to eight countries it seems so minimal, but its really not. I will be going to Spain, Portugal, and The Czech Republic (specifically Prague). (Greece will have to remain on the wait list and will not be forgotten.) This time around I will also be doing a lot more of it solo. I wanted to go the tour route again though for some part of it because I wanted to cover a lot of ground and not worry about booking all the hotels and transportation from place to place. And also to not have to make reservations or wait in lines at museums. It worked for me last time, and I hope it will be just as great this time. And maybe this time around, my group will be a little younger and I won't be the only American. But really, the make-up of the group isn't a huge worry for me because my end goal is to see and learn as much as possible and that happened last time.
At the start of the trip, I will be by myself for a bit, then I'll be with the group for about 9 days, and then the rest of the time traveling by myself. I will legit be in a foreign country, where they don't speak English, alone. Ahhhhh. This is big for me. As someone as independent as myself, I am eager to give it a try. As I gain more and more solo travel experience, things will get more comfortable each and every time. And who knows? Perhaps, my general sense of direction and ability to read maps will also improve. Eeeeek.
So anyway, the agenda for #RayRaysEuroVacay2 is Barcelona, Valencia, Granada, Seville, Lisbon, Salamanca, Toledo, Madrid, Prague. It's a pretty solid itinerary with so much to see and do...and eat. (And the way the tour goes, I am sure there are a few other small cities/towns in there that we will stop at.) I don't know much about many of these places so I have to diligently do my research with the travel books. (And brush up on my Spanish naturally.) With my type-A personality, this won't be a huge problem. There are lots of lists to come in my future. Lots.
If you couldn't tell, I am super pumped for this and need to just blink and have it be July tomorrow. But in the meantime, I have a ton of planning to do before now and then; sites, restaurants, hidden gems. I want to see and do as much as I can. If you've been to any of these places, let me know in the comments what's a must. Wahoo!!
hope to have a vacation soon too~
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