Where Am I Going?

I am truly blessed to have the opportunity and the resources to be able to take this trip. I've always wanted to venture off to Europe. I even started planning a summer trip about 4-5 yrs ago but it just wasn't the right time. So here I am, 7 days away from jumping on a jet plane to fly over the sea, landing in the lovely country of Italy. The tour I'm taking is 9 days beginning on April 28th at 4pm and ends on May 5th after breakfast. I decided to fly into Rome a day early, to get over jet lag of course....not because it puts me landing in Rome the morning OF MY BIRTHDAY! I've also decided to extend the trip a few days; returning home May 8th. I'll have a good three days to explore on my own once the tour ends in Venice.

On April 26th at 10:00 am, I'll set off to JFK from DFW so I can sit there and wait 4 hours for my flight to leave for Rome, Italy. Luckily, I'll be meeting my new friend, Brian, who is also taking the same trip to Italy. I decided back in February that I wanted to take a trip for my 30th birthday. The original plan was to go back to Punta Mita, Mexico and relax for a week basking in the Mexican Sun. After thinking about it, I decided that it made more sense for me to go somewhere new, somewhere I have always wanted to visit. I was going alone anyway, so why not? I did some research and found Contiki Tours; www.contiki.com. I'm just not brave enough to do the entire trip alone. I thought that Contiki was a perfect option for me. I chose the Italian Espresso Tour because it was 9 days, just enough time but not too long. I mean, I still have a job and can't just leave for 3 months. (I WISH!)

Once I signed up and paid for my tour, I started looking around the discussion boards on the Contiki site and came across one that had been started by one person that was going on the same trip as myself. I replied and introduced myself. Eventually, a few others began to post and reply. I was really excited and completely jolted when I met a girl named Sarah....from Oklahoma. We exchanged emails and ended up meeting for brunch in Oklahoma City a week later. We've decided to request to be roommates during the tour so we both won't end up with a rude, unpleasant roommate. WHEW, I'm safe. I was pretty nervous about the whole "random roommate" thing but I was determined to put myself out there and get out of my comfort zone, that's how we learn, remember? I'm happy I did because it has turned out wonderfully so far.

So anyway, I've met Sarah and had a sigh of relief. I'm not really going alone, I have a travel buddy, still sort of a stranger but safe. Then, a new person posts on the discussion board of the ole Italian Espresso Tour. Brian is his name, I call him Preppy. We also exchange emails and begin chatting away about why we are taking this trip. Turns out Preppy has the same birthday as me, April 27th, is flying out of JFK 2 hours before my plane departs, and has decided to extend his trip a couple days after the tour ends as well. We are like the same person!  Ok, not really, he lives in Connecticut, but still, it's so cool. Preppy and I plan to meet up once we both get to Rome and settled into our hotels to celebrate our birthdays on the 27th. I mean, what better way to celebrate your actual birthday than in ROME!

The tour begins in Rome on April 28th. We will be there until Monday, April 30th, departing for Florence. We will make a few stops along the way, like The Leaning Tower of Pisa. We will be in Florence from the 30th to Thursday, May 3rd. On Thursday we depart for Venice, stopping in Verona along the way. On Saturday, May 5th, our tour ends at breakfast in Venice. That's when I will take off on a train over to Monterosso. I will be staying in a hotel right on the beach. If you've never heard of Cinque Terre, check this out. Preppy has decided to go along with me instead of trekking back to Rome for his final days in Italy. We plan to do the hike on the 6th,  he'll leave that night. I plan to lay on the beach and relax on the 7th before heading back to Venice that evening to catch my 7:45 am flight on the 8th.

All in all it's going to be a fun filled adventure. I still don't think it has registered with me that I'm actually going. I have a few things that I am going to do while in Florence that are not a part of the tour. I'll share those as I go....it's going to be a really, really fantastic time!

Ciao!

“Life is either a daring adventure, or it is nothing.” ~ Helen Keller