100 days

Before I continue, allow me to take a few steps back and tell you a thing or two about my overseas travel experiences thus far. I have been abroad once, to the UK and Ireland with my dance school in July 2001. It was a great trip but it was also very structured. I could still tell you what time I got up on July 8, 2001 and what I put on. No really: 7am. blazer, plaid skirt, white blouse, pantyhose and black shoes. The great thing about that trip was all the work was done for us. There was no need to worry about plane tickets and rail passes. My dance teacher was in charge of the former and we had a chartered bus. I also got a lot of experiences out of it that I wouldn't get going on my own. Like performing in Dublin and attending a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace. I also learned how to shower quickly, a skill which will no doubt come in handy when I'm staying in hostels.

This time around though, I'm after a different kind of trip. One that doesn't involve a printed itinerary with everything planned down to the hour. There are some places I definitely want to see but right now anyway, I want to keep a lot up in the air. I want to have the option of staying in bed all day if I feel like it or taking a random trip somewhere because I can.

I have been informed that I should update my Europe blog :P. Admittedly a few major things have taken place in the planning. One in particular: eg the purchase of plane tickets. That's it folks; it's a done deal. On May 2nd I am going to leave Vancouver, stop over in London for a few boring hours and arrive in Zurich at 6:30. I fly home from London on July 3rd. Everthing that happens between the two is completely up in the air but yea, very exciting indeed.

The funny thing is, I am going to turn 24 someplace over Manitoba or Ontario. Maybe Saskatchewan, which would be pretty appropriate. I'm kind of glad I'm going to ge landing on my birthday, pretty cool way to start the last year of the first quarter of my life.

It's crazy how little time there really is left. Sometimes 3.5 months seems like a long time and then I realize how much needs to be done before then and it feels like not so long at all. It's already the end of week 2 though so I bet the time will fly by.

It's funny though, when I used to think about a Europe trip I had it all planned out, which countries I wanted to visit, how long I'd stay in each one. But now I don't really care to plan much. There are things and places I definitely want to see and am sure that in two months I will but I'm really looking forward to just playing it by ear and seeing what happens.