Preparing for the Journey

Here I go again!  Oprah keeps talking about "following your passion."  Well the one true passion I have, other than my grandson, is travel.  I absolutely go through withdrawals, like a crackhead, if I don't have a trip planned.  I have a bucket list and this trip is on it.  Bill and I watched a travel video about the fjords in Scandinavia one Saturday afternoon and I told him we really need to go there.  I found a cruise that leaves from England and with the first stop at Bruges Belgium.  We spent one day there with customers years ago and did not get to see much.  It is a beautiful - maybe the most beautiful European city - and I have always wanted to go back.  After a day in Bruges we will cruise to Copenhagen, Oslo and Helsingborg (Sweden).  When we get back to England we will fly to Edinburg and spend three days.  We will then fly to Belfast and spend three days with my good friends Roberta and Owen in Eglinton, Northern Ireland.  Bill has never been there with me and he can see how truly fun I can be.

This is a very ambitious trip and a true to test for my somewhat inflexible traveler husband.  He is on "travel probation" and this will give him a chance to prove he can hang in there with me.  For his sake, pray we have no airline delays, miss the cruise ship (yes that has happened before) or bumpy flights; however, I have him medication for all situations that may arise.

Since October I have been researching our destinations and made flight arrangements. It is never a pleasant thought to think about flying for that long.  Bill made sure we have extra legroom, a luxury we paid for.  He is hoping no one will be sitting next to us so we can spread out - fat chance of that happening.  Most of all, I think he fears being trapped next to his ADHD wife for that long with no escape.  In the past, I have always had an "activity bag" with books, CD player, crossword puzzles, magazines, etc. to keep me occupied.  I spend about 6 1/2 hours of a 7 hour flight rummaging through that bag and the other 30 minutes going to the bathroom.  With the invention of the IPad he may be in luck.  I have my movies, games, tunes, and books downloaded.  In fact, I have enough entertainment in that one little machine to keep me occupied for about a year.  Well, we see how it works out.

I am a meticulous planner.  I know where we will go in each city, how we will get to those places, where to eat, and how much money I might need.  Bill says I am not spontaneous enough but I figure I will only be there once and I want to see it all.

In preparing for a trip of this magnitude, you have to remember everything:
1.  Call your credit card companies and tell them where you will be and when or your card might not work.
2.  Check and recheck flight schedules because ours have changed about 4 times since we booked.
3.  Get money for each of the countries, although some say just go to an ATM when you get there.  I want a few coins rattling in my purse so I can at least get a Diet Coke when I get off the plane.
4.  Pay all of your bills that are due when you are gone.  I may not have the money in my account, but at least it will look like I tried to pay.
5.  Make copies of you passport so if you get robbed you can prove who you are at the embassy.
6.  Get all of your medications refilled and get drugs to keep Bill quiet.
7.  Write your will so your children won't fight if the captain of the ship decides to do a line of coke before sailing.
8.  Mail off birthday cards to those who have birthdays while you are gone.  Boy, do they ever think you are thoughtful.
9.  Clean your house so if you get taken as a hostage you won't look like such a pig and your toilet won't be black when you get back.
10.  Go buy some new underwear - it's no fun when you run out.

Hopefully by Saturday I can have a post.  I am not sure about the availability of WiFi and I am sure not going to pay the ship charge for it.  If I can't post everyday, I will catch up when I get back.

I wrote a blog when I was in Ireland in 2010.  Several people said they had difficulty posting on it but enjoyed reading it.  I also had difficulty putting up pictures.  I hope my skills have improved on this one.  I will keep up with my e-mail and Facebook and would love to hear from someone from back home.  When I do get home, I promise to bore you with my pictures.

Bon Voyage!