Why do you think it is that when long-awaited deadlines loom, especially travel deadlines, I move slower and slower? Especially when the deadlines involve an extended trip, with lots of complex arrangements. And finally when the appointed time for doing all the last minute things that need to be done arrives, I feel as if I am moving in slow-motion. Through quicksand. And I waste time. And then cannot sleep because I am so anxious about what is left to do.
I am my own worst enemy, I know. Procrastination thy name is Sue. Yes, Sue’s speciality is procrastinating when it comes to meeting final deadlines. Or making final decisions. Or finishing whatever.
Maybe even this blog post.
But instead of moaning about something which is entirely my own fault for the entire post, I should talk a bit about where we’re going on this trip. I’ve mentioned our upcoming trip before on the blog, but only in very brief terms before I wandered off to reminisce about a previous trip to the Yukon, or talk about the travel we did in 2024.
Our plan is to fly to Portugal’s Azores Islands at the end of the month and spend a week there. We’ve rented a car for a few days and booked an apartment on the north side of the largest island, São Miguel, for several nights. That way we can explore São Miguel at our own pace. We’ve already decided on the main things we hope to do while we’re there. We’re probably not going to any of the smaller islands. We debated and discussed this ad infinitum last winter. We know the other islands are beautiful, but we decided, as we usually do, that we can’t do everything, unless we want to stay longer. Which we don’t.
This was the same discussion we had years ago when we went to Scotland. How could we decide which of the many, many islands we wanted to visit: the Orkneys, the Shetland islands, the Outer Hebrides, the Inner Hebrides? Well, you get the picture. We decided on the Orkneys and built it into a kind of circular route where we drove up the east coast to the north of Scotland, detoured for four days to go to Orkney, then returned to the mainland to resume our route down the west coast. I’d have loved to go to Shetland too. But we just had to say: “Not this time. Maybe next time.”
Anyway, back to the here and now. We return our car and move to a hotel in the capital Ponta Delgada for the last two nights on São Miguel. From there we’ll explore the city of Ponta Delgada and be closer to the airport for what Hubby always calls “getaway day.”
From the Azores we fly to Porto, Portugal, pick up another rental car and begin the main portion of our trip. This part took most of our planning. We wanted to drive north from Porto into Spain and travel north along the coast, and eventually east, to Bilbao, then San Sebastian. Then take a short detour into the Pyrenees into France. Then back east eventually to Porto from where we fly home.
Well, that’s the short version. But the more we talked, the more anxious Hubby became about delaying our short foray into the mountains until the last few days. Because…well… snow. And the possibility of weather issues. So, since we were still in the early planning stage, we flipped this whole section of the trip.
From Porto, we are heading to the Pyrenees first. Well, almost first. On the way east, we’ll be staying in a tiny town called Caracena, in the Spanish province of Soria. Quite near El Burgo de Osma. Look up Caracena on Google, and you’ll know why we’re going there. We’ve rented a tiny stone house from a woman named Maria who seems lovely, from what I can tell from her emails. We’d been looking at stopping in El Burgo de Osma, but then I discovered the much smaller Caracena. I’m a sucker for a stone house in a tiny town, I tell you.
From Caracena we head to the Pyrenees, stay for a bit in Luz-Saint-Sauveur, do a hike enroute that we’ve been researching, and drive the Col de Tourmalet, one of the Tour de France mountain stages. Driving two of the Tour de France climbs was a highlight of our 2015 trip to France. I still remember laughingly telling my friend Debbie that we had driven up Mont Ventoux, and “Boy, was I exhausted.” That’s right up there with saying: “I’ve just flown in from wherever and, boy, are my arms tired!” Ha. Old joke, I know.
I’m not going to relate our entire itinerary in detail. I can hear your sighs of relief. Let’s just say that we’re spending a few days in San Sebastian, a couple of days in Bilbao, and several days in Potes, hopefully walking in the Picos de Europa National Park.
This is where our plans might go awry. Shades of our New Brunswick vacation, in that forest fires closed parts of the Picos de Europa National Park this summer. Hubby has been keeping a close eye on that situation. We may be able to hike, or we may not. And we’ll just have to see what transpires when we get there.
After that it’s mostly coastal driving in Galacia, heading west and eventually south. Hopefully there will be a day trip along the rugged “Coast of Death,” so named because of all the shipwrecks which occurred there. I say hopefully because what we do and how much of whatever we choose to do will be dependent on how tired we are at this point in the trip. Our timelines are all set, and our accommodations all booked, but we may decide, when we are not driving from one place to the next, to sit and sip wine, and read and stroll whatever village we’re in that day.
Coastal views are wonderful. But sitting and sipping has its attractions as well, my friends. After twenty-some days on the road, we’ll be tired. I could well be getting some power reading done. I remember the last days we spent in Portugal in 2023: book, tea and pasteis de nata featured largely. Hubby swapped the book and tea for naps, but kept a sharp eye on his share of the tarts.
I know that many people decry my preference for sitting and reading no matter where I am. I remember being told not to waste the precious travelling time, I could rest when I got home. Hubby and I saved long and hard when we were working in order to be able to travel when we retired. And we have learned that the time spent travelling is not precious, nor cherished, if we don’t do it our way. This means planning everything ourselves and doing exactly what we want to do, as long as we can. And if this means we miss a museum or a cathedral or two, or even a fabulous clifftop view, so be it.
We don’t eschew all cultural experiences in favour of strolling or sitting with a book. But we choose those things which interest us the most and leave the others. No matter how famous. Do you know that I have never been to the Tower of London even though I’ve been to England several times? But I’ve had a delightful tea at Jane Austen House in Bath, and wandered around the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, and stayed at a pub in a village on the Chatsworth Estate. These things might not interest you. But you do you, and I’ll do me, as they say.
So. Back to my looming travel deadlines. I’ve managed to sort out some of the things on my list. Issues with flights have been confirmed, one positively, one not so positively. But we had to shrug and take our lumps. We had a last minute cancellation from an accommodation today which we sorted pretty quickly. Apparently the place where we were booked has decided to close, or so they say. Luckily we had kept our short list of accommodations for that town, and quickly booked into our second choice which was still available.
Other things on my list have been crossed off because upon closer inspection I didn’t need to do them. That was easy. I shopped for some things I needed for the trip when my sister was here, and bought two tee shirts for travel and a light sweater. And I ordered a new pair of sneakers for travel. I know, I know. That’s four more new pieces added to my already blown Rule of Five count.
In my defence, I did need what I bought. I cannot travel with my Veja sneakers. Toronto taught me that. Long walks on city streets in them killed my feet. I had to retire one long-sleeved tee shirt and a short-sleeved one. They have lost their shape and are now suitable only for working out, or cleaning house. The light sweater was a purchase I tried to make last year, but Uniqlo was sold out. I want to wear the sweater for travel instead of packing a cashmere one. I do not want to ruin my good cashmere.
Still, needed or not, four more new pieces is a lot. I mean, can I even talk about Rule of Five now with any credibility? I think not.
Okay, enough with the slow fashion mea culpa.
I have a few things to get done this upcoming week. I have set aside a few days to think about, try on, and plan my trip wardrobe. Then comes the packing. As usual we are taking two carry-on size roller bags that we will check, a back pack and a tote bag that we will carry on the plane, as well as our personal items. Since we carried these same bags for six weeks in South America, where we needed clothes and equipment for varying activities and temperatures, I’m not worried that I’ll have enough room for whatever I need. I’ll let you know how I get on with the outfit planning in my post next week.
You know, writing this post has gone a long way to alleviating my anxiety. Talking about something always helps, in my experience. Yes I’ve been procrastinating. But I’m still getting things done. Maybe I’m just experiencing travel anxiety. Hubby says I am getting older after all… it’s not just him who’s aging. I tend to think that because he has a little over a decade on me, I’m still a spring chicken. Instead, maybe I’m just a tough old bird. Or an increasingly anxious old bird. Ha.
I seem to remember rolling my eyes a few years ago at his anxiety before our big trips. Thinking his way through all the “what ifs?” Would this or that go wrong? Nagging me to get my stuff done. Wanting to leave way too early for the airport. That kind of stuff.
Now I’ve joined him. And, you know, when the accommodation cancelled on us yesterday, it was Hubby who was the calm one. Now that’s a turn up for the books.
Sigh. I’m beginning to yearn for the old days when my anxiety was mostly about whether I’d have a good hair day. Or a bad one.
So there… I have finished this post. Procrastination has not completely taken me over. But let’s wait until next week to see if my remaining travel deadlines are met. Okay?
How about you friends? Any travel plans this fall? Do you angst about the details as the travel deadlines loom?
62 thoughts on “When Travel Deadlines Loom”
You’re obviously both experienced travellers, and already rolling with the punches in accommodating cancelled lodging, changed flights, and switching up your itinerary to better allow for weather disruption! Anxiety is understandable and to a certain extent even helpful, right? Funny how it falls away once we check-in at the airport and order that pre-flight glass of whatever 😉
(and I think I’m the only one in my Italian class who has been to Rome more than 10 times and still hasn’t gone inside the Colosseum OR the Sistine Chapel! I’ve been to other museums and art exhibitions there, but pushing past art and artifacts with a crowd at a hurried (harried!) pace has no appeal! I always leave time for people-watching from a cafe table sipping “un bicchiere di rosso” . . . and there’s such a luxury to taking a travel day to sit somewhere comfortable with a book and a cup of tea. A kind of memory I love making — turns that place into a home away from home, if just for an hour or two!
Also, re your Rule of Five, not a failure at all, imho — the point is to be mindful about consumption, to reduce your conception of what you need. I’d said you’ve achieved that and then some! I’m over here applauding!
Thanks for this Frances. Hoping for the check-in-fall-away feeling when we get to the airport. 🙂
I’m applauding you too, in terms of mindful consumption re fashion. I certainly wouldn’t be beating myself up about your much-needed four purchases.
And wholeheartedly agreeing with pre-travel anxiety and procrastination…oh, the lists I made and then stared at before we left on our trip.
I also agree with you about doing travel your way. I have no goal to tick off all the ‘must see’ sites. People-watching, some sketching, and meandering work well for me.
We have loved exploring the Baltic States and are currently in Madrid. Tomorrow we head to San Sebastián for a few days before commencing the camino del norte.
It looks like we’ll be heading in the opposite direction to you, Sue, but if we happen to cross paths, that would be fantastic!
Good luck with all your preparations.
Wow, I am impressed, Genevieve. Hope the camino goes well. That’s a bit more than meandering.
Like you, pre trip anxiety seems to have increased as I’ve aged, but as Frances says, once all that planning is done and we embark on the actual trip, the worrying falls away.
Of all the trips we’ve ever planned, the most recent one was the most difficult to pack for because it was really three trips in one. It started with a family reunion over the August long weekend during which we stayed in our travel trailer. Then we left the trailer behind at a family member’s place and drove to Vancouver where we spent several days before embarking on an Alaska cruise. I could easily pack for any one of the three portions of the trip, but the challenge was figuring out how to transition from trailer to suitcases and then making sure that we’d have everything we’d need if Alaska was cold and wet which it often is in August. After all my fretting, I’m happy to report that everything went very smoothly! I hope your trip does too and look forward to hearing all about it.
Be sure to visit the Church of the Templars in Luz-Saint-Sauveur. We were there last week. We also did 4 TdeF cols! Enjoy!
We’ve done similarly challenging trips as well, Elaine. From warm and super casual to cold, from hiking duds to city-smart. But we’ve never gone from camper to cruise. Now that is a challenge!
We loved Bilbao. Enjoy the pintxos – we found an amazing square where we could meander from one place to another, munching from one item that took our fancy to another. 😋
Have fun. Look forward to the stories.
I am so looking forward to the pintxos!
We are also going to the Azores… at the end of October. I am looking forward to seeing your clothing choices. I excel at procrastination.
I am struggling because the image of Portugal 2023 is still in my head. I packed fall things and the weather was verrry hot. But this year looks to be different. Maybe. Hopefully. Ha.
For approx 15 years my holidays to Europe consisted of golf courses, fabulous , but living in UK I was horrified to suddenly realise I’d seen little of the countries I was golfing in .
So for last 5 years I’ve been doing organised touring hols , March saw me visiting parts of Andalusia Spain, Mehas, Málaga,Nerja, Rhonda,Frigilana & Granada, and Oct will see me touring French / Italian riviera,staying in one hotel but taking in Monton, Monaco Monte Carlo,Nice, Allassio, Dolcheaqua,Portafino & St Margarita , Already thinking about the wardrobe I need to take, I usually decide then make a list of what goes with what it makes it so much easier to know what I’m wearing for an evening as you usually have only an hour after your day out to get ready before dinner and a relaxing evening. 🙂 Excited
It’s so important to have a few “dinner outfits” planned, isn’t it? Have fun on your trip, Les.
It’s oddly reassuring to know that others have travel anxiety. All the details and “what ifs”! Always happy to be where I am going, but the weeks leading up to the trip are rather miserable!
I know I am my own worst enemy. Now that the plans are all nailed down, I’m thinking travel wardrobe. If I could change myself into someone who didn’t worry about what I was wearing, I’d do it. Maybe. Ha.
When I think of our travels in the past I can’t believe how ‘ insouciant’ we were during some of the situations that arose – So many disasters that we only just avoided & that we laugh about now . There was always someone around to help though . The nice man near Denver who told us to follow him on a detour to the airport so we didn’t miss our flight , the refuse worker in Cadiz who escorted us to our hidden hotel , the local in Turkey who stayed with us to help deal with the police after we ended up in a nasty situation & the kind farmer in the Scottish highlands who brought us refreshments when our car died on a hill . I could go on . It’s much easier when you are young , full of energy & confidence but we coped & it was all good experience for coping now . It taught us to ask for help when needed & we were always helped by these good samaritans . Your itinerary sounds fascinating & I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time .
Those are lovely stories, Wendy. I remember your tale of Max breaking his arm. We have a few of the same. The accordion player who made sure we got off the wrong train and onto the right train in Paris. That makes me smile when I think of it.
I did everything in reverse in that I did my roaming travel in my twenties and thirties. Now I imagine myself as I get older sitting more in one place, so I do relate to your desire to do travel your own way and to enjoy downtime days. I also never worry about seeing everything at a destination. I’ve been travelling to a city in Italy several times a year for twenty-five years and am pretty expert in it at this stage, but there is one small museum I’ve always meant to visit and never have!
My general travel preference is to go to one place and explore the area around that place, although a road trip is nice too and I enjoyed one I took last year with my guy, relying on his planning and enjoyment of driving, plus interest in researching restaurants (which I do not have, but I enjoy the fruits of his labour). I also enjoy hearing about others’ more wide-ranging trips. I have a friend who always saves up and then does VERY splurgy things on a planned itinerary. I listen to his stories ex-post with fascination, but it is not something I would ever do myself. I’m more of a “go and see what happens” sort of a person.
I thought that “essentials” like sports shoes and tees were exempt from the rule of five anyway? Having shoes you can walk in comfortably is number one. I never worry about fashion for this part, making sure I have a good technical shoe. As others have said, the rule of five is less a strict guideline I believe than a philosophy!
Reading all of the comments by your readers is making some long trips look very appealing! Envious of the retired. I hope your prep is going well and the anxiety is dissipating.
It is going well, Stephanie. I found that moaning about my anxiety was a great way to help dispel it. Stu is MUCH more of the planner than I am. He knows all the distances between places, possible interesting roads we might drive along the way etc. That’s how he entertains himself during the winter before we go while we’re still planning.
I was totally overwhelmed a few years ago when we were planning our trip to Ireland. i am Irish and planned to visit relatives I had never met! I had long lists of places and castles I wanted to visit. The list was endless! I turned the trip planning over to my husband and was so glad! We went to Ireland and did not visit Dublin! we flew into Shannon and toured the north left side of the island. I was thrilled because most days we were the only car on the road and this was in June!
We had to miss lots of famous places when we were in Ireland. We just kept saying…”we’re in Ireland… it’s all amazing”
Excited to see what you put in your travel bags. We always travel with carryons nowadays and find we have more than enough stuff with us. I too procrastinate and dread the final decision of what to bring along. But it always gets done and always works out great.
We have found moving around too much on vacations isn’t fun for us. So we tend to stay in one place for a few days and explore that area and then move to another place for a few days. There is always plenty to do and see each place. As you mentioned we probably miss out on doing and seeing this and that but what is the use if you are stressed and exhausted? I hope you have a wonderful trip and meet some interesting people along the way!
I think our next trip will be a much slower one where we stay in a couple of places for a week or so. I’ve suggested this many times, but Hubby has not been ready to do this. It suits me much better than him. I’d like to go back to places we’ve loved and stay longer.
We leave in less than 2 weeks for Sicily, Puglia and France. We’ll be away for 2 months. It does get more stressful as you get older, but it’s definitely worth it. We like to miss the cold, rainy months in Ontario. I still struggle with packing especially when temperatures can be so variable depending where you are and at what time of the year. In May we were hiking in Andalucía and it was so unseasonably cold (8C) I had to buy a puffy jacket! C’est la vie.
We loved hiking in the Picos and the northern coast of Spain is stunning, not to mention the food.
Enjoy!
I am really looking forward to the food on this trip. Enjoy your own adventure, Susan.
Hello Sue,
Travel does require much thought and planning and yes I experience some anxiety as the details are finalized. I am very much ‘dot every i and cross every t’ kind of person when travelling although have had to make adjustments as travels progressed. This November and into December we will be in London, UK. Despite the many trips to the UK in the past, we have not spent much time in London so this year the Tower of London tour is on the list! We will have time to meet up with friends, stroll through parks and side streets, shop and have an afternoon tea or two. Weather will likely be a challenge but we can dress cozily and enjoy the experience…water-proof running shoes by Vessi and very comfortable dress boots will suffice. Enjoy your travel planning as the end results will be worth it!
Cheers!
Alayne
Being prepared for rain and cool weather is one of Hubby’s mantras when packing. Guess it’s all those years of canoeing. 🙂
I agree that mindful consumption is more important than strict adherence to the Rule of Five. I bought a pair of step-in sneakers for a recent trip to Japan because I’m well into my seventies and didn’t want to constantly tie and untie my shoes for the many shoes-off tourist spots we’d be visiting. But I disagree with not packing a cashmere sweater because you might ruin it. Cashmere is a wonderful travel item: it’s lightweight, warm and breathable and it washes beautifully. Over the past several decades I have always traveled with a grey cashmere sweater. Each one has lasted many, many years.
My substitute sweater will still be warm. It’s merino wool. Just not as expensive as my cashmere ones. 🙂
I’m a great believer in JIT packing (truthfully everything). When adrenalin kicks in, things get done. And I like your approach of going through your closets to give clothes a second chance. I’ve recently lost weight and had a heck of a time finding new undies recently. After four stores, I gave up. Then I looked in another drawer at home. There they were from my thinner days still looking like new … And now they fit perfectly again. Have a great trip!
I’ve started buying my underwear at Uniqlo. When Hudson’s Bay department stores (my go-to for undies) closed I tried getting one pair at Uniqlo. And now I have several. 🙂
I can relate to your travel anxiety and my husband’s is even worse. It does all fall away once we get to the airport (always early!) We love Paris, going again next fall, and using it for a series of train trips to outlying towns, some of which are suburbs, really. And a few chateau gardens that are not in the Loire valley. There are museums I’ve never been to, croissants I have not eaten, fancy restaurants that would not know me. Give me a blanket, a picnic, and a view and I am just as happy. And yes, some afternoons are spent reading, napping, or cooking our own dinner in the apartment. You can only eat so much duck confit! I love vacationing this way, and planning every bit ourselves. I won’t discount a tour in our future, at our ages we think every trip is our swan song.
I’d love to go back to Paris again. This time to do more strolling and sipping. 🙂
We had a similar itinerary last year. My husband and friend did the Camino from Vigo to Santiago after a few days in Lisbon and Porto ( I have a bad ankle so I took a cab from town to town). Then we drove from Santiago to San Sebastián and Bilbao. The seafood along the coast is unparalleled and the scallops are incredible. The pinxtos (tapas) are delicious, try the pork belly. The beef is pasture raised and tastes delicious. We went to San Sebastián two years in a row and the Pyrenees once. I found the village where a friend’s family had come on the French side. The architecture is different in the Pyrenees. Great cheeses and sausages.
I’m really looking forward to the food. We’ll be in both San Sebastian and Bilbao, the only two cities we’ll be visiting.
Our daughter and son and a buddy just returned from a week in Toronto(we live in central Iowa,USA).Two music concerts and lots of exploring the city.They had a grand time and can’t wait to go back.Thank-you Canada,we love you!
I’m pleased they had a good time in Toronto. 🙂
Sounds fabulous. And reading on holiday is fine, if you ask me. Sometimes, enough of the damned doing. Sit, read, sip, watch. There isn’t going to be a test at the end. I look forward to travelling with you in the coming weeks.
Thanks, Annie. 🙂
We are just back from our vacation. Three weeks hiking in the moutains. We never plan where we are going (only exception 2020: we had to look where the hotels were open…). So, this year we discovered a new region, revisited beloved places, hiked, eat, enjoyed the misty weather met som wonderful people and even stayed inside to read when it was nice and sunny. No pressure to do the most of our free days. It was great.
You’ll love Galicia and the Basque Country. Have a happy trip in Europe!
We’ve done that in the past, planning a rough itinerary, and booking a few days ahead along the way. Right up until France in 2015, we did that. Then we stopped. We had begun to find the uncertainty a bit wearing, and then grew weary of having to use up our travel time to do what we now do in the months leading up to our trip. But everyone has their own preference.
We are looking to do something ‘special’ to celebrate our 50th anniversary next spring…my husband is high anxiety personified and I cannot imagine the Henny Penny reaction to an accommodation cancellation! Our friends just had two week sawed off a four week stay in Portugal this winter because the villa owner decided she wanted two of those weeks for ‘personal use’ they are scrambling to find a place that will take them for four weeks or at least a two week stay somewhere nearby. They spent a lot of last winter travelling in Portugal and thought they had found an area where they could just unpack and hang out long term.
Getting back to Henny Penny I think it’s probably worth it to leave our trip in the hands of the experts and are looking at European river cruises through Viking and a couple other companies. They seem to do a pretty good job of preventing the sky from falling! Enjoy your trip!
Hope your friends find a new place that suits them. That is so frustrating when you’ve already made your plans. I’m sure those cruise experts will take vary good care of you on your anniversary trip . I’ll be interested to hear what you’ve decided to do.
Thanks for this….loved the self description, now a “tough old bird”, and the good laugh I got reading it. No, you’re not…, you are a tough young chic. The most important are good walking shoes and tee shirts that make you feel good.
Besides if you got rid of 2 to wear just for laboring,
then that cancels out 2 of the ” rule of 5″ IMHO.
For my 11 day cruise to Alaska in June I got some very nice clothes to wear by thrifting. Now that I’m
85 it was wonderful to vacation on a cruise. Enjoy!
Glad you enjoyed your cruise, Joan. I know several people who have done that cruise and loved it.
Sue,I’m with you,both on the travel anxiety (yes,we are older,but than there are more people travelling around, planes and acommodations that are sometimes over- booked…..some things are easier to plan and get but, it seems that people were more reliable) and me doing me
After 7 years,in August,I was staying in a hotel in Vienna again,not at my son and DIL’s apartment (there were more of us ) and was really astonished with all the waiting in lines,so stressful .
I admire your experience in planning,everything will be lovely when you’ll start
Comfortable walking shoes are a must,you are doing fine with the buying-all the alternatives would be very risky
It is not listed in the Rule,but nevertheless, I’m very dissapointed with the recent quality of the (everything :)) underwear (all of my usual,respectable brands)
Dottoressa
Oh, I hear you on the lower-quality underwear! I recently bought a bunch of my usual brand in a newer style, and I have to keep snipping threads before I even wear them. It seems a little early for them to be unravelling…
Since the demise of our biggest department stores here in Ottawa, I’ve started buying my underwear and socks from Uniqlo. It has surprised me how much I like them.
Travel anxiety is always a factor! But the trips are often so memorable. Had a wonderful trip to Denmark for 8 days at the end of August. A few days in Copenhagen and then four days on the coast by the North Sea at an Airbnb. Used public transportation for half of the trip and then rented a car for the second half so that we could get to the Louisiana modern art museum and Helsinore and Kronborg Castle. We never know when the trip is our last so definitely have to enjoy each one. Enjoy your trip!
I’d love to go to Denmark. And Norway. It sounds wonderful.
Your trip sounds amazing! I hope that you both enjoy every moment, including the relaxing and reading ones (I like to think of that as soaking up the atmosphere). I find that much of a packed trip becomes a blur and some personal memorable moments stand out. They might include sitting on a balcony and enjoying a view, one item or fact in a museum, a meal, or something else. Not everything. We can’t see it all, so better to do what we want when in the moment. I always say that we will do it next time (it doesn’t matter if there is a next time – there might be).
As you are writing about what you have to do to prepare, you are probably making a list and mentally sorting. It counts as preparation. You know what you need to do. A little anxiety keeps us on our toes, even if it is uncomfortable.
In less than two weeks, we are off to Sardinia and Sicily for six weeks. We have our flights booked. An apartment rented for 5 days when we arrive in Sardinia and a hotel room for the night before we fly home from the airport near Rome. That is it. We like to decide what to do as we travel, so we book as we go. We just did that for six weeks in Greece last fall. This approach has its pros and cons. The cons can be tough in the moment, but make for great memories and stories later. A plus is that it allows us to linger in a place if we love it. Of course, we are not traveling in peak season, making it much easier to book places to stay.
I am still at my summer place and busy closing it up for the season. I will be very busy getting ready for the trip as soon as I return home in a few days. I’m currently making lists and trying to plan my days to be most efficient. I got a flu and Covid shot recently, ticking those off the list.
Footwear is one of my biggest concern and not completely figured out.
Enjoy your travels. I look forward to reading about them and seeing photos.
Flu and Covid shots were on my list but there is no current vaccine here until October.
You are more “in the moment” than we are. We used to travel like that but have since changed our tune and like to do the planning way ahead of time now.
Hope your trip goes well, Dottie.
Oh, 5 is just an example of as you say intentionality, not set in stone – how could you not have comfortable travel shoes and presentable tees?
We were very casual travelers pre kids, deciding at the last minute to grab a train to a new city, etc, but once there were 4 of us complex trips got very anxiety producing and I became a meticulous planner. Thank goodness we are back in seat-of-the-pants travel time!
Ceci
I can imagine that travelling with kids is a whole other level of stress, Ceci.
I liked your article. I traveled most of my life and most recently went to Europe this year with a tour group. I was not happy at how it was organized and feel like I missed out much of what I wanted to see. So for next year I’ve booked four days in each city I’m going to. This way I can spend the time as I wish. Be it visiting a museum or sitting in a café people watching. I totally agree with you that at a certain point in life I Am the same age as you , you need to do what you want when you want on your vacation. My days of getting up at 6:30 each day and packing my suitcase to get on the bus are over. I’m looking forward to next summer because I’m going to get up each day and decide what I want to do on the day. I think you’re traveling to Street needs to make some changes with people stay three or four days in each city rather than running madly. Sounds like you have a wonderful trip ahead. I wish you all the best.
What I meant to say is, I think the travel industry needs to make some changes. We need to stay three or four days in each city and allow more time for just relaxing.
Early morning bus boardings are not to my taste either. Ha.
This has been a particularly reassuring set of comments, as I’d been feeling rather ashamed of my anxiety, both before and during the trip to France, e.g. “Oh no, it’s the Metro!” Happily, my friend’s a very calm person, and I managed relax (usually on a terrace), but goodness, I wasn’t too good at leaving daily plans to the last moment. It was my first overseas trip in six years, so I’ll cut myself some slack and next time will be better.
You should cut yourself some slack. Travel is stressful, even when it’s fun.
i read everywhere i go. i cant imagine a day without reading and holidays are no different. i do try to find books set where i am travelling with mixed degrees of success
Exactly. Reading is portable… and I take it with me everywhere. Ha.
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