Europe Bound

As many of you know, my last day at CREA was September 7th. I now find myself a bit of time in-between jobs (expect a new gig to start in mid-October), which has left me with some time to dream about taking another vacation.

Yes -- yet another vacation! I've been fairly fortunate to do about 8 or 9 weeks of travel over the past 11 months -- a 3-week trip to northern Argentina with Steve (October 2006), a week-long trip to visit my family in BC (December 2006), a week in Mexico's Mayan Riviera to celebrate Mel and Dave's wedding (February 2007), 3 weeks in Vietnam with my friend Tianne (May 2007), and an extra-long weekend trip to celebrate Robert and Nicole's wedding in Nova Scotia (June/July 2007). While it seems like a lot, I can assure you that all of the time taken represents well-earned overtime hours.

So, where to this time? This is actually going to be my first solo international trip, so I've decided to play it safe and head to Europe. I also wanted to ensure that I wasn't travelling to countries that Steve really wanted to see.

I'll be visiting two countries on this 12-day trip -- France and Belgium. I'm planning to spend about one week in Paris, and use Brussels as a home-base in Belgium (okay - so it may have a little something to do with all of that delicious Belgian beer and chocolate ;-)

I expect to spend 2-4 nights in Brussels on the front end of the trip, and then spend ~7 nights in Paris. I will be spending my birthday in Paris, which I am very excited about. I'll then return to Brussels. In Belgium, I hope to visit Leuven, Bruges and Ghent. I may also make it to Antwerp and Ypres if time (and train schedules) permit.

As I mentioned earlier, Paris will be the focus of my time in France. I'm sure I'll only be scratching the surface in a week, but hope to hit the highlights... The Louvre, Champs-Elysees, Eiffel Tower, etc... while also soaking in the atmosphere and doing some shopping. And drinking a lot of coffee! I have wanted visit Paris since I traded in my Teen Beat magazines for Seventeen magazine (so since I was around 8 years old). I'm also hoping to visit Versailles, Chartres and Rouen from Paris (and would like to get to Bayeux and the D-Day Beaches if my itinerary allows).

My plane ticket is booked - I'm flying to Brussels later this evening. I found packing to be quite a challenge. Usually I travel to countries where I can get away with comfort first -- shorts, cargo pants and hiking boots. I'll be spending most of my time in cities and towns on this trip, and I'm sure it would be pretty funny to shop in Paris dressed for a trek! And it's the fall and will be a bit cool, which also had to be factored in. I think I've packed clothing that works... if not, I may just have to put my credit cards to good use. My French is also very limited and rusty, and I'm hoping it will magically "kick in" after a day or two. As for Flemish... well, I am hoping people also speak English or French!

Off to do the last of my running around now. I hope to keep this blog up to date during my travels (assuming cheap Internet is available).

Cheers!
Jody