dreaming and planning

So my boyfriend says to me that maybe we can go to England in 2013 and visit my friend Tracey. Some time passes by and I get a message asking what I think about taking the rail from London to Paris for a day-trip, it's fairly inexpensive and we can do it in a day.  My response:  the only obstacles are money and time.

A little more time passes and he sends me a message saying maybe we should stay overnight.  Again, time and money are the only constraints.  You can see where this is going.  Now we are up to possibly two full weeks to visit London, my girlfriend who lives on Sompting, West Sussex, and a couple of nights in Paris. 

Now, mind you, we aren't doing this trip until 2013.  This is February 2012.  I'm a Certified Travel Planner (at least I will be by the end of April, on my last class!) and researching  trips is a fun activity for me.  Erik is very detailed and we are both excited over the possibilities. 

My first thoughts are the the airfare will be ridiculously high and then the hotels will be high priced in London and Paris.  We start toying around with sample dates to get an idea of what those accommodations will cost.  We need to create a preliminary budget.  We need to make sure we can financially do this.  Erik gets so excited researching this possible trip he is seeking additional freelance work to supplement his income to put towards making this trip a reality.

We spent Valentine's evening researching places to stay.  We discovered a site called AirBnB.  It is a site that lists rentals (rooms, flats, houses, etc).  We found that we can probably stay in a BnB (bed and breakfast type) as much as some hotels or in some cases, cheaper.  Cheaper is good.  We don't have stacks of cash lying around waiting to be spent. 

The idea of getting to experience a local's residence/neighborhood and not the commercial treatment of a regular tourist would be a bonus.  I had the pleasure of staying with Tracey and with Alison in Germany so I know staying with someone who lives in an unknown area is vastly different than the traditional tourists experience.  I loved it and valued it.

We are also looking at sites to see and places to go and trying to get an idea of what that will cost us.  My goal has always been to get the most for my travel dollars.  Again, I'm not rich, just a working girl.  We had even thought of staying in hostels in order to afford this trip.  Staying at a BnB will be so much better.  What's interesting is that we are seeing such a wide range of choices in terms of locations, prices, amenities (if they exist).  One BnB offered cooking lessons with the hostess and they published a Paris blog with all sorts of advice for their guests.  They truly love their city and are proud to show it off.

Dealing with the facts and figures of this trip could possibly over shadow the fun and excitement if we let it.  With careful planning we'll get the most for our dollar and be happy in this experience.  The idea of traveling to the most romantic city in the world with the one I love is worth the time it takes to plan.

Super

Well, I survived Super Bowl 46.  It was an incredible experience.  Not perfect in many respects.  It was the biggest event I've been involved with and that includes events such as the FFA Convention and the Indy 500.  The energy level was so different than those events.  The amount of energy required to pull this off was outstanding. 

The best parts for me were when I was with my guy out taking pictures, attending the stadium tours, NFL Experience, watching the Here Come the Mummies show (awesome!)  and just hanging out with the crowds on Georgia Street and Monument Circle. 

I've got more events on tap for the year - Mutt Strut, Fountain Square Art Squared, Big Ten Basketball tourney, BMW Golf Championship, 500 Festival and that's all I can think of right now.  I've reduced and a couple of these are for shorts amount of time.  I love being involved in my community and I'm meeting some really great people.  I'm learning a lot about communication, organizing, and management.  I'm actually reducing my options, believe it or not, so that I can enjoy some of the other great things that happen in the city - Irish Festival, Brickyard 400 Weekend, Greek Fest, etc. 

I have a tendency to over commit to things.  My enthusiasm gets the best of me.  I'm trying to find more balance in my life.  Work and play are equally important.  Serving my community has been not so much an act of selflessness but a way to satisfy my own needs.  I now need to relax a bit and enjoy life.  I need to enjoy the time I have with my wonderful boyfriend and my family.  I'm also down to working two jobs instead of five (one full-time, four seasonal) so that's a help.