By this time next week I should (hopefully) be sleeping on my plane to Dublin. The fact that it's an overnight flight is pretty nice because then I can fall asleep at a normal time and when I get to Dublin it will be morning there. Sure I'll be tired but at least it won't be totally wacko. It's so exciting I can't even sleep right now.
I've spent most of today still working on the itinerary; pulling together all the little details like how to get from the Gare Du Nord train station in Paris to our hostel at eight o'clock at night with the least chances of getting lost between the two metro trains we will have to take. Next time I'm planning a trip somebody remind me to check how far from the train station the darn hostel is. The wonderful public transportation in Europe is definitely a big help but learning how to navigate it from a tiny map on the internet and comparing to Google Maps is not the most fun thing in the world.
Bringing together all these details takes so long. I suppose my perfectionist nature doesn't help a bit but hopefully that means a lower chance of something going wrong, us getting lost, or it being tricky for a reason that could have been easily handled with more preparation. I really just want everything to go smoothly so that I can actually enjoy this vacation rather than rip my hair out like I have been trying to handle all the planning. Here is a snippet of the details I've pulled together so far.
Bringing together all these details takes so long. I suppose my perfectionist nature doesn't help a bit but hopefully that means a lower chance of something going wrong, us getting lost, or it being tricky for a reason that could have been easily handled with more preparation. I really just want everything to go smoothly so that I can actually enjoy this vacation rather than rip my hair out like I have been trying to handle all the planning. Here is a snippet of the details I've pulled together so far.
All the different things just get so overwhelming but it's finally starting to smooth out; but then I start thinking about all the other things I need to get done before I can leave. Like print out all the tickets, pick out what clothes to pack, figure out how to fit everything in my backpack and make sure it isn't too heavy, run to the store to get my last few things, double check things at the bank, have a list of things to do in each city, print out all the directions, finish painting my journal (or decide to buy a new one, more details on this to come later), confirm all the hostel bookings, the list just goes on and on.
Nevertheless I'm so excited to go. It's been cool seeing all the other pictures on Facebook of various friends who are studying abroad right now. Some are in the Netherlands, some in Paris, some in South America. Just this evening the Ireland Horse Study Abroad group left the US. Prayers that they all land safely in Ireland after some trouble getting out of the US due to storms. I hope they all enjoy the trip and I can't wait to hear about all the fun horsey stuff that I missed out on. I just keep my fingers crossed that something better will come out of not getting to actually study abroad (besides the fabulous vacation of course)!
Nevertheless I'm so excited to go. It's been cool seeing all the other pictures on Facebook of various friends who are studying abroad right now. Some are in the Netherlands, some in Paris, some in South America. Just this evening the Ireland Horse Study Abroad group left the US. Prayers that they all land safely in Ireland after some trouble getting out of the US due to storms. I hope they all enjoy the trip and I can't wait to hear about all the fun horsey stuff that I missed out on. I just keep my fingers crossed that something better will come out of not getting to actually study abroad (besides the fabulous vacation of course)!