If you are just getting to know me know, you probably think I grew up galivanting the globe, but that's not quite the case. I had a fabulous childhood but we definitely did not leave the country (unless you count Niagara Falls). We did a LOT of camping and I still love camping. We did almost annual road trips up and down the east coast (like renting an RV to go to Maine and tent camping in Naples, Florida with some alligators). I don't think I had any friends that ever left the country either (someone can chime in if I missed you!) The idea of leaving the country was so foreign (pun intended) and out of reach that I never considered the possibility at all.
Then came a big life decision - I decided to backpack Europe with two girl friends for 2 months after college graduation and before I started my first 'real' job. My parents were in complete denial my entire senior year as I got a couple of jobs to earn enough pennies to pull this off, they certainly were not funding it! A week or so after graduation, we had our passports, backpacks, Air India tickets to Paris, a 2-month unlimited Eurail pass and we set off on this grand adventure (sans any cell phone!) with a total budget of about $3,000 (including airfare and Eurail) each.
From the second we were in the airport it felt like an adventure. The plane ride and it's Indian cuisine was even a new adventure for me. As we landed in Paris, I was so full of optimism. I had planned out the first week of the trip and knew exactly what we needed to do. We needed to get from the CDG airport to central Paris where we would take an overnight train to Madrid where I had a hostel reserved online and plans to meet up with a friend studying abroad. As we exited the airport we had to find the airport train station where we would activate our Eurail passes to catch the train into downtown Paris. First hiccup, they charged us €10 for that train instead of it being included in our pass. I had researched this and knew it was wrong but couldn't argue it in French. €10 is a big deal in my budget so I'm already off course from my budget and of course getting scammed just as expected! We disembark the train somewhere near Notre Dame and decide to walk the rest of the way to the train station we needed for the train to Madrid. After all, it was only like an inch on our tiny map in our Rick Steve's Back Packing Europe book. After walking for over an hour with our 25-35lb packs, we were exhausted, but I wasn't about to spend €2 on the metro (the other girls probably would have!). We eventually arrive at the train station, however, to our surprise it's a French holiday and all the trains to Madrid are sold out for the day. As we try to figure out alternative plans, I am completely freaked out by the police officers with their ginormous guns (pro tip: I think the US is the only country where the police carry handguns and not massive, intimidating arsenal). It had been 3 months since the 2004 Madrid terrorist bombing on the trains so security may have been more intense.
We failed to get a train and we would have to come back the next morning. Evening is approaching and we have no place to stay in Paris, so we bust out our handy travel books for hostels near the train station, because we certainly weren't going to walk anymore. We walk to the only one listed that was a few blocks away where we find out this hostel is going to cost us €20 a night - our average budget was €10-15 - but we don't feel like we have any other choice, so we pay for it. Then we see our room. This place is the biggest dump I have ever stayed in. I thought rats would run out from under my bed at any moment. The shower was a closet with a hose sticking out of the wall - I'm not joking. I start to feel sick to my stomach and with every fiber of my being wanted to go back to the airport, find a plane and fly home. I sulked in the disgusting room, careful not to let my feet dangle off the bed for fear of a rat bite, ate a banana for dinner, felt sick to my stomach and wondered why I ever left the safety and comfort of the US.
The next morning I decided to give it another day. We went to the train station where we waited for our train to Madrid. We got on a train and our passes worked, no extra charges. I was still feeling ill from worry but tried to sleep and enjoy the views. My friends were definitely much more chill at this point and helped me calm down!
We arrived in Madrid and had to find a hostel. As we wondered the streets of Madrid I was in absolute awe and wonder of how beautiful the city was. We found a hostel that was gorgeous and comfortable. We quickly learned that we were in town at the same time as the Prince of Spain was getting married! The whole city was decked out in flowers for the big event which was in just 2 days. How exciting that we were going to get to experience this moment in history that I had no idea was even happening!
The next night we moved into our previously planned hostel, we met some really amazing other backpackers, explored the beautiful city, got to see the Prince and new Princess ride in their wedding parade and everything about the trip turned around.
I added many marbles to the resiliency jar on this trip! I also learned I needed to be ok with not planning ahead and go with the flow and adjust as needed. (A life lesson that I carry with me across all aspects of life.) I needed to soak in what each day had to offer without expectations. We went the entire rest of the trip by showing up in a city, finding a place to stay when we got there, and staying however long we wanted to.
I developed a sense of wanderlust as we experienced each of the 7 countries that we visited over those two months. Experiencing big cities and small towns. The food. The nature and mountain views. The architecture. The way of life. Taking siestas and eating dinner at 9 pm! From dancing on thousands of carnations in a small Greek village to riding bikes with a lovely German family along the Baltic sea. I've wanted to explore every nook and cranny that the world has to offer ever since.
When I got married, my husband also hadn't explored much. One of our first big debates in marriage was whether to buy a new flat screen tv or visit our friends who had moved to China. I won that battle (he eventually got a flat screen tv, too) and he started to catch a little bit of my wanderlust. We fit in a couple of trips before we had kids and thought our traveling days were over as most US families don't travel with kids. However, we decided to put that to the test and just do it anyways. We had seen that European families do it all the time, why can't we? It worked! These small humans can actually visit other countries!
Our parents of course haven't been exactly thrilled with taking the grandchildren out of the US. My mom would get especially anxious, so I decided to stop telling them when we were planning a trip. In 2013 we did our first 'Where in the World' game where we left the country and posted clues on Facebook as to 'where in the world did we take your grandchildren'. We were exploring the Amazon jungle of Ecuador and it took folks about 4 days to figure out where we were. We've been playing the game for every adventure since and my mom still wants to strangle me every time, but my dad turns into an FBI agent and figures out the puzzle!
'Where in the World' blog is a continuation of sharing in our adventures but with offering all of my practical advice and lessons learned to share with friends and family and who ever else is lands here on how to plan and execute a family adventure around the world without it costing an arm and a leg.
Comments