Tuesday 1 April 2008

pack and go

Okay it's not all doom and gloom. I had a long bath with a Lush Sakura bath bomb and the latest Rolling Stone, then had delicious pizza for dinner. That improved my mood considerably.

Then I started making lists of what to take with me on my trip. It is springtime in the northern hemisphere, but seeing as it has recently been snowing in Fontainebleu and Oxford (two of my destinations), I think I should be packing my coat.

I don't want to take a huge suitcase and lug around a bunch of stuff I'm not going to use, especially since I'll be catching trains a lot. So I made my lists and then gathered most of the bits and pieces to see if they would fit in my small blue case (not as large as a suitcase but a bit bigger than one of those rolling-cabin-luggage dealies). And guess what? It all fits, even my coat, and it only weighs 10kg! That's less than half my luggage allowance...so...provided the money holds out, means I can buy presents. :D

I'm swinging between nervous and excited and nervously excited. I've travelled on my own before, but not quite as far as this. And in the past I was an unaccompanied minor, so someone was keeping an eye on me. Now I'm responsible for myself and all the decisions that are made - that's both liberating and a bit scary. I'm hoping I won't let myself get too tired. But I'm also looking forward to sitting in lovely places and writing, or just watching things go by and not feeling like I have to cram everything in to an overflowing itinerary. The thing I'm most looking forward to is catching up with the friends I'm going to see.

I'm taking my laptop. It might not seem like a proper holiday to some people if I'm still plugged in, but I figure that since I'll be on my own for a lot of the time (at night anyway), it will make staving off the loneliness a bit easier. And all the places I'm staying have free wifi broadband so it just seems silly not to use it, right?

In less than two weeks I'll be in Paris!

3 comments :

  1. Plus if you don't take your computer how will you blog? We will need travel updates and pics! x Jo Hough

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  2. RE: Paris next week: yay!!!

    Oh, and I hope the 1kg of coffee isn't taking up too much room :(

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  3. I shall be dutifully blogging and photographing, never you fear!

    Also, K, the coffee's fine - it slips in nicely at the edge of the bag and the beans are good cushioning. :)

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