It's overwhelming, and I miss it terribly.
I miss the little world or bubble that Darrell and I were in while we were there. I've started explaining our trip felt like this wonderful movie we went to. We were completely engulfed in everything we saw and now, being back in reality, it doesn't seem like it was real.
I have so many things I want to share, mostly for my sake, so I can remember our trip. I've decided I'm going to spread them out a little and write a post detailing each city. This first one is really how we planned our trip, packing and the flight over.
Planning our trip started really with D and I wanting to go to Europe for our honeymoon. Well, obviously that didn't happen, we moved instead. Life got busy, we bought a house and adopted 2 pups and 2 cats. So, somewhere along the way, I decided that celebrating our 5 year anniversary was the best 'excuse' to travel to Europe. D had been watching flight prices and around the 3 month out mark we finally took the plunge. We were flying out of Austin and into London from February 18th through March 13th. Now that we had the dates down, we shared a Google excel sheet where the planning really started happening.
The hardest part was for us to narrow down the locations we wanted to visit. We knew we were flying in and out of London, but we wanted to see all of Europe and it was tough to find the best mix. With a little research, we narrowed it down to 8 major cities in 5 countries.
D did the hardest job, which was researching and deciding the trains we would take from city to city. He also had to figure out if we would get the Europass (which allows you to go on any trains in certain countries) or if we would buy individual tickets. He rocked it out and actually, mainly because we were going two and from London, that it was cheaper for us to purchase the individual tickets and not get the pass. This is what he created on a tab in our spreadsheet:
Awesome, right?
Now it was my turn, I got the task of finding and booking all the lodging. Through his research, I started looking between booking.com and at places on Airbnb. I loved the idea of Airbnb and really wanted to use that avenue for as may locations as I could. I ended up with a good mix of the two. We were not trying to stay lavishly, but didn't want hostels either. Then of course, because of D's awesome layout, I had to create one for the lodging plans:
Our next major aspect for me was to figure out what we wanted to see while we were in each city. Between the two of us, we created a list of the things we wanted to see or do and then I looked on Trip Adviser to help estimate the times it would take at each place. I knew we wouldn't specifically follow this to a T, but I know how D and I are, and it eliminated a TON of stress trying to figure out what we should do each morning.
Okay, okay, I know. A little crazy, but I'm a planner, so it's okay right? It really was helpful to have, even though we really didn't follow it and the times were not accurate for what we did at all. D and I tend to walk really fast.
At this point in the planning, we probably had already over planned. The last thing we needed to finalize before the trip was packing. We purchased new luggage from REI that allow you to wheel as well as carry the 21" luggage as a backpack. It also has a detachable day pack on the front. We purchased packing cubes so we could roll all our clothes and fit as much in these carry-ons as we could. Did I mention that we ONLY took a carry on with us. Needless to say, I wasn't quite sure how I could fit everything I needed for a 3 week vacation in one bag!!?! It was even worse given the weather we were headed in to. In the end, I was able to get it all in there, but it was pretty tight.
I based by entire wardrobe on black, and this is what I was able to stuff in there:
3 pants (1 black jeans, 2 black tights)
4 long sleeve shirts (1 solid black, 1 solid white, 2 striped shirts)
1 short sleeve white shirt
3 under shirts (white, black and cream)
1 long sleeve dress
1 dressy black sequenced tank top shirt
2 jackets (1 light pink leather and 1 blue blazer)
2 bras (black and cream)
3 socks (2 regular long socks and 1 pair of smart wool socks)
2 boots (black and redish-brown)
1 pair of light pink flats
1 bright green scarf
1 heavy coat and heavy knitted scarf
Extra items we packed:
Lots of the different converters
Chi iron (although mine didn't work with the converters) and curling iron
Small blow dryer
Single travel sized lotion, body wash, shampoo & conditioners
Full bottle of contact solution and contacts & glasses
Last minute items I picked up:
Gloves
Bobble water bottle with filter - SO GREAT
Things I wish I would have taken:
Umbrella
Cards
So now, to make this post even longer, let's talk about the flight over....
We decided to fly American Airlines and left mid-day on Monday and arrived in Dallas - DFW - around 3:30 p.m. A friend of ours SO KINDLY allowed us to use his points to try and upgrade to business class for free. UM, amazing. When we arrived in our terminal, I went up to the attendant and asked if we could still get bumped up. She was so nice, and of course I was totally playing up the sweet card for this one. We were put on the stand-by list to upgrade and she promised she would see what she could do. With about 5 minutes before we boarded, she called us up and we got upgraded! D and I were no longer in the same row, but I was seated in the row right in front of him. No big deal, we could handle that.
Can I just say that I was so excited. Little did I know just how awesome it would be. Not only do you get to board early, but they hand you champagne upon arriving.
Complimentary champagne? Absolutely!
I am sitting in between two men, but the seats are so spacious. I come to realize that they also give you all these amenities, like slippers.
I wore my larger boots, which I was very excited to immediately take off. Then as I'm settling in, they bring out more champagne and a snack. Okay, fine, I'll take another. I get all settled and I'm pretty sure I couldn't stop smiling for the first 30 minutes. I was like a kid in a candy store. The seat actually fully reclined and you have a foot rest! What??!?
You have your own TV to choose from Movies, TV Shows or music. Oh lordy, I was never going to sleep, which was the goal of this flight.
Pretty quickly after take off, they come as ask for your meal choice. We get a choice??!? Not only do you get a meal, but you also get started with a salad, bread stick and smoked salmon.
They come around and offer all sorts of options for drinks. I decide on red wine. D on the other hand goes for the Glenfiddich scotch and I'm pretty sure had 3 glasses on the rocks throughout the flight. After dinner and 3 glasses of wine, they come by and ask if you feel like dessert. Bowl of ice cream, this really is the best idea, with Bailey's on top.
During all this, I decide to watch a super girlie movie (I'm sure the guys beside me just loved), Pitch Perfect. Oh yeah, Jessica Mackert, I blame it on you! I finally decided to get some rest and manage a few good hours. At some point in the trip I wake up and decide to watch a few episodes of New Girl, and before I know it, they are serving us breakfast omelets and coffee. The most amazing flight I've ever experienced ended way too quickly, but it was the best start to our journey when we landed in London. Then that's where the fun really began....
