So, I found a cheap fare...

I was on Facebook one day and saw a post from a former student who mentioned some extremely low fares to London, Paris, and Amsterdam. You see these things all the time and typically, they never work out--they either don't have any seats left, or you have to go at some weird time, etc. But I clicked the link, did the research, and sure enough, it was true--only $399 round trip to any of the cities.

I had already been to London (twice) and Paris...so Amsterdam was the obvious choice. Not to mention that years ago, I started planning a trip to Eastern Europe that I thought I'd never take. I knew once I got there, travelling between countries was fairly inexpensive. So I booked it. Then, the panic set in.

How was I going to pay for the rest of the trip? I'm an independent contractor, so when I don't work, I don't make money. I don't have paid sick days or vacation days. This would be 12 days of non-money-making time, so in addition to paying for the trip, I would also have to save money to make up for the time I would not be working. What the hell was I thinking?

I decided that rather than worry about how I would pay for it, I'd just start planning. I began rather ambitiously, scheduling 9 cities over 11 days, figuring I'd whittle it down as I got deeper into planning. But as I began to look at timetables, etc. I realized that I could (or would at least attempt to) make this work. I knew I'd more than likely never go back (don't see the point in spending money on the same city twice when I can go somewhere else I haven't been), so I crammed all the places I had dreamed of seeing into the small amount of time I had.

I began booking airbnbs in each city which was an experience in and of itself. Then, I got to the fun part (for me, anyway, since I'm such a type-A hyper-organized person)--the planning. How much time could I spend in each city and still make it to the next one in time? What sights were "must-sees" and which ones were optional? How do I get around the city? How much do things cost (and in which currency)? Where is the bathroom?

I spent months working on this (for some perspective, I purchased the ticket back in March of 2017 and the departure date was at the end of September 2017), but it is the kind of chore I enjoy. Figuring out all the directions before I leave. Buying tickets to various attractions in advance. The only problem is that once you've done all that you just want to GET THE HELL OUT OF YOUR HOUSE AND GET THERE ALREADY. And I still had a month to go before I left.

I've already had an airbnb cancel on me and had to find a new one (and change all my directions). My flight out has changed times TWICE (so far). There are two times I have extremely early flights and I'm not sure how I'll get to the airport in time. But I'm psyched.

#preparation #easterneurope #amsterdam #flights #transportation #tickets #travel #airbnb