A taste of Europe

Well, it looks like New Orleans will have to wait. I don't think Sebastian and I will be going any time soon.

Last Tuesday, while at work, amidst vacation talk with my coworker for the end of the year, I started feeling a bit bummed out about not getting to do what I really wanted. Another year had passed and I had saved enough money to travel abroad, but not really serious about doing it.

I texted Sebastian:


Me: I'm getting a big itch to take off to France for Thanksgiving......
Sebastian: You find any cheap tickets to help scratch that itch?
Me: $800 for 9 days. Sound tempting to you? I'm doing research and finding friends along the way who can lodge.
Sebastian: Sounds nice.... Yeah might as well while we're young.


I decided to wait until later that evening when we could talk it over more seriously. I only had 20 hours of vacation left, but I wouldn't be able to go in January before classes started because my coworker was leaving for 3 weeks to Colombia. My time was now, and it was nearing.

The very next day, Sebastian and I talked with our bosses to see the possibility of getting that time off. My boss was more than willing to let me take 2 weeks if I needed it- unpaid of course. The end of the year would prove to be a slow season for us, and she was more than glad to unload me as long as possible to save on a paycheck.

Sebastian got the time off approved, and called to check up on me. The very next day, I went to his place to continue doing the research, and the following day, we booked our tickets. After many time restraints and schedule conflicts, we settled on London, Paris, Marseille and Rome. I had to sacrifice Pisa, Italy to spend an extra day to see my brother, sister and their friends in Marseille, France. My brother told me we could use his mother's house for our stay (3 days).

Here's a preview of Marseille:

We will be traveling November 24th to December 6th, which means I will be spending my 25th birthday in Rome at the time.Sebastian is very exited about this trip because it will be his first time out of the States. He's really looking forward to getting a stamp on his passport from each country, which I found to be really cute.

I don't have my American passport yet, and I will have to expedite it when I get my certificate at the Citizenship Oath Ceremony this Wednesday. I have my French passport, which I can use when I'm in Europe, but won't be able to use it to come back into the states because I will no longer have my Green Card.

I'm still awaiting the word from my brother if he can use his Employee discount at the Holiday Inn hotels in London, Paris and Rome. I hope so because the rates were great.

So that's it- I've finally got something to look forward to. It's official, the countdown begins.