Spreadsheets, maps & timetables

Half the fun of traveling is the planning - especially these days. 

My last big trip - the traditional Kiwi OE - was almost 20 years ago.  Pre-internet.  I could only get a poxy 8 page brochure, then trust the travel agent, take a deep breath and book a one way ticket to Kathmandu.  I had no idea what I was getting myself into.  I didn't even know what Kathmandu looked like.  Let alone where I was staying.  Or how to get there.

This time: what a phenomenal difference.  I chose the Italian car rental agency in Tuscany by zooming on Google Maps street view and seeing if the office was easy to find and close to the train station. It was so detailed I could almost see what the receptionist was having for lunch.  I chose our stay at an Italian villa based on the rave reviews at Trip Advisor (http://www.tripadvisor.com/) about its breakfast food and the quiet location of its village.  I worked out the feasiblity of our transfer times by querying the European rail timetables at http://www.bahn.com/i/view/GBR/en/index.shtml and http://www.eurorailways.com/

If I wanted, I could book the trains we are taking, the wine tour we are doing, the water taxi in Venice, and (almost) the meals we are eating. The choices and options are endless. Which is good. And bad. Sometimes the unknown is the best bit.

Asking friends for advice is instructive but it can be confusing. Some say "Florence is the best". Others say "Meh".  Some say "Go to Champagne not Provence". Other say "Go to Provence not Champagne". Whatever. We'll decide for ourselves when we get there. Maybe we'll do both!

After weeks of surfing and chatting we worked out a basic plan.  I do love a good spreadsheet - and happily for our marriage - Steve was happy for me to work out the itinerary. As long as he got to sleep overnight on the Gallipoli Peninsula and sing at the dawn parade on 25 April he was relaxed about where else we went. 

I've booked some things. And left other dates wide open so they can be changed on a whim. With happy memories of unplanned adventures 20 years ago, I was tempted to have no itinerary at all, but since we are visiting friends and relatives in 4 out of 7 countries, that wasn't quite practical.  If we are going to eat their food and sleep in their house, the least we can do is give them a date for the invasion.

So the plan is... Malaysia, Turkey, Italy, Austria, Italy (again), Switzerland, France, England.  Then back home to our rural piece of paradise here in Dairy Flat.

This will be the longest we have ever traveled together.  Our only other big trip was 8 years ago when we went to Vietnam and Cambodia for 4 weeks.

At the time, we were both in corporate jobs, so we worked until the second we went to the airport and we worked like maniacs when we got back.  I spent the first 4 days of the trip so ill I had to be wheelchaired off the plane in Bangkok. Apparently it was a virus. But I bet stress had something to do with it too.


What a difference 8 years make. After months off work I feel like a different person. And Steve isn't stressed either. So this time we are going away without the gorilla on our back. Finally. 

Six and a half weeks to go and we'll be on a plane!!  Hooray!!!  So excited.  It's been a long time coming.

Kim & Steve Unplugged from Stress and on an Adventure