All by myself
(You may thank me later for putting Celine Dion in your head)After all of my bitching (in this very spot!) about needing a vacation, I am going to take one. To make a rather long story short, some circumstances have changed money wise so that I can swing it (it may not be the most sensible plan, but whatever. At some point I will be a grownup with responsibilities who can't just pick up and go on a sweet vacation.) Anyway, I'm going to go on vacation in September, once some work calms down a little bit and during the time when the minion stops work to go home for a break before school starts.
One issue with all of this is that I have no traveling companion (not that I've looked very hard). While there are some people that I would really enjoy traveling with, I assume that they'll all have other obligations. But really, like I said, I haven't looked into it very much. I really really enjoyed sightseeing by myself in Copenhagen last year (Copenhagen posts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, posts 7-14 are more of the tourism stuff while the earlier ones are more bitching about my boss) and I would be happy to do it again. Getting up when I want, deciding my own itinerary each day, doing things at my own pace and such were all extremely relaxing. Yeah, it was a little lonely sometimes in that there wasn't anyone to say "wow! that is really cool!" to, (at least a partial reason why I blogged it so much and took so many pictures) but overall it was a fantastic experience that I am eager to repeat, although I could see how being by yourself would get old after a week or so.
Some people (most notably my mother) seem less enthused about the traveling alone idea. When I first told her about my little plan, her response was "with who?" and she seemed a little nonplussed when I answered "with myself". She got over it pretty quickly and started advocating for different destinations, but she still thought traveling alone seemed like a strange idea until I gave her all of the reasons why going alone was really the most relaxing option. After a little while, she kept repeating "Hmmm. Having no one to answer to." I, on the other hand, think that traveling by myself is a fantastic idea and is, in fact, a bit empowering. (Although I am not sure that I am going to tell my boss that I am going alone. Hmmm.) In the long run, (and slightly off-topic but not really) I think it is really interesting what activities single people (or really any people, but it comes up more often with single people) will do alone: I love traveling alone and going to movies alone but I won't go to a sit down restaurant alone (unless I'm traveling). A topic for another day, I guess.
The biggest issue right now is a choice of destination, which is also affected by the by myself thing. Some other graduate students in my lab found a cheap deal to the Dominican Republic and went there earlier this summer. I looked at the same package (or similar packages to other Caribbean destinations) but decided against all of them because while I have enjoyed beach trips in the past, I don't think I'm the kind of person who would like a week of laying on the beach by myself...that would drive me crazy with boredom quickly. (My mom on this point: "You're right. You're not really a beach bum.) I think I need a place with more sightseeing type stuff. I'm leaning towards Europe at this point (which feels extremely extravagant, although I am finding good deals) although I have not yet chosen a more precise destination. My criteria are: cool stuff/places I want to see (easy since my previous Europe experience is Paris, Madrid, Copenhagen and since really I could even stand to see Paris again), walkability, safety/security/comfort for solo women travelers, cost (nice segue from the previous post) and also ability to manage in English potentially without knowing a word of the native language or with my semiusable French. The first four of the five criteria are really the most important. It is kind of interesting that the solo traveler thing comes up AGAIN (and at this point may end up being the deciding factor as I vacillate between two different options). I think I am going to do a lot more reading and research this weekend because I just keep getting overwhelmed and being indecisive. I'd love any input of suggestions (hint, hint).
(By the end of my conversation with my mom, this is what she said: "GO TO LONDON!!!! No, wait, I think you should go to Greece. Greece is supposed to be nice. You should go to Greece. No, London. London. I mean, Greece." which is funny both because she changed her mind so quickly and because I hadn't even mentioned Greece nor am I leaning towards either London or Greece at this point.)
As ridiculously busy as I am lately (work=good but crazy, minion=surprisingly competent but time consuming, roommate situation=finally calm) I am feeling EXTREMELY happy just browsing vacation packages. I think there might be a market for vacation shopping as a form of therapy.
posted by Immunegirl @ 1:19 AM
8 Comments:
Terrific news. You'll have a lot of fun planning the trip, as well as going on it!
Darn! So we won't be going on our pretend trip?
Funny! I was going to say London too, LOL! Maybe Rome would be nice too.
I also love researching vacations. I remember one horrible day in Calgary I walked into work and it was soooooooo miserablly cold, I spent all morning costing out all inclusive trips to sunny destinations.
I never went, but I felt a lot better.
On solo travelling, my last vacation was somewhat solo. I was travelling by myself (as Mr Bob won't let himself out of the lab), but visiting people I knew. It was great.
Both of my younger sisters have done more solo travelling. One did 6 months through Australia and the other did a few months in England and Europe and is constantly across Canada and the States (sometimes with people, sometimes alone).
If you stay at youth hostels, you can easily meet people (or not, if you prefer). What about visiting your best friend?
What about visiting Canada? Quebec City? Vancouver BC?
Man, do I ever envy you your ability to just go out on your own and do things. A coworker does that. She just goes off on a vacation by herself. I've always wanted to do that but am too chicken.
I'd love to see Greece. London is very expensive.
Glad to hear that you're able to take a vacation. You are still young and now is the time to do it. Have fun planning where to go.
Traveling alone is wonderful! I went to Ireland to visit some friends a couple of years ago, but I did my own thing while they went to work. My aunt was horrified; she thought it was a lonely way to travel. It wasn't. It was awesome because I could see and do what I wanted when I wanted and I didn't have to compromise or negotiate with anybody! Have fun...
I understand that getting hit on by the entire population of Greece is the goal of every solo female traveler, but I'd like to suggest warm and sunny Costa Rica.
It's not just beach. It's beach, jungle, and Volcanos. It's also student priced (so you can direct your windfall towards Kate spade bags and other necessities).
Quebec City and Montreal both would make excellent long weekends. A 3-4day excursion to QC has been on our radar for some time as Kate has never been to Canada. Maybe we can get motivated and bring a crew (think autumn or winter carnival)
Yay Iggy! I admire your independence and fearlessness (huh?). I would be terrified of travelling alone. Especially to foreign countries. Yikes! That's so cool for you though.
I vote London, because I've always wanted to go there and I'm quite sure I never will. :)
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