And We're Off....

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Dear Friends and Family,

After many months of planning we are about to embark on a grand trip to Europe, 2 weeks in France followed by 2 weeks in Ireland.

For years I have dreamed of taking a long summer vacation ever since I skipped my first summer off to enter college early. What I didnt realize at the time was that college cost a lot of money, so that kind of limited trips and vacations. Then came a job to pay for that college (what, only 2 weeks vacation ?!!), which very quickly ended in marriage and kids (hello Disney World). Before I knew it the 20-something decade had blown by and summers off as kid were a distant memory.

Fast forward a few years and I suddenly realize I am about to be 40 this summer. So here I am, standing on the precipice of this vacation, wondering what in the heck I have gotten myself into ?? I've never been gone for more than 2 weeks at a time. How will the bills get paid? Will I be gone so long that I'll get home sick and not enjoy the trip ? Will my wife and kids want to throttle my neck after the first week ? The debates and anxieties rage on in my mind, but I am going anyway. Heck, you are only 40 once. Change is good, I hate change, change is good.

Here is our itinerary in a nutshell
Week 1 - France: visit Paris and the family of our good friend Pierre
Week 2 - France: take the TGV to Grenoble and the French Alps to visit the home of my friend Pierre
Week 3 - Ireland: we are taking the counter-clockwise route starting in Sligo, then Galway and Dingle
Week 4 - Ireland: wrap up Dingle then on to Kinsale/Cork, finishing the trip in Dublin

For better or worse I have decided to share this trip with all of you. So that means for the next 4 weeks you will have to put up with my bad humor, my goofy observations, and my Rick Steves impersonations. I hope you enjoy it all and please enter your comments, the blog is so much better when you poke fun at me :-) Be sure to use the "subscribe" button to get automatic email updates.

http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/briangilmore/

Written from the Delta Crown Room on T-Concourse in Atlanta.

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Comments

[Alyssa]

Batman > Fanny Pack
^^ bump