T-Minus 32 Days

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First-time visit to Europe is going to be a big 'un. Six months ago, my friend Nicole offered me a chance of a lifetime to join her in Spain while teaching English. For many reasons, I didn't jump at the immediate opportunity. I had a job, a condo, bills to pay...you know, responsibilities. That all changed when I got laid off from my incredibly stressful job and lost my condo because unemployment couldn't come close to affording it. Although at the time I was angry, fearful of my future and bogged down by the additional stress of "What next?" I turned back to my friend Nicole and her offer to traipse around Europe for upward of 6 months. She was planning to leave in March and I was jobless by mid-February. I knew that wasn't enough time for me to adequately prepare for such a trip, but I was committed to ironing out the details to join her somehow. 2 months into planning, I was getting TONS of negative feedback from family members: "You don't have any money" "You need to find a job" etc, etc... things I had been telling myself all along. I finally took my tax return and small remnants of savings and bought a one-way ticket to Paris.

I booked the flight at the beginning of April and have spent the last solid 8 weeks making plans and saving pennies. I have never traveled without my family and certainly had never planned a "vacation". I have learned A LOT by researching, reading Rick Steves books and trolling forums of fellow travelers.

Since then, I have booked a camping tour with The Fanatics: www.thefanatics.com/pamplona to see San Fermin (Running with the Bulls), made a list of hostels to visit, and bought a Eurail Pass for my first 2 months' itinerary.

I look forward to posting more about the planning process, as well as the journey itself. I'm positive there will be fails and successes worth mentioning!

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