Preparing to Travel

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Traveling is one of my favorite things to do. I grew up in a boring small town with basically nothing to see or do. I love nothing more than getting outside of my uninteresting home town and seeing what the rest of the world has to offer. I have travelled to Ireland, Wales, England, France, and Italy. My all-time favorite place I have ever visited has to be Florence, Italy. I am extremely excited and fortunate enough to be able to be studying abroad in Florence, Italy for the next three weeks.



The way I always prepare for a trip is make a packing list, a to do list, and a shopping list for what I need before I go. I am the worst for forgetting the most obvious things like chargers, my glasses, or even my passport so I like to have a little check list handy to make sure I have absolutely every single thing I need. It is also a great idea to research the place first and find out how the weathers supposed to be, if there are any diseases to be aware of, and great things to do while there including visiting museums, important monuments, or maybe just a small cute shop you heard about from someone. Be aware of your flight terminal, especially if you have to switch terminals during your trip. I do not fear flying, but when it comes to flying, I am always afraid that I will miss my flight. That, to me, is worst case scenario, which I know doesn’t make sense because when you miss a flight the airport will usually help you find another.



The flight, as most people would say, is the worst part about traveling, but the important part is to power through and remind yourself the destination makes it worth it. I don’t get anxious about flying or scared in general, but I do find it incredibly boring. I am not one of these people who can sleep in airplanes so that means I have to find something to keep me busy for the 12 or so hours of flying plus the 2 to 3 hours before the flight begins where I am waiting at the gate. Word of advice, while it may be dull and make time feel like it has slowed down, always show up for a flight well in advance. Nothing is worse than missing a flight and then have to wait even longer for another flight. To keep yourself entertained I suggest bringing a book to read, particularly a book that you know you will read. I once brought a book that I had tried reading in the past, but never caught my attention and I ended up giving up on reading it after only about 20 minutes. If books are not your thing, there is always magazines, portable gaming devices, or notebooks to doodle in. Luckily quite a bit of airlines have tv’s on the planes with movies to choose from. Most of the time the choices are pretty good.



I have missed a lot about Florence. The friendly people, the wonderful sights, and of course the food. Gelato is one of the greatest things ever and no one can change my mind. I also enjoyed learning about things I didn’t expect to be taught. For example, my first time there I didn’t expect to enjoy hearing about the architecture. The buildings in Florence are breathtaking, but I wasn’t someone who looked at a building a wondered about its history. So many of the buildings have amazing stories to them that I was surprised by how interesting I found it. Something that I am excited for on this trip that I failed to do on my last one is go to Rome. Rome is one of those places that you have to go to sometime during your life and I can’t wait to do that. I am also excited about the quick little Photography class I get to take. I think it would be cool to go see the Boboli Gardens this time around. It is picturesque and has all these amazing statues and plants and this beautiful fountain. The only thing I am feeling anxious about at the moment is making sure I spend my money wisely and triple check my lists to make sure I have everything.



Overall, I can not wait to be back in Florence and experiencing even more of the city and its culture. This time around should be even better than the last because I am going to be with one of my best friends.

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