2. Planes, Trains and Accents Galore!

Alright, the first point to be made is that I made it to London. Hallelujah! So many things, people, so many things:

(Side note: I have no idea how this Blogger for iPad works, so pardon any layout weirdness with photos or general shenanigans)

1. IcelandAir is wonderful! I treated myself to business class seats (picture below), and holy hell, if you can swing it, do the hell out of it. It's not something that I'll be able to get used to, but man-a-live was it worth the money I though was being "thrown away". I say this especially because of the nearly two hours we spent stuck on the runway after landing, because of a massive windstorm, apparently coming in as leftovers in Iceland from a hurricane in the US. Thanks to the damn pilot who flew and landing us all in one piece! For real you guys, it was pretty hardcore for a bit there. Plus apparently the Iceland volcano was erupting when I was there, sitting in my seat. So... glad to be in London!

Anyhow, this is all I got to see of Iceland, and, if I can be honest... it was 8°c, with something like 70km winds. I think I'm good. For now.

2. So I had specific instructions to take two tube lines to get to my AirBNB location. I take the first for a good 45 minutes. It was made easier by the fact that I'd had my London Oyster pass preloaded and mailed to me months ago. The best thing about it is that unlike the TTC monthly pass, the card doesn't expire, and you just add money to it like a Starbucks card. There are some daily limits that I don't know much about, but am sure to hit one and learn in a less pleasant way what they are. Anyhow, so I go along the main line, taking a while, but no worries, and then I get off at the proper stop (all like, "HELL yeah I got to the right stop!"), only to find that the main line that I'm meant to take is closed for the weekend. 

Joy. 

So what do I do? I think we all know what I did... I allowed myself a 20 second internal freakout, and then came back to life and asked a dude for help. He helped but I still didn't get it. I just... you guys... there are so many subway lines! Plus at that point I was going onto hour 23 of being wide away, after a windstorm, and runway sitting... I needed a moment. I managed to get where I needed to be on the subway, and decided that I would take a cab the rest of the way. I didn't know that the rest of the way was 5 minutes away... on foot. Oh but the cab driver did, and made sure to share with me that my trip was a waste of time for him because he'd waited some time for a fare and I was going so short a distance. He was a treat.

In any case, I finally arrived! AirBNB, all good, nice dude and his son who's place I'm staying at, and then the fun began! Real fun, not sarcastic fun.

3. Finally. London! Showered, got de-plane-afied, and met my friend for a walk along the Thames. Thank ALL GOOD THINGS that he was there, because holy hell did I need the guidance. Here is what we saw:

I fell asleep last night before I added the photos, so, these were added morning-fresh!

I'll tell you what, for a woman who has trouble sleeping, I got a solid 10 hours last night. Looks like all I need is an intense double-flight and to stay up 26 hours straight. Sounds like a perfectly reasonable plan...

Anyhow, off I go on another adventure today, likely museums because it's probably going to rain. It looks like I may luck out and get all sunny days otherwise though, which would be amazing!

Happy holiday Monday, everyone!

H.

1. Freak of Planning Nature.

Um, I'm going to Europe for a month, you guys.

It's insane.
It's awesome.
It's scary.
It's amazing.

Yeah, I man'd up and booked the damn thing. It's been years of trying to make it happen but only in my head. This year, I decided that it was going to become a reality, and worked pretty hard in hopes of making it happen.

It has, and it's only 21 days away. The word "excited" can't quite address how I feel, but it's safe to assume that I will cry in each country because of how lucky I am to be there.

Anyhow, allow me to share with you the way that I went about planning this trip. As some of you may well know, my brain works better with a plan. I'm trying to be less planned in some other aspects of my life, but when I have been saving my money for years to be able to go on this trip, planning seems like the right thing to do.

This is where you all find out (for those who don't already know), that I am a freak of nature. The research and planning that I have done for this trip is even concerning for me, the one going on it, and the one who live in this insane brain all day and night.

Without further ado/adieu (I know they mean different things, now, but I'm using both. Deal with it.), this is the stuff that I'd done since January 12, when I first started planning this thing, up until I booked on February 11, 2014 (and yeah, that's a total of 208 day before take-off):

1. Research, research and some more research:

• Checked the cost of flights from each country that I was considering going to, to see which was cheaper, or reviewed better, or had better times, or would smile at me larger (the last one isn't true, but that should definitely be a rating system), and decided that flying into London was best, because it's huge and awesome, and I want to hear their accents before all others! Laugh if you must, but I am going to MELT stepping off of that plane.
• Checked costs of flights vs. trains while in Europe, and compared what goes where for how much, which lead me to choosing the next location, Edinburgh. Just a bit north, and only a 1 hour and 15 minute flight, for only $91.43CAD, including extra giant-lady charge. Second location, chosen!
• Checked the same for the next place, and decided that just a 1 hour and 5 minute flight to Dublin would be the way to go, for only $100.67, also including extra giant-people space. Third location picked!
• Check the same for the next, and felt like a bit more heat might be in order. Barcelona! Vicki and Christina BACK OFF, because I'm stepping in. Javier Bardem, you'd better run!
• Then, where do I spend the last 9 days? Well, Paris completes what I'm calling the "European C". The locations, on a map, make a lovely "C" shape, and so that's that! Paris, $138.87 flight, only 2 hours, done and done.
• AirBNB comes next, and I contact five people from each country whose places look great, to see what I get back. I hear back from all but two people our of twenty, and continue chats with most of them. Ask questions (most info is on the site, but some is missing... I suggest writing a list of the things that are important to you, and then sending a note along if their site doesn't cover it off, it can get confusing looking at twenty listings at once, especially is some are in a foreign language, though most have a translator option).
• I narrow it down to 2 per country, think for a week... then ask any final questions. You can be pre-approved, and I luckily was for most, which makes the booking process a bit more smooth.
• You have to be certified/approved to use AirBNB, and have to send two pieces of info. The first is your passport as a scan/PDF, and then I think the other was proof of something else, like job or credit or something, can't quite remember.

2. Book it, baby!

• I choose a day to book, sit down at the dining room table, and hold my breathe in hopes that I got the right dates. Six flights and five AirBNB stays have to work in sync, arrival times in airports with arrival times at AirBNB locations, and if I get a date wrong it would be unpleasant. So, in silence, I book the first flight, then the applicable AirBNB.
• I pay that off immediately on my credit card. Freaking out, in a big way!
• I book the next. Freak out a bit more.
• Pay that off.
• So on and so forth for three more after that. Pants-pee! Not literally... ish.
• I get a note back from a guy in Dublin, saying that they've had a change of heart, so that plan fell through. I choose a new place based on my top two choices, and book that the next day.
• I'm BOOKED! February 11, 2014, booked for one month in Europe, starting August 30, 2014.

3. Freeeeeeeak OUT!

• A lot!
• ... and then more!
• +10!

4. Buy some stuff...

• Europe-specific luggage, to fit on all of the smaller airlines like RyanAir and EasyJet.
• I received my Paris Museum Pass on February 25!
• I received my London Oyster card on March 24!
• I received my Paris 5-Day Metro pass on March 28!

5. Make a chart. Nah, make 16 charts. Yup.

• I created a document in Word, with charts for every element of the trip. Since January 12, there have been 62 iterations. Yeah, 62. I have a problem. 
• Chart 1 - Flight information for each flight : date, airline, airport arrival, airport departure, total cost, seat, max. luggage size, min. luggage size, stops, class, confirmation number
• Chart 2 - London attraction (24), including for each place on the list : location name, exact address, closest subway/bus route, hours, cost to get in, web address, main contact number
• Chart 3 - London dining (10), including the same as the above for each
• Chart 4 through 11 - Attractions and dining for Edinburgh, Dublin, Barcelona and Paris
• Chart 12 - Overall budget, market with initial costs, then separately costs for food, attraction and overall spending for each country
• Chart 13 - Pictures of all AirBNB stays
• Chart 14 - Packing checklist, includes 49 items
• Chart 15 - Overall info : flight, AirBNB (including date, address, contact name, number and email, confirmation number, wifi login and password, door number, whether they have a printer (to print the next flight ticket), currency of the given country, weather that time of year, what their main method(s) of transit are, where the nearest post office is (not bringing baggage to take stuff back, so will be sending myself a package at the end of each stay), airport locations and contact information
• Chart 16 - Additional information, like signing up for Canadian's Abroad so the gov't knows where you are in case something happens, insurance info, cell plan, backup financial options

6. Pack

• 46 of the 49 items on the list have been packed in the bag I bought specifically for Europe since I bought it on February 16.
• The outstanding things are a raincoat, a PJ tank and to print my first flight ticket.

7. Get the F out of dodge!

• I leave August 30th! Whaaaaaaat?!

My plan is to update this badboy every day. Who knows, plans change, but I shall do my best!