I am not packed yet. Not even close, not at all actually. My passport is still coming to me in the mail (the embassy said it was in the mail last Friday), but I have tickets to everything - plane to London, hostel in London (3 days - see some major points like Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, Harrods, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, pub or two), train to Paris (4 days, see as much as I can - Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Palace of Versailles, Montmartre, Louvre), hostel in Paris, overnight train to Madrid (where I meet up with the rest of my group), train pass for afterward to meet Bethany and travel Italy... It will be an amazing trip - I'll see so much! Luckily my parents kindly got me a digital camera for my birthday to record it all, and an iPod for Christmas to keep me happy and not too homesick.
Perhaps I will pack enough to be wearing completely different clothes every night for one week (excepting shoes, belts and jackets), that way I can mix and match for a great variety of outfits (and pray that I can do enough laundry). What I must remember, though, is that I plan to be hiking my way across the Camino de Santiago (ancient pilgrimage trail across northern Spain to the Cathedral of Saint James in Galicia, where said Saint's remains are said to be buried) - so I must be prepared for that journey which may require my own sleeping bag and some supplies, not to mention comfortable traveling attire. And while they tell us Europeans dress more formally than Americans, it will be a great deal of traveling, jet-setting if you will, so one must prepare to be comfortable.
The most important part of this entire trip, to me, is making it memorable and furthermore being able to remember it! As all of you know, I have a wretched memory and a lazy bum - bad combination. I will take pictures and write notes like a madman throughout the trip, hopefully often sending letters and postcards to whosoever I have addresses to (if you're not sure just send me your address, it can never hurt to have all of them) and I would like to get as many momentos as I can. Furthermore, I would be a fool not to take advantage of my situational opportunity - I want to see European bands!!! I will be seeing Epica in Madrid in February (hopefully con mi cariño Carolina!) and I wish to see some other bands - Iona, Kamelot?, and maybe I'll just hunt for any band playing in Germany because I want an excuse to visit there.
It is not yet sinking in that I will be leaving all of this very soon - all my friends that I can vineyard hop with and sing with and cook with and hangout with, my family that I can eat with an cook for and live with, my normal duties that I know how to perform. Which reminds me, will the bathrooms be different in Europe? Hopefully new food will not make it a different place to visit. A previously relieving experience may become el demonio del baño. Only once I actually step by myself into the airport and hand my ticket to the friendly British Airlines attendant will it be real - only when with a sweet English lilt I am told 'sir, pleased if you'd take your seat and not throw your clothes about...' will I actually be on my own to see Europe.
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