A Very Lucky Girl

My sister-in-law and I recently returned from a 13 day adventure around Europe and I couldn't think of a better avenue to share our experience. We both received a multitude of questions of how we planned, executed the plan, and saved $$ for the plan. Do you sense a "plan" theme? Stay tuned, not very much actually went according to plan once we were in motion.  Jordan and I talked on and off about making this trip a reality, but it honestly came together fairly spontaneously. Jordan ordered her passport in January and we booked our trans-Atlantic flights in February, with only about 2 months to go. We decided on April 19th through May 1st, strategically celebrating Jordan's 23rd birthday in the middle! Once dates were selected, destination decisions were made. With this being Jordan's first out of country trip (and her very first flight!), I wanted her to pick most of the places. I had 2 places on my wish list: Nice, France and Budapest, Hungary. After stud...

I love so very many things about traveling. I love every kind. The kind where you walk somewhere. The kind where you drive to a new state. And especially the kind where you get your wings and fly across state lines.  Airports seem to disintegrate social divides, even with notions of first class and coach. Everyone is on an equal playing field, dependent on the airlines for a schedule. Real life is suspended in an airport terminal. When I flew to Baton Rouge to visit Mimi and Didi, I met the nicest characters on my return flights. One rather large man had the unfortunate privilege of sitting next to me in a middle seat. He wedged himself into the space and I graciously offered him the armrest, but stubbornly held on to my window seat winnings. He made small talk, offering that he was traveling back from a Bachelor party in New Orleans with a large group and had once upon a time wanted to major in English Literature. After take off, I inserted headphones and lost myself in round af...