* 8 weeks *

▓░▓:3
€$£: 6
OAP: 3.5


The exciting tones of Chicane’s Poppiholla (recommended by Tillo) adds hope to my thoughts which have been leaning more towards the “worry” end of the meter for the last few days. Not that I have much to worry about, I just can’t help but think that things might not go as planned. Even though talking to my sister Sarah has reassured me that it’s absolutely normal to worry, and that the second I realize I’m downtown Rome, nothing will matter!


The last week has been interesting in terms of couchsurfing. I haven’t yet found a host, however, a couple of amazing potential hosts have asked me to re-write to them again a little closer to my leaving time because it is too early for them to figure out what their plans are for December yet. They also attached their phone numbers so that I call them anyway once I’m there and hopefully we’ll get to hang out!


Over the weekend, I’ve officially picked the 2 pieces of luggage I will be travelling with; I have my Denmark luggage and my Italy Luggage. I’m allowed to have 20 KGs in each. Believe it or not, the Denmark luggage already has 15 KGs in it because the plan is that I take a Barbie doll house for my niece (this Barbie doll house was my sister’s and I when we were growing up and now we feel it is time to pass it on) the other 5 KGs will definitely be spend on gifts for the other niece and nephew, my sister and her husband.


As per the Italy bag, I have a general idea of what I want to take but it is all things that I’m still using, closer to my travel date, I will look into everything and decide what I need to do in terms of electronics and such (because their system is different than ours). My sister Sarah said she’ll put together my travel make up set, so that takes one thing off of my load!


I’m just terribly excited because 8 weeks from this moment, I’ll be on –inshallah- on an airplane, on my way. I don’t know how to describe the feeling, other than I really hope each and every one of you can one day feel this way about something they love and been wanting to do.


Thanks for reading,
I’m out
NWT


p.s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC40_p9eG8w

9 WEEKS

▓░▓: 3 

€$£: 7 

OAP: 2.5

9 weeks till departure... feels like a long time from now, yet I know that it will come too soon, which kind of worries me.

I feel like there are so many little details that have not yet been figured out but at the same time, it might be too early to decide, for example, what purses should I take with me and what shoes will I have and how much clothing , But I guess I can worry about that later.

For now, I’m still searching for a couch to stay on, however, if that doesn’t work out soon, I will start looking into alternative solutions, maybe hostels or hotels if I can afford that on my student-budget travels.

Mainly for the last week I’ve been looking into what cities I want to visit and what places I want to see. So far Rome and Florence sound like my 2 sensible destinations because I’m going to land in Rome and I definitely want to spend most of my time there, and Florence is a close by city that’s supposed to be very different than Rome. I feel like I might end up staying in Rome the whole week but for now, I’m keeping my options open. Venice, which was on my list of places to go, turned out to be a lot harder to get to.

Some of the top touristy things that I wouldn’t want to miss out on are (click on names to see pictures)

-          Coliseum

-          Trevi Fountain

-          Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps)

-          Leaning Tower of Pisa

-          St Peter’s Square, Vatican City

 If I get to do all of those, I’ll be very very happy!

Good news, exam schedule comes out the first week of November, which gives me enough time to figure out whether or  not my exam need to be moved and that makes me very happy.

As part of my preparation for the trip, I’ve been making very small purchases on things that I know I will need, (i.e: new socks) just because I don’t want to have to start  buying everything last minute and feel like I spent a lot towards the end I’m trying to divide the purchases over a longer period of time.

Also as part of my preparation, I’ve been reviewing some of Italian that I memorized and also have been having Peter and Nadia teach me some words, lol ! Basically peter said, whenever you’re mad just say “ST ANTOONY!” with a nice Italian accent, hehe

I feel good, a little worried, but you may not be able to tell because I cover it well with all the happiness I’m feeling.

I’m out

NWT

 P.S: I need some good Italian music to listen to while I'm preparing for this :-) any ideas

Making sense of it all!

▓░▓:2

€$£: 7

OAP: 2

I’m constantly thinking about things to do or to check out and its getting really hard to keep track of my thoughts. I really hope this helps.

In order to keep sense of this, at the beginning of each blog, I will put a quick reference to how I’m feeling about three major aspects of this trip. In these references, 10 is best and 1 is... let’s just say not good at all

#1) Getting to Know Italy: I know in 10 weeks I won’t be fluent in Italian, nor will I have learned everything I wish to know before I go.  But I'm going to try to take in the best I can before its time to go. Learning Italian (out of Italian for Dummies book) and watching documentaries or reading books about Italy will increase this measure.

#2) it’s a five letter word. €$£: this is all about the savings and the spending and how I feel I’m doing with that. There is an estimated budget that I’d like to have when I start my trip. A good level to be at is 7 or 8. The more I feel I’m steering away from the budget, the less the reference number for me. So if I’m at 5, then I must’ve dug into my Italy budget. If I’m at 10 however (which I hope to be) then I’ve actually gone beyond my expectations!

#3) over all preparation: by the night I leave. This Must Be a 10. This includes things such as purchasing gifts, finding a place to stay (hopefully couchsurf), buying winter coat and winter boots, and just how mentally prepared I am to go. Right now, I might be at a 2, and that better be a 10 in 10 weeks :-)

So please keep up with me, and why I’m doing this publically is because I would really appreciate your input. I want to know what you think, I also want any advice, tips or hints to things I should pay attention to and start working on.

Signing off for now

NWT