365 Questions to Ask Yourself in 2012 - Part 4

Today's question is - "What gets you excited about life?"

I didn't even have to think about this one. The first thing that jumped into my mind was "TRAVEL". Which is why, in 2012, I am beyond sad that we will not be boarding a plane to some new destination. We have decided to pay off our BMW instead. How boring of us.

Don't get me wrong - we'll be taking holidays. We'll be jumping in the car and driving to the Interior for a wedding in Rossland in July, followed by 10 or so days at our family cabin in the Kootenays. That leaves us with a week that will either be broken up into long weekends or maybe a week sailing or camping. Not sure, but whatever we do, it will be relaxing.

In my heart, I yearn for an extended hiatus from my real life. To be able to say "Guess what? We're moving to France for 6 months!" or "We're driving a van around Australia" or "we're moving to Santa Teresa for the dry season" or "We've rented a sailboat and we're doing all the Greek islands...don't know when we'll be back!"....I could go on and on...and ON.

The first time I left North America, I was 22. Me and one of my best friends, as a university graduation present to ourselves, decided to go to Europe. After researching it for a few months, we determined that we wanted to see as much as we could, and not being seasoned travelers, we opted for a Contiki Holiday. These are pre-packaged tours for 18 - 35 year olds. Being 31 now, I couldn't imagine ever going on one now, but then? It was the best possible thing for us to do (at the time, of the 50 travelers that were with us, we were all primarily in our early to mid 20's, with a few outliers on either end of the age spectrum).

We decided on the 5 week "European Adventurer" budget tour that they offered. We'd never been to Europe before, and we figured that it was the best possible way for us to actually stay on budget (as you know upfront what the majority of your costs are), we didn't have to worry about where we were going to stay, or how we were going to get there, and it covered off pretty much every major European city - it was, in a word, a taste. A delicious, exciting taste.

Paris, 2002

We had the time of our lives. It's possible that I have never had that much fun in my life, or will again. It was the first taste of "freedom". I had just spent 4 years in Uni getting my art history degree, so the sights we saw, really hit home. I was living my dream! We met some incredible people - it really was like a traveling summer camp. It's been nearly 10 years since we embarked (June 7th, 2002), but we have made lasting friendships and memories. I'll never forget the way it made me feel. It wasn't about the partying (as so often the Contiki tours are known for), though there was a fair bit of that. It was about waking up to something new every day. It was about me, being on my "own", for the first time. It was enthralling. I was hooked.

Soon after I got back, I started working. Then I got my first post University big girl real job. My holidays were now to be paid, and limited. I've been working now for 9 years, and I only have three weeks paid holiday every year (how depressing is THAT). I don't have the luxury like some of my friends, who seem to be able to take off for months at a time - seriously, where do you get your money, people? (Mommy and daddy, one snarkily {and probably correctly}assumes). I also take my career seriously, so I'm not one to just jump off the boat when it suits me. Oh, to be free. Or rich. Free AND rich. Must be nice.

I take my time off very seriously. When it's limited, you have to make the most of it. So, in 2004, on my first ever paid vacation, my mom and I went to France for a week. Why only a week? Well, that's all I had for my entire first year of working. And I certainly wasn't about to sit back and not doing something epic. My mom and I spent 8 nights in Paris (you learn to get tricky with long weekends), and a day in Bruges, Belgium. We loved it. We hit up every church you could possibly imagine, and ate pastries for days. It was Heaven.

It's blurry because we were in a rush to eat as many pastries as possible while moving.

In 2005, we went to the Bahamas. I won the trip through work. It was only for 4 days, and though it was beautiful, this was the trip that made me realize that all-inclusives are NOT my thing. If I can help it, it will be my first, and last.

Freeport, Bahamas, 2005

In 2006, I got married. We wanted to do something amazing for our honeymoon, but soon realized we didn't have the budget for our champagne tastes. In the end, we chose to go to Hawaii for two weeks because it was close and neither of us had ever been there. We figured it was a bit of a cliche for a reason - and it is. We spent a week on Oahu and a week on Maui. It was just the kind of relaxation we needed after the big day. Mahalo.

Aloha, bitches! 2006

2007 and 2008 - I was sick with my Crohn's issues - resulting in a canceled trip to France in 2008 so I could have surgery........

In 2009, I finally got to take my husband to my favorite country, France. We took our three weeks and used every single second of it. This trip continues to inspire me. We did it right. We flew into Paris and spent a sexy three days in the heart of my favorite district, on Rue Cler. We drank champagne under the Eiffel Tower, we ate, we walked, we drank more wine, we people watched. Then, we got on a train to Avignon to meet our friends Jon and Diana and their boat (a 60 foot barge) on which we spent the next 12 days floating down the canals from Avignon to Arles to Montpellier and everywhere in between. THIS is the way to travel, if you ever get a chance. There is nothing like it. You will see things and places you will never see by road. For example, the wild horses of the Camargue, or entering the Med. It was truly incredible and once in a lifetime. Once we hit Montpellier, we took a train back to Paris, where we were met by my French family, and we stayed with them in their house in Boissy, just outside of Paris, for another week. What an amazing experience, and one I often look back on with joy.

Canal du Midi Pirates

Swimming in the river in the remote Camargue

Versailles

Drinking champagne out of a bottle is actually really hard

In 2010, we took two trips. The first one was to celebrate my 30th birthday in on Grand Cayman Island. We have family there, Liz and Gary, and they own the number one dive company, Living The Dream Divers. We were there just as they were getting started. It was the most incredible week of diving (I got PADI certified - something that was on my bucket list), and on my actual birthday I got to swim with sting rays in the wild. Liz and Gary were incredibly generous with not only their occupation, but their time. They opened their home to us, and made sure we experienced the best of the Cayman lifestyle. It was 9 days of paradise and we can't wait to go back.

About to dive with some rays!

Amazing! We were the only ones here!

Cayman has my heart.

Later that year, we took a trip to San Francisco, Napa Valley, Santa Cruz, and Los Gatos for Liz and Gary's wedding. We rented a silver Camaro and enjoyed stuffing as much as we possibly could into 5 days of travel. We did a limo tour of Napa, drank too much wine, toured San Fran for our anniversary, drove the coast, rode roller coasters on the Santa Cruz pier, went to a wedding...it was a blast.

Yountville

Del Dotto Winery, Napa.

In 2011, I won a $3000 travel voucher at a golf tournament. What a prize! After MUCH debate - like, whether or not to stay within the confines of that $3000 by simply going to an all inclusive in Mexico, how long to go for etc, we decided that we really needed to get away for 2 weeks. And wherever that was going to be, it needed to be warm, and there needed to be surf. We ended up in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica for 17 glorious days in Feb/March 2011 and it was spectacular. It was our first Central American experience, and it was the best. The $3000 covered our flights. The accommodation was $700 for two weeks - we found an adorable and affordable casita off Craigslist of all places. The food was amazing, and ate out a lot, despite also having a kitchen. The beaches were truly amazing, and the people were friendly. Our biggest splurge was keeping an ATV for 2 weeks - it's all we used to get around Santa Teresa, Mal Pais, and Montezuma. Worth it! Can't wait to go back someday.

Santa Teresa

Our sweet ride

Montezuma

Within all these years, I've also managed to squeeze in a week at the previously mentioned summer home, which is hands down, my favorite place on earth. And this year, we'll get to spend more time there as we won't be flying anywhere exotic. This year, 2012, we'll be "home" for the holidays and it will be good. I'm looking forward to it.

Not too shabby!

See you in 2012!

But oh. Travel. How I will miss you. You excite me so!