Sexy Times- Totally Not Depressing…

My flight to Rome turned out to be one of those unexpected triumphs that make you feel like luck will follow you wherever you go. Despite the fact that I refused to splurge the extra $20+ to pick my seat on my 8-hour redeye to Oslo, the woman at the check-in counter was willing to help me out and assign me my desired window seat. Then, regardless of the flight being nearly full, no one sat next to me the entire way over, and I got to sprawl out across my row of empty seats for optimum plane-sleep!

My grateful attitude continued to for the first few days of my trip, as I absorbed my surroundings from Rome to Napoli, savoring every drink and every bite of food and good fortune and shaking off any annoyances easily.

But after a few days that glow began to fade and reality started to rear it’s ugly head.

I had been determined not to over-plan my trip so that I could remain flexible, but suddenly it felt like that was the wrong choice. When my friend, Melanie, who I’m staying with, suggested we plan our first travel adventure for the following week to Austria, I was on board!

Sure, I had planned on settling in for a bit longer in Napoli before exploring other countries, but it made sense for a couple of reasons. We didn’t have a car to get us to and from downtown so we spent a lot of time staying at the house (which is beautiful and comfortable and I can’t complain.) Also, Melanie had received good news that she had landed the job she interviewed for and we weren’t sure when it was going to start, so traveling sooner than later seemed best.

As we went through our itinerary and totaled up the costs, my heart began to sink as I realized all of the unforeseen expenses that I didn’t factor into my budget. Even with cheap flights and cheap accommodations, my first weeklong trip still looked like it would take a huge chunk out of the $5,000 in my bank account, coming in at around $350 per person (not including eating, drinking and any other entertainment.)

Panic began to overwhelm me. If all of my trips were going to cost me that much money, and I wasn’t making enough money to replenish some of my funds, then I would have to head home much sooner than I anticipated. Goodbye Thailand; goodbye 6-months worth of adventure; goodbye smart, carefree world traveler.

I mentioned some of my concern to Melanie, but I felt too proud to express the true extent of my fear, embarrassment and shame. This was my new reality, only one week into my trip. Honestly, it’s why I didn’t update my blog on my first week. I felt too stupid.

I regrettably said that we should push back our first trip, as I still needed time to get settled.

I was expecting to work my way through this trip, and if I stayed for another week, perhaps I could pick up some more freelance writing gigs, which would ease my mind a bit.

We took a weekend trip to Sorrento and Amalfi, and though I had to suppress my stress when my beer cost an inflated 7 Euros, I was able to relax and focus on the beauty all around me… especially after I received a new job offer to ghostwrite and edit for a travel blog.

After I made it through the weekend, feeling satisfied but still a bit self-conscious, like… my brokenness was showing. But, I was more at peace about the decision to push back our trip to Austria.

I spent the week productively, working on my writing, and I received three more invitations to interview for jobs through Upwork (which basically means they viewed my profile and would like me to apply, so it elevates my chances of getting hired.)

As my client list slowly started to build, I looked into websites that facilitate work exchanges so that I wouldn’t have to pay for accommodations (and some meals) during my travels. The website I used is called HelpX and it was such a great resource! I heard back from people regularly, and now my biggest problem was whether I had enough time to visit all of the places I wanted to in Europe (spoiler alert: there’s never enough time.)

With my newfound momentum, Melanie and I booked our first trip, but now, instead of flying back to Napoli with her, I am continuing my journey.

My itinerary is as follows:

09-25 Napoli to Vienna

09-26 Vienna to Salzburg

09-29 Salzburg to Munich (for Oktoberfest!!!)

09-30 (say “bye” to Melanie!) Munich to Luxembourg (for 5-hours) then Luxembourg to Brussles

10-02 Brussels to Amsterdam for a homestay on a Yurt with a woman names Ilma.

10-09 to 10-19 Amsterdam to Malaga, Spain to work at a hostel for 10-days

Then…? Morocco? Portugal? Ischia? The only plan I have after that is Venice on 11-01.

I know this isn’t the glamorous tale of watching the moon-rise in Amalfi, or my hitchhiking experience in Napoli (YET) but I think it is important to share this aspect of my trip as well because I know how frustrating it is to see beautiful Instagram photos of people in exotic places and and wonder why they can make it work and you can’t.

Full transpirsncy: traveling certainly isn’t easy. I took a risk.

Don’t forget, it’s not like I left my high-power job with a massive savings and can whisk around Europe without a care. I worked as a part-time nanny and paid a ridiculous amount of rent, and I needed to take myself out of my comfort zone and see and experience new people and places. $5,000 is not a lot of money when you’re buying a one-way ticket to Italy and have no plan yet to return. The need for change made me want to do it anyway.

I wanted to prove to myself that I could. I was sick of reading about other people seeking out adventures. I wanted an adventure of my own. And now, I have one.