#4 Europe itself will have to wait
One of the goals on my list that I was most looking forward to when I wrote it was traveling to Europe.
I hadn’t really thought much about being able to go there anytime soon until I married Aaron. But he has an aunt and uncle living in Germany, which makes visiting Europe a little cheaper and easier. Between that and the fact that we were both gainfully employed and saving money little by little, traveling to Europe seemed like a real possibility.
Over the last few years, though, a few things changed. We had a year of unsteady income, which certainly took us down a peg in the “let’s do fun expensive things” category. Also, some of our priorities changed. We bought a house. We paid off all our loans. Even smallish things like adopting a cat have taken a toll on our budget.
So… needless to say, we haven’t taken a trip to Europe.
We have, however, begun planning a trip for some unspecified time in the future. We’ve spent some time reading through various travel books and websites and are currently looking into various European group tour packages. The latter especially has helped us put the trip’s cost into perspective and helped us plan better for when the time finally comes.
In the meantime we’ve been finding ways to experience little bits of Europe here in the Twin Cities. We’ve made a point to try several European-themed eateries—a Greek restaurant, an Irish pub, a Spanish tapas bar—and order whatever seems most authentic. I got a healthy dose of European history, especially that of Britain and France, reading my “major world wars” book. We made a special trip to the Minneapolis Institute of Art to experience some of the painting, sculpture, etc. from the region. And I’ve been pleased to take in bits of the beauty of Italy and the Greek Isles five times a week thanks to my lovely wall calendars at work.
The taste of European beauty, history, and culture has made me even more excited for when we get to go, but I’m glad that we’re waiting for just the right time in our lives to make the trip.
