Whirlwinding Off To The EU

Two Mondays ago I was stressing out over the fact that I had soo much to do (finish projects at work, pack up and move out of my apartment, buy more bike gear, etc.) before I left for Europe when it hit me - I wasn't going to Europe at all if I didn't have a ticket booked. Sure, I had plans and conversations and ideas all sketched out on my calendar, but they were all going on in MY HEAD and that was not going to land me a seat on a plane bound for the other side of the Atlantic. So I sucked it up and booked my flights: from Toronto to Amsterdam and then from Bordeaux to Montreal. I'll just have to make sure I get to Bordeaux okay and then I gotta get home from Montreal... I'm sure the Universe will help me take care of the details.

I travel like this a lot; I just book my flight from Home to There and then from There to Home and figure out the stuff in between as I go. This works well sometimes and not so well other times (like the time I got off a bus in a small town in Morocco and realized I had no idea where I was and where I was going to sleep that night. I was also drugged up on Reactine (allergic to mosquito bites, I am) and that was a BAD SCENE). But then, there was last summer - full of last minute decisions - and last summer was so great that it feels like I carry it around with me on my wrists like a sweet perfume.

I will admit that I can't remember the last time I felt so unprepared for a trip though. I mean, it just hit me yesterday that I fly TOMORROW evening and I have hardly done a thing to prep for my leaving for three weeks. I know people who count down three and a half weeks (THREE AND A HALF WEEKS!) in advance of a trip and here I am, trying to tie up loose ends the night before. Life is just a wild whirlwind for me sometimes.

I may be flailing last minute, but I'm stoked. I'm hanging out in Amsterdam with my ex-roomie and another good friend, I'll be biking out into the countryside some days, then we'll be riding his motorcycle through the Netherlands and Belgium for the weekend. And in a week and a half I'll be lying in a giant field somewhere in rural Belgium at Pukkelpop, a giant music festival where the line-up is over 100 strong. 100 bands/artists/DJs in 3 days! I think I'm going to overdose on sheer aural stimulation.

I find my way to Bordeaux right after the festival and hopefully recover in time to bike along the south-western coast of France for a few days. Camping along the coast or at a vineyard in the interior is in the plans... though this is a good time to admit that I'm planning on doing all this with uhm, Paris Boy. You know, Boy Wonder from last summer, whose loss I've been lamenting for well, six or seven or so months now. Don't ask me how biking in and around Bordeaux happened, just don't. Just wish me luck that I come out of this feeling okay.

In other news, I got a sleeping bag (a huge YAY!), have finished all the major shopping for my bike trip (just missing a few small things), am learning to ride with newly added weight (and hills, and headwinds...), and am more comfortable with my bike shoes. Yipee! I also moved out of my apartment all by myself, redid my closet (yowza), took my fam on a fantastic long-weekend road trip, and baked my dad a beautiful cake for his birthday (and made sangria!).

Still haven't done my taxes though.

No wonder I feel whirlwind-y.
11:06 pm