By Angelin Brewer
My husband and I will celebrate 30 years of marriage this year, and we’ve decided to take our first European vacation. Actually, I decided. My husband, Brent, doesn’t like to fly. Okay, he hates to fly. But I am on a mission to ensure he loves this trip, so I’ve researched the heck out of it, doing my best to choose places and excursions I think he will love. My dad asked me to share some of this research with you, just in case your spouses have been on a similar mission. So here we go:
First, you’ll need to determine a few things such as location, date of trip, whether or not you’ll use a travel agent, length of stay, and budget.
We (note that when I say “we,” I really mean I) decided on Italy. Once that decision was made, we needed to determine time of year. Apparently, Italy is hot in the summer and it’s also busy with Italians taking their vacations, so the best times to go are the Spring or Fall. We take our annual Cape Charles vacation with Mom and Dad in September, so April/May was it.
Next, we found an amazing travel agent through a friend (Shane@imaginetravelvacations.com). After a lengthy Q & A on our likes/dislikes, he suggested three cities (Rome, Florence, and Sorrento), three nights at each, with a full day for arrival and departure. Done!
Next, the budget. We can skip over this part, just in case you had a small heart attack just thinking about it. Here’s the thing: there are tons of ways to cut back and save $ (book travel on your own, watch for online deals, take trains, etc). Since we didn’t know what we were doing, we decided to use our travel agent along with his suggested tour guide to book airfare and excursions to ensure ease – more $, less headache for us (me).
So, once you’ve gotten through all the fact finding, here are some tips on what you can do in advance of your trip:
*Read up on your location. My sister gave me 3 books for Christmas on Italy, and I’ve read each one cover to cover. Lots of helpful info: preferred restaurants, safety, specific places to visit, where to stay, what to take, what to avoid, and on and on.
*Order your currency. Our bank gives us a discount if we order foreign currency from them, so we placed an online order and within a week we picked up our cash. EASY!
*Order items such as an anti-theft cross body bag (Rome can be a place where pickpockets frequent) and European charging blocks (their outlets use a different one than the US).
*Try brushing up on the new language you’ll be hearing. Yes, you could use Google Translate, but we (I) wanted to have some familiarity with Italian, so I’ve been using the Duolingo app each day. Here’s a bit to try and impress you: Salve! Mi chiamo Angelin. Piacere. Mi piace il gelato!
What to pack:
Okay, be prepared. Your spouse may want to take several suitcases. Let them! But here are some crucial things we’ve been told to pack:
Disposable wash cloths (most Europeans don’t use these), an empty bag for your purchases to carry home on the plane, compression socks for the airplane trip, anti-bacterial wipes, sunscreen, aloe, first aid kit, medicines, hat, shawl to cover shoulders when in an Italian church, passport and pictures of your passport, portable WIFI device, US Embassy address, and comfortable shoes.
I’ll be back when we return for our recap! Until then, Ciao!
