Remember that whole I’m-going-on-vacation-and-swearing-off-technology-for-10-days idea? First of all, let me be the first to tell you… that is NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE to accomplish.
With the exception of a few phone calls home to the boyfriend, the occasional e-mail checking and updates to Facebook and Twitter less than a handful of times, I’d say I did fairly well overall. But boy was it difficult. There were many instances when I would head off in the morning for the day and leave my iPhone at the hotel. Traveling technology-less is much harder than I originally thought but as I imagined, being disconnected was incredibly liberating.
Not only did it allow me to appreciate my surroundings much more (heck, I was in Europe for goodness sake) but I was partaking in a much more stress-free lifestyle. It’s amazing how much technology influences nearly every aspect of my everyday life. (I’ll also admit here that throughout the trip, I kept thinking to myself, “Oh my gosh, why aren’t I checking in on Foursquare?!” I was in the middle of Europe experiencing Foursquare withdrawal–I know, it’s quite the problem.)
Now the trip has officially come to an end and I’m sifting through 200+ blog posts I need to catch up on in Google Reader, 400+ e-mails and missing Europe terribly. Why must vacations always go by so quickly?
On to the good stuff
You might ask, “Where did you go on this European vacay?” Well folks, my travels took me to London, Normandy and Paris. While I’ve been to both London and Paris a couple of times before, it was my first time visiting Normandy. Here’s a little breakdown of the trip:
London: Aug. 10-12
- Milestone Hotel
- Fish and chips
- Hair
- Buckingham Palace/Changing of the Guard
- Windsor Castle
- Billy Elliot
- Tower of London
- Local English pubs
- Harrod’s
- Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms
Normandy: Aug. 13-14
- Omaha Beach
- Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial
- Lots of fresh seafood
- Quaint little chateau in the middle of nowhere
Paris: Aug. 14-17
- Hôtel de Crillon
- Monet’s home in Giverny
- Musée de l’Orangeries des Tuileries
- Versailles
- Champagne
- Crêpes
- The Louvre
- Behind-the-scenes tour of the Eiffel Tower
- Dinner cruise on the Seine River
Pics, perhaps?
Siblings in London. Tower Bridge.
Stonehenge.
Pretty excited for the behind-the-scenes Eiffel Tower tour.
View of Paris from the Eiffel Tower.
It just felt nice to get away.
Sometimes you need to leave all the technology behind and breathe. And that’s exactly what I did on this trip. I had a chance to spend quality time with my family, see some terrific sights, eat delicious food and travel. While the schedule was pretty jam-packed with sight-seeing, simply being away from the hustle and bustle of home, my daily responsibilities, my job and my “real” life was much needed and very much worthwhile.
What now?
For the first time all year, I don’t have a trip scheduled in my planner (yes, I still use a planner). And to be honest, I’m not quite sure what to do with myself. With the exception of a couple weddings, birthday parties, weekends with the boyfriend and scheduled events, my planner is mostly clean of pink and purple highlighter. Truthfully, I’m kind of excited about it.
The thought of cuddling at home with Louipup, spending time with friends, getting back into Bikram yoga, catching up on some reading, getting ready for fall (where did the summer go?) and staying put for a little while sounds pretty nice. So for now, it’s back to the grind and back to business. Vacation was fun, but it always feels nice to be home.
- L
