Test Post – Pre-Departure

Thank you for checking out my blog! To properly document my trip, I am starting with my state of mind before I leave – in OCD neurosis. I’ve packed, and traveling in the age of smartphones is easier than it has ever been before. But I am currently driving myself crazy thinking of things I should have done/ need to do/ might have once heard some stranger did that was SUPER important for their trip. Here are conversations I’ve had this weekend:

Me (very worried): OMG I haven’t packed. I HAVE to set aside time to pack today.

Lauren (my roommate): You mean, you have to finish packing. Didn’t you start packing like a month ago and task yourself with getting things on a packing list?

Me: Maybe…*

*[I absolutely did put together a color-coded packing list a month ago. I also made a to-do list to secure the things I didn’t have, which I completed two weeks ago.]

Later in the day:

Me: I’m a little worried about packing for the weather in May. I packed a long sleeved shirt as a layer, a sweater, and another long sleeved shirt. I’m also bringing a puffy coat that folds up really small and my rain jacket. But right now the weather looks like it should be nice the whole time I’m there, and these things take up a lot of space. Maybe I should leave behind the sweater? Or the second long sleeved shirt? Or both?

Jenn: You know, I’m pretty sure you people in Europe sell clothes if you find that you need something.**

**[Wording modified to convey the appropriate level of sarcasm]

Before I started packing in earnest this weekend:

Lauren: So, have you decided whether you’re bringing a suitcase or a backpack?

Me: I think a suitcase is a better idea because it can handle rain and will limit what I bring with me. [10 minutes of pros and cons of suitcase v. backpack]. But I’m sentimentally attached to the backpack. [10 minutes of convincing myself that the backpack is the logical choice].

Lauren: [Quietly wondering why she lets a crazy person live in her basement]

All this neurosis aside, I’m hoping to learn to let things go a bit on this trip. My general itinerary includes Paris, Herrenburg (Germany), Marseille and Provence, Malaga/ Cordoba/ Granada, and San Sebastian. I want to walk around in the sun and be warm, and eat great food.

Off I go!