All over the map

Turns out that while aimless travel has a certain appeal, there are also drawbacks in not knowing what to do next.  I can see how sometimes it would be better to have a plan in place.  Or a half plan.   I don’t love having to admit this because I’ve spent a lot of time lately cozy in my mild smugness of being so wildly free, but I promised myself I’d be completely honest in the blog so there it is. 

It seemed so easy while I was in Morocco, but now in hindsight I realize that my options were pretty simply laid out for me with the dimensions of the country.  Tourists generally make their way through the country going South or North with a few side steps thrown in for good measure.  Yes, I created my plan on the fly each day, but I was basically following a variation of the typical tourist trail. 

And then I arrived in Europe and had the whole continent in front of me, full of more incredible places than I could see in several lifetimes…..   Suddenly I had a harder time choosing where to go.   I told a friend I’d met in Tangier that I was going to Portugal, and after one day of travel in that direction I changed my mind and went the opposite direction, retracing some ground, all the way to Barcelona.  Not my brightest move maybe. (Definitely)     
After Barcelona, I found myself buying a train ticket to France.  Some of you might remember having conversations with me before I left where I said I would be avoiding France, absolutely-for-sure not going to set foot in that country, and yet here I am.  Looks like this trip is turning me into a little liar – sorry!   Could have avoided all this falsehood by just having a teensy plan in place… Here’s something else about me: for inconsequential things like this I don’t bother getting too bogged down in regrets.   So here I am in France, and I AM SO GLAD I CAME!!  I love it here! 

In a happy coincidence, it turns out that I know TWO different people within a short distance from me; strangely enough both are aircraft engineers that I met through work.   I was able to spend a day exploring Nimes, an old Roman-style city nearby, with Sam and Sam’s rental car. If you ever find yourself in the area you HAVE to go check it out!   We had such a great day wandering charming French towns, snacking on crepes and Brie cheese, and people watching on a beach (much less creepy than it may sound I promise!)