This is a guest post from my good friend, Wendy Woerner. Wendy wrote last year when she & her husband began to dream about this adventure together. Now, you can join in with the plans!
My husband has been kindly requesting every few months, that I fill out my passport application. You wouldn’t think that making time to fill out two simple forms would be that difficult, but it has been for me. I meant to complete this task long ago, but you know how life is; homeschooling, church activities, deadlines, illness, and let’s face it, laziness, have all been the excuses I’ve used. However, I finally hit Print this morning and got everything filled out. Now to make it out to the post office with the proper identifying documents and photo, and I’ll be set in the Passport department.
What else do we have left to do in our planning for our Great Escape to Italy?
Confirm childcare for the duration of our trip. My parents have volunteered to travel to our home and say here with our children while we are away. We have a tentative plan in place, but I need to be sure that they are fully on board, so that I can line up ‘helpers’ for them for the time that they are here.
Determine firm travel dates. My husband and I have discussed possibly dates but we have not come to a conclusion on when would be the best time to go. With our trip only months away, we need to make this decision as soon as possible.
Check on airfare and reserve tickets. We think my husband has some travel points with one of the airlines, leftover from some of his business travel. He will soon call to confirm, find out how he can use them for our tickets, and then make firm reservations.
Decide on accommodations. We have talked about renting a home while in Italy, but since we would like to visit several different cities we are not sure if this is the best solution. So, we will discuss other options such as a hotel, resort, etc. and then call around or check online to find the best prices available.
Tentatively plan our tourist attractions. We have a few specific places we would like to go while in country: Rome, Venice, and some famous landmarks such as The Parthenon and the Coliseum. However, we also don’t want to be so jam-packed with planned activities that we have no time to linger and enjoy the moments we have together, no matter what we are doing. So we will make plans, but hold them loosely, and leave plenty of time in between.
Check on car rentals as well as train and bus schedules. We have talked about all three modes of travel. We have not yet determined which is most cost-effective, which we prefer, or which would be easiest. It’s possible that we will choose one and use it the entire time, but it is more likely that we will use a combination of the three depending on what works best for each day.
There are probably more details that I am forgetting or that I will become aware of as our travel dates approach. For now, this is the list from which we’ll be working.
Do you have any travel plans for later this year? Tell me where you’ll be going! Oh, and if you have any travel tips, please share!
Be sure to check back soon, as my husband will be adding to this series soon; pondering the differences between traveling to Italy for business and planning this trip with me for pleasure. Stay tuned!
UPDATE-
See Wendy’s first post HERE about planning for Italy and her husband’s point of view HERE.
Want to learn how to pack for Europe with only carry on? You can! HERE!
Wendy’s heart’s desire is to encourage women, from all walks of life, in their God-given roles as mamas, wives, and home educators. He has great plans for you! Whatever it is that God has called you to do, He will equip you for the journey. No matter the adversity you may encounter, His plans are good. HE is good. Always. Be sure to connect with Wendy at WendyWoerner.com or her newest endeavor for those of you homeschooling the littlest learners, HomeschoolPreschool.net. She can also be found on Facebook.
