Travel Planning

After the last few hectic weeks, it's nice to relax . . . and then, exciting times are here again! Travel is knocking at my front door ready to whisk me to inevitable disaster and disappointment! May get some nice pics though.

Preparation

​As with most of my travels, especially the big ones, I need to do what bookworms do best: revise. Oh, and have no friends. But revise, too. Some may look at books or scour the internet or ask friends, I simple get maps of my destinations and start to feel what lays ahead. Then comes the books and the internet to get the finer points. I’ll work out distances, journey time, what is on the path, what is worth skittling off the path for, and then if I can allow an extra day here or there for something unknown and special, then abso-bloody-lutely.

Revising Doesn't Ruin It

​This does in some way take away the surprise element and the feeling of getting lost in a country, and yet with my driving and navigation abilities that is pretty much inevitable! It’s just one of those accepted facts like there being no forks in my work cutlery draw or that very special museum piece you’ve lusted after for years being loaned to the country where you’ve just come from (am not forgetting that, Iran!). And yet if you don’t do your research, you can miss something magical. For me at least, knowing about the Sistine Chapel and seeing pictures of the Sistine Chapel is absolutely incomparable to actually being there. I can tell you all about making a snowball or kicking the crunching leaves on an autumnal day, but doing it is something else entirely.

Lonely Planet Books

​As much as Lonely Planet gets some bad press on occasion, I find these guys and girls terrific – insightful with good amount of detail, with naturally always the bit you’re interested in being glossed over just to keep you wanting more! Also, if you buy one of their ebooks (and this is my HOT TIP of the day) you get access to a myriad of their maps which you can then print off and help plan your journey. How awesome is that?! The other side is that there will always be stuff you’ll miss. Always. But the world doesn’t end, and if you’re really enraptured, you will find a way back!

Image references:
​https://citywonders.com/vatican-tours/sistine-chapel-early-access
https://blog.patrickrothfuss.com/2010/08/fanmail-qa-revision/
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/app-gets-rid-of-the-annoying-part-of-travel-071937330.html