Plans for Autumn

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” --Mark Twain

Today is is the last day in my long year as an AmeriCorps*VISTA member, and instead of using this time to make phone calls and sign people up for webinars, I've decided to devote my final eight hours to setting up my all new, highly anticipated (mostly by me) blog.

So welcome, new readers, and welcome back to those who followed "Measuring a Year as a VISTA"! When I was writing for my VISTA blog, I had to be careful what I wrote about. I couldn't get too into my personal life, and there was no way I was going to write about politics, religion or other controversial issues.

This is a chance for me to open up a bit more. And I'm going to start by letting you all in on something I've been bursting with excitement over for months.

I'm going to Europe!

On October 8, 2010, my boyfriend Kyle and I will board a plane for Zurich, Switzerland. And after a couple of hours traveling through and around the Swiss Alps, we'll arrive in the mountain village of Murren.

This absolutely gorgeous little town is literally right smack in the middle of the alps. You can't even get there by train or car; you have to take a cable car or gondola ride. We're going to spend three nights in Murren, just taking in the scenery and hiking to our heart's content.

This is the top of the Schilthorn. We plan on taking a train up here. Breathtaking, is it not?

After three nights in Murren, we're taking an early train tooooo....

PARIS!

We've been planning this trip for maybe two months now, and we have our plane tickets and hotel/hostel all figured out. It still seems unreal to me. I'm really, really excited and somewhat terrified at the same time.

I absolutely love to travel, to experience new cultures, to take thousands of pictures of things you couldn't see anywhere else in the world. But I've also never traveled such a great distance without...okay, I was going to say "without an adult" but then I realized that, at age 23, I am an adult. When did that happen?

Anyway, I'm sure we'll be absolutely fine. But if anyone has ever been to Switzerland or Paris, please don't hesitate to share your wisdom.