While I wrote the previous post with over a month to go on my vacation, two days ago, I changed my mind and decided not to spend my entire vacation in Norway. With all of the uber planning I did, it just didn't feel right and I didn't seem happy to go on vacation with the plans I made. Other than it seems almost impossible from here to figure out how to get around by bus without a previous knowledge of the schedule (which I worked around by emailing the local tourist information boards) or that the summer weather in Norway looks a lot like the winter weather here (and God knows that will be here soon enough), I had a vacation meltdown and cancelled the last two weeks of my trip and will head south to Berlin, Prague and Vienna before heading into Italy and flying home from Paris.
For having been to Italy twice, I have never been to Venice. I've never had an overwhelming desire to see Venice even after reading the book, A Thousand Days in Venice by Marlena de Blasi. However, the visual connection can be a powerful mover of mind and thought and I have been staring all year at the magnets I made of an old appointment calendar with photos of Venice...
I don't have a railpass (too late to get one by express) or any hotel reservations. Just my Rick Steves travel guide. I pulled the winter shirts, long underwear and food supplies from out of my suitcase. And, rather than stressing about all of this, the most important thing I seem to be worried about is getting all the right music on my ipod. (I love, love the soundtrack to the new Pride and Prejudice movie by Italian composer Dario Marianelli
So, as I step onto the plane on Sunday, I throw myself upon the mercy of the travel gods and hope that the winds of good fortune are with me.
