“All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.” – Havelock Ellis
Here we go again. I didn’t think it would be this soon that we would purchase this golden ticket again, but here we are; here we go. It’s exciting. We are incredibly fortunate that we get to do this and by no means is that lost on us. However, the catalyst of this is the heartbreaking loss of our 11.5 year old bulldog, Lincoln. He was the love of our lives and we were crushed by his passing.
Like any pet owner, we knew this day would come. We had the “after he is gone” conversations the last couple of years. And, they were almost always about two travel bucket list items: another “Round the World” ticket and an extended stay at a home base in Europe.
When we lost him in March, it was unexpected and devastating. As those first few days passed, loss and confusion turned into conversations about that bucket list. Those conversations combined with our inability to stand the silence and emptiness his absence left in our home, lead to the cancelation of the return ticket we had for the trip we had planned in Europe in May. Then we booked a long term rental in Europe and rented out our own home. Then, we booked a One World “Round the World” ticket. We will use the first leg of that sixteen leg ticket, as our flight home.
I’ll give you a quick outline of the entire “Round the World” ticket, but will primarily focus on this first part. The part that kicks it all off: seven weeks in Europe. Before that, however, I want to clarify my intent for how I share this adventure through posts on When-Is-Now.com and through social media:
1. The entire reason I started When Is Now was to inspire people to travel; to step outside of their bubble. I think this is crucial now more than ever in this current environment of fear mongering and isolationism. I want to remove the fear of the unknown and show how similar we all are in our humanity.
2. I want to show the “how.” I’ll continue to do this for more advanced travel topics, but I’ll also back-up a bit and take it back to the basics. In planning some of this trip, I realized that things that may be instinctive to me at this point are completely unknown to those just starting to branch out. I need to remember that and share that knowledge.
3. As When Is Now has evolved, it has turned into a luxury lodging focused space. I like where we are with this and will continue that focus. I will highlight the best hotels, villas and resorts around the world. The unique properties in unknown places and the unknown properties in well-known places. Before you get thrown off by the term “luxury,” I encourage you to take a look at my definition of luxury (it’s not what you think). I want to show you the places that become part of how a destination is experienced and why that is far better than just a place where you lay your head at night.
The Whole Enchilada
Okay, all that being said, let’s get into the details. “This Round the World” kicks off in Norway, which is where we will end our seven weeks in Europe. Just like our first “Round the World,” we were already planning on being in the country where the ticket starts. Why start in Norway? Because this is where the best pricing was at the time of purchase. We didn’t get the banging price we got last time, but it still made financial sense.
Where To?
If you are not familiar with how these tickets work, have a look at this post. One rule is that you have to travel in the same direction the entire time. This time, we will go west. We will leave Europe and head to North America (AKA home), Asia, Africa and eventually end in Norway, as one of the other rules is that you have to end in the country you begin. Here’s our complete routing, which will most likely change as the year goes by:
OSL- HEL-LAX-JFK-DFW-LAX-PVR-LAX-HKG-DPS-SIN-CMB-MLE-DOH-NBO-LHR-OSL. If you’re an “Av Geek,” this just brought you great joy. If you’re not, it probably just made you mad.
This will not all happen in one shot. We will not be gone for an entire year straight. And, we will not be quitting our jobs and selling all of our possessions. More on the “how to” on all of this to come. For now, let’s look at Europe.
Seven Weeks in Europe: It’s Like We’re Backpackers, but Not
I already had plans to go to Italy with some friends and then meet Eddie before heading to Norway. Those plans remain, with some additions in the middle.
Italy with friends has been a year in the making and a life-long dream for one of them. We will have three days with private guides in the off the beaten path Puglia region followed by an Italian villa rental right on the water on the Amalfi Coast (did I really just type that?).
After reuniting in an insanely romantic part of Italy, Eddie and I will check into our long-term rental in London. Our plan is to discover what it’s like to live our ordinary lives there, so we specifically selected a long-term rental that is set up for business travelers. We will work as well as explore our new neighborhood.
We’ve long envied the opportunity that Europeans have to take quick trips to other countries, so we’ve added in a few side trips to Dublin, Lisbon and Amsterdam. In two of those spots we will attend concerts: one, a bucket list to see in Europe. The other, AT A CASTLE. I’ll keep those a surprise for now.
We will wrap up our time in Europe with a road trip through Western Norway, which was always the plan. And, of course, I’ll show you some really cool hotels in each of those cities.
I won’t dive too much into the details as this post is already a lengthy one. So, just follow along Instagram and Facebook and be on the lookout for posts on how to make something like this work and on these amazing properties that I’ve put a ton of research into finding.
There is a possibility, although a small one, that we will have another puppy in the middle of all this and have planned accordingly. That’s the beauty of these “Round the World” tickets, you have plenty of flexibility to change dates and destinations.
Long story, short: standby…
