Jade, amazing, supportive wife that she is, recently requested that I put together a list of ten places that I would be interested in going for my 40th birthday.
That would, of course, be the perfect gift for me. I’ve had friends who were thrown massive parties by their significant others to celebrate the big four-oh and I took Jade to Scotland for hers. Getting put on a plane to somewhere new and exciting, even by my lonesome, would be paradise.
Coming up with ten places is both easy and hard. I can close my eyes and name 10 countries or cities without any difficulty at all, and be certain that many of those choices would end up on a final, more carefully considered list. When it comes to considering my options, however, a lot of variables come into play.
The first and foremost for me (at the moment, at least) concerns the time. Ideally, I’d actually be at the exotic location on the day that I turn 40 so that I could celebrate it in proper fashion. This means considering what places are appropriate in late September.
That’s both good and bad. Good in that September is the beginning of the off season. Most places are no longer at their peak so they’ll be cheaper, more available and less crowded. It’s also the beginning of harvest for a lot of places in Europe, so there’d still be festivals, a feeling of celebration beyond my own more private one, and plenty of things to see and do.
In some places, however, the weather will already be turning cold and wet. Now I’ve been overseas five times in the last decade. Of those five trips, the 1st of them was in late May and early June (9 years ago!), one was in October, and all the rest were in November. I’ve taken clear advantage of off-season prices but I’ve also gotten rained on a lot, been forced to pack a lot more than I prefer due to the cold, and pretty much gotten used to the European world consisting of the colors of browns, blacks, and grays. And that’s to say nothing of the vastly limited number of daylight hours that remain in November. I like the night as much as anyone but it’s a little difficult to see the wonders of a strange new land without light.
Don’t get me wrong: each of those trips count as the highlights of my last decade, persisting in my memory, without question, as the best of times. But I’m tired of packing sweaters and jackets and gloves, and I’m really tired of grays. I’d like to see some greenery and life again. I’m less and less a fan of summer with each succeeding year but I think a part of that is that I almost never go anywhere once spring hits, and it’s starting to get to me.
So traveling in September, even late September, would be an excellent change of pace. Some parts of the world will still be getting cold and snowy, or rainy. Others are getting bedecked in the colors of fall while others will finally be cooling from the worst heat of summer.
Obviously, there’s much to keep in mind. I am making progress with my list, however, and am thinking of posting them here, with briefsummaries of my thinking process in choosing them. It’ll give me a chance to think them through some more, and hopefully be a pleasant way to pass the time.
So keep watching this space!
That would, of course, be the perfect gift for me. I’ve had friends who were thrown massive parties by their significant others to celebrate the big four-oh and I took Jade to Scotland for hers. Getting put on a plane to somewhere new and exciting, even by my lonesome, would be paradise.
Coming up with ten places is both easy and hard. I can close my eyes and name 10 countries or cities without any difficulty at all, and be certain that many of those choices would end up on a final, more carefully considered list. When it comes to considering my options, however, a lot of variables come into play.
The first and foremost for me (at the moment, at least) concerns the time. Ideally, I’d actually be at the exotic location on the day that I turn 40 so that I could celebrate it in proper fashion. This means considering what places are appropriate in late September.
That’s both good and bad. Good in that September is the beginning of the off season. Most places are no longer at their peak so they’ll be cheaper, more available and less crowded. It’s also the beginning of harvest for a lot of places in Europe, so there’d still be festivals, a feeling of celebration beyond my own more private one, and plenty of things to see and do.
In some places, however, the weather will already be turning cold and wet. Now I’ve been overseas five times in the last decade. Of those five trips, the 1st of them was in late May and early June (9 years ago!), one was in October, and all the rest were in November. I’ve taken clear advantage of off-season prices but I’ve also gotten rained on a lot, been forced to pack a lot more than I prefer due to the cold, and pretty much gotten used to the European world consisting of the colors of browns, blacks, and grays. And that’s to say nothing of the vastly limited number of daylight hours that remain in November. I like the night as much as anyone but it’s a little difficult to see the wonders of a strange new land without light.
Don’t get me wrong: each of those trips count as the highlights of my last decade, persisting in my memory, without question, as the best of times. But I’m tired of packing sweaters and jackets and gloves, and I’m really tired of grays. I’d like to see some greenery and life again. I’m less and less a fan of summer with each succeeding year but I think a part of that is that I almost never go anywhere once spring hits, and it’s starting to get to me.
So traveling in September, even late September, would be an excellent change of pace. Some parts of the world will still be getting cold and snowy, or rainy. Others are getting bedecked in the colors of fall while others will finally be cooling from the worst heat of summer.
Obviously, there’s much to keep in mind. I am making progress with my list, however, and am thinking of posting them here, with briefsummaries of my thinking process in choosing them. It’ll give me a chance to think them through some more, and hopefully be a pleasant way to pass the time.
So keep watching this space!