My Journey through Breast Cancer

On October 11, 2013, I was diagnosed with Stage II Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) ... or as we like to call it, extreme measures for a nap (EMFN). For a while, this blog will be my cancer journal. Enter at your own risk.

07 February 2008

blimey, it's official!


Many of you may already know that my husband's and my big plan this year is to take a big once-in-a-lifetime trip to Europe. We've always wanted to go, and we thought it would be much easier BEFORE we start a family (no, we don't have definite plans there yet, so don't ask), so we figured we might as well do it. We've been saving and planning for a year now. Over time our plans have taken on more distinction as we decided when we wanted to go, and exactly where we wanted to go.

Our first and most definite destination has always been Prague. Caleb almost took me there on our honeymoon, and everyone says its the most beautiful city to visit in Europe. Caleb has always wanted to see Ireland, and go back to Scotland (he had a chance for a short visit a few years ago). After that we wanted to find one more destination, something unique. We looked at pictures of France and Spain and Italy and Germany and England and Turkey (well, not really Turkey) ... and then I saw pictures of Norway. Of course! Norway! Its beautiful, its outdoorsy, its home to lots of knitting and viking ships! Even after just a cursory look into the country and all it had to offer we were hooked. So, Norway was added to the list as our final must-see destination.


To truly make the trip worthwhile, we decided it would have to be at least 3 weeks. We both got permission from our places of business to take that much time off work, I'm even taking one week without pay. But hey, if we're going to do Europe, we need to do it right, right? So, with our destinations decided on and timing blocked out, we started watching plane flights, schedules, prices. I think I've searched Orbitz, Hotwire, Expedia, and Travelzoo more times than I've checked my own email. Not long ago I came across an AerLingus flight, nonstop from LA to Dublin, and cheaper than all the other flights by about $100. It wasn't long before we finally decided it was time to put all this planning and anticipating into action ... and we bought our plane tickets! I'm so excited its driving Caleb a little crazy ... I've already started thinking about what to pack. Trust me, everyone will be much happier if I'm allowed three months to pack.

Our flight leaves Saturday afternoon, April 26, bound for Dublin. We'll spend 3 days in Dublin, kicking jet lag at the local pubs doing Irish jigs. On April 30 we fly to Oslo, Norway (we found a super cheap flight, which was a huge blessing). At this point the trip gets a tiny bit flexible. We haven't decided on exact dates for travel yet, but we intend on spending a few days in Oslo doing the viking museum and other traditional Nordic things. Then we're taking a train from Oslo to Bergen, supposedly one of those most spectacular train rides in the world. Bergen is on the western side of the country, where all the fjords await our wandering feet and amazed eyes. We'll spend several days there hiking the mountains, exploring the fjords and generally finding too many things to take pictures of. We'll also celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary in Bergen.

Around the 8th we'll fly to Prague and spend our last week in Europe exploring the history of the one city that survived both World Wars. We're also anticipating taking day trips outside the city. Then we'll fly back to Dublin to catch our flight home on the 14th.


Its official, we have our flights. There's no going back now. And I am so excited!

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