Rumination No. 3 - On Length of Trip
Trip Start
Apr 27, 2006
1
6
110
Trip End
Apr 01, 2008
Bucharest,
Romania
Friday, May 12, 2006
I have been in Europe for about two weeks, and this is normally when I would be facing my final weekend of a two-week (plus a day or so to get three full weekends) vacation, and thinking about returning and going back to work. I would making a plan for dinner, drinks, clubs, or whatever I wanted to do for the climax of the vacation, knowing I can recover on the plane and at home.
Instead, I am doing laundry in the washing machine in my apartment in Bucharest, Romania. I don't really need to do laundry yet because I have a really big bag and I packed almost entirely light clothes (t-shirts, shorts, linen pants for dressier nights, light shirts) for summer. I probably have another week to go before I would run out of clean clothes, but I am not passing up the opportunity to do the dirty stuff in my own place instead of sitting at a Laundromat or paying for fluff and fold.
This is not to say that I won't go out tonight, tomorrow and Saturday, but it is a different feeling. Less urgency, I suppose, or a less of a feeling of not wanting to waste time. Similarly, I am staying longer in each place than I normally do - 4 days or so instead of 2-3 - and feel much less rushed in terms of seeing the sights of each place. If I want to sleep in, I don't feel guilty. Also, I don't feel like I am constantly on the move, or that so much of my time is spent in planes, trains, airports, taxis, and setting up all the moves (when are the trains, do I need a reservation, etc.?).
And all this is good. A much more civilized way to travel. It remains to be seen whether I will grow bored or tired, but for now, it's all good.
Comments
i never thought it would happen to me......
Was it a washing machine actually in your apartment or a laundry room in the apartment building? My reading tells me that interesting random events can happen in the latter, the former, eh, not so much.