Bucket List Traveling

Are you a dreamer? I will be the first to admit that I am. But, sadly, that's all I am. I rarely seriously consider pursuing my goals that seem "out of reach." Don't get me wrong, I am very ambitious and a hard worker. But, you know the kind of dreams I'm talking about; those far-off wishes that you don't think possible for your life.

That was me. Stuck in my dreams, never making them happen. However, that all changed with a crazy idea my husband and I had during the summer of 2017.

"What if we just like, go on a long trip to Europe?!"

"Yeah, what a great idea!"

I think that was actually the conversation we had. I had just graduated from college in May 2017 and wanted to do something crazy before we settled down with a stable life. The conversation above didn't have any thought put into it, so I just brushed it off as a joke.

Until we started planning our trip. Until we started planning our trip and paying for it. (That was so rough...)Until we started planning our trip and booking reservations.Until we started planning how to pack.

Until we realized that we were living our dream and backpacking across Europe for 7 weeks.

Is that crazy? I mean, traveling to all of my bucket list destinations overseas in one shot... yeah, that's crazy. I wasn't one to take huge risks (financial and physical) before, but I wanted to do something for myself for once in my life.

Our trip took an entire year to plan. My husband was still in school while I was working, so we were tight for funds and planning time together. I proudly planned most of it myself, but together we decided what our destinations would be (if you want/need help planning a trip, send me an email! I'd LOVE to help!).

We decided that we were going to visit 17 cities in 7 countries while in Europe:

• Scotland: Edinburgh, Uig, Elgol
• England: York, London
• France: Paris, Versailles
• Poland: Krakow, Oświęcim
• Germany: Munich
• Austria: Salzburg, St. Gilgen, Hallstatt
• Italy: Venice, Pisa, Rome, Naples

If you have a dream, pursue it. I did, and I will never regret it in my life. There were definitely times that we struggled; whether it was lack of sleep, money, space, or clean clothes, we made it. And you will too. You just have to try.

In my next posts, I'll go into details about each city, along with tips, ideas, and memories. Stay tuned! You won't regret it!

P.S. We got really good at taking selfies.

Cheers! Em

Paris, France

Buckingham Palace in London

Salzburg, Austria

Colosseum in Roma