Prepped for liftoff.

When I say prepped for liftoff what I really mean, in this case, is that I'm sitting in my second airport of the day (where I've been for 4 hours) waiting for my second flight. I'm also waiting for my ipad to charge so that the gentleman who's using the charger under the one I've got can move his charger up to an outlet that doesn't completely suck (we've balanced the charger on the phone, a crate, and a calculator so that the connection remains intact). So. I'm off!

The last few days have been a mess of trying to get things ready to go, packing, repacking, and moving things around (side-note: never give me wine and sleep-deprivation when I'm stressed. I turn into a mess). But. I'm here. Or rather, I'm en route to Paris. I've been in this airport for about 4 hours, and I have to say that I greatly admire Ren, who had the longest layover I've ever heard of on her trip. I'm bored. Also tired, but mostly bored. And full of water and salad. Yupp, water and salad are apparently what my body craves when I travel. Either that or that's what I decided to order and I'm not hungry because of nerves? Either way, a few hours and I'm of a looong flight over to London, then I switch gates and arrive in Paris. Paris.

Paris! Do you want to know how much French I speak? Well, I'm not certain I could actually get all the way through French 9-11. It's that little. But alas, off I go, and it will be brilliant! As per sisal I'm the weirdo on the floor of a building here in Calgary; I'm sitting on the ground with the window to one side, a row of chairs to the other, and a wall to my back. Wy am I on the floor? Why, chargers of course! But I think I'm off to write in the gorgeous journal sister gave me, watch something on Netflix, and wish away another few hours. When I double checked something with the lady and gentleman at the check-in for British Airways she said the other flight is running a bit late, so instead of a 21:35 departure we're looking at a 22:00, but that isn't too bad. Still gets me to London in time to catch my connection, and I've got my instructions on how to get to my hostel. So.

À revoir, it would seem that London is indeed calling. ❤🇬🇧🇫🇷

On Going Solo

The top questions and comments I've encountered since I began mentioning my trip, aside from where/how long I'm going, seem to all fall simply around the fact that I am a female. I'm serious. I've been asked "oh, but you're not going on your own, are you?" Which isn't necessarily about me being female, but when the response I receive after affirming that I am, in fact, traveling solo, is something along the lines of "aren't you brave," I can't help but wonder if I'm brave because I'm a female traveller going alone, or simply because I'm going alone. Some of the people I've met downright tell me I'm brave because I'm a female going alone. Many try to tell me I shouldn't do it; I should find a friend, find a man, find someone to take me. However, I've also noticed a trend. The women seem to find me brave and be excited for me. The older men I've talked to seem to try to tell me I should go with someone. Any time I mention that I'm going on a tour, everyone seems almost instantly relieved. Because meeting up with a bunch of strangers being led by another stranger (albeit a stranger with credentials) is somehow reassuring.

Another question I seem to encounter is "what do your parents/family/friends think of this," and I have to admit I have the most amazing support group surrounding me. My family has been totally supportive of me going off. They've helped me organize things, made suggestions about where to go/ what to do, shared stories, and totally supported me in my decisions (or told me a thought was dumb if I needed to hear it). And then of course, up comes the (repetitive) "what does your boyfriend think about you being gone for so long?" Hate to break it to ya folks, but I've been flying solo for a few years now; there is no "he" to care.

The biggest thing this response, often worded differently because I'm at work, seems to dig up is the other member of the party saying something about how I'll probably meet someone over there and end up staying; or I'll meet someone and move there without returning home first. Sure, fine, I may meet someone over there. That's not why I'm going though. I'm in it for the history, the experience, and the information. If I meet someone, I'll still end up coming home. Lets face it, I don't have the money to stay, I can't just drop my life here, and there is, of course, the legalities to consider. I am required to leave the Schengen Area after 90 days (which is fine, I'm going to England, Scotland, and Ireland), and to stay over in England or somewhere similar I would still need a work visa- I'm independent and will want to be able to earn a wage. I will be coming home, but that doesn't mean I won't ever return. And I'm certainly not against trying out the long-distance thing!

Does anyone else have certain questions they run into while planning trips or traveling that get repeated until they're old, or that just seem to be sort of annoying? Am I all alone in this,or is it common?

Today I leave you with some other photographs. In the one with all the books is my Bestie. I'm currently a sort of library service as well, so because I'm off for 3 months, she had to stock up. The messy table is from crafting with the ladies, and the trio is my city ladies and I hamming it up! :-)

And we walked

I don't think I've introduced you to one of the most important aspects of my trip yet, have I? Well, I'm pleased to introduce you to my travel companion!

My backpack! You probably thought I was going to introduce you to a friend, didn't you? Well, I would, but I'm going by myself. However, the backpack belongs to a friend, and I'm borrowing it from her for the three months, so does that count?

Anyways, my backpack and I went for our first walk together the other day. About 10:30 in the morning I got myself ready for the day, loaded 26 pounds worth of free weights, my sleeping bag, and some miscellaneous stuff into my pack, hauled the pack out to the car, and drove over to the Kinsol Trestle. Because this was our first walk together I decided to keep it simple and not climb too many big hills, and I'm glad I did. Armed with my Billboard Top 100 Playlist and some Jazzercise tunes, I headed down the familiar, relatively level gravel path to the trestle. As I walked I came to a few conclusions: a). I'm really glad I'm not 30 pounds heavier than I am. I'm not sure my knees would appreciate that. b). I really do live in a gorgeous part of the world. c). I can sort of dance-walk in my pack.

As anyone local knows, they've put in a series of paths around the trestle, now that they've fixed it up, and I took full advantage of them. Before crossing the trestle I went down to the lookout and looked around, then I got my first taste of hill-climbing with the pack. It's not terrible, but it's a bit more calf work than I'm used to! So I crossed the trestle and took some more photos, then it was off to the other trail. This one winds "through the forest" and down to the supports of the trestle, and then another trail goes off along the river. I didn't go far along the river, but I went down to the supports and took some photos, then back again. I didn't go much further, but instead turned around and headed back to make lunch and get ready for work.

On the way back down the trail I was behind a lady pushing a wheelchair, and it was incredibly encouraging to see that trails like this have been created and maintained so that they are wheelchair accessible. I also passed a several groups of people heading down the trail to the trestle, and it was both encouraging to see so many people around, and a sign that it was time for me to head back.

S what did I learn on my first sojourn with the backpack? It's more difficult to get out of the car and onto my back than it is to actually carry around; wear one of those enough and you'll have killer calves; and it's really not as uncomfortable as I feared. However, I think I may have slightly bruised my hip and collar bones because of the weight and where it sits, so a few more walks are in my future before I leave!