As 2014 came to a close, I realized there were things I didn’t do. I didn’t run a marathon, jump out of a plane or swim with a pod of dolphins. I was no where near checking off events on my “Before I Die” list and the days were marching while the clock kept ticking. But the most important thing I didn’t do was travel. To Europe. Traveling was always at the top of my to-do list but my budget didn’t allow for it. Kids in college, aging parent, family illnesses and the daily life responsibilities sucked my time, money and energy. And that sucked!

So, I decided to travel every month in 2015. Of course I wanted to travel to Europe, but that was unlikely. But I was going SOMEWHERE! So in January of 2015 I traveled to Atlanta to visit my best friend and drop off a package:

In February I visited North Carolina to hike, shop and visit a gentleman:

But an opportunity for a free place to stay in London for a few days appeared and I started thinking that maybe I could go to London. And if I could go to London, why couldn’t I go to Paris? (I’ve ALWAYS wanted to go to Paris!!!) I began to wonder if I could really go back to Europe.

I hadn’t been to Europe in over ten years which was when I visited Prague. It was wonderful, memorable and I couldn’t wait to go back. But life devoured me after I returned to the States and I couldn’t imagine how I would find the time and money to return to Europe.

But this time could I really go to Europe? On my budget? Did I have enough vacation hours? Where was my passport? Where would I stay in Paris? When could I go? How was this going to work out?

Sacrificing, budgeting and planning, that’s how! In March of 2015 I traveled to Paris. Stay tuned to find out how I did it.

Your first guess? I don’t cook……..