Today we are leaving on a two-week trip to Europe. Normally, my wife and I plan our trips together and work through the intricate details of itinerary: where to visit, how much time to spend in each place, what sites we should go to, where to find the best food and wine. This trip, I decided to do things differently. I told my wife how long we would be gone and the general weather conditions in the locations we would be going. She had a couple of follow-up questions to help with clothes and shoe packing. Fancy or casual? Any outdoor activities such as hiking? Any cultural restrictions or considerations on clothing?
She has tried to get me to divulge the secret a couple of times – I think more to test my resolve in keeping the secret than because she wants to know ahead of time. Miraculously, I have managed to purchase airfare, book hotels and rental cars, and line up a dozen activities without her figuring out where we are going. This trip will either be the best ever …or it is going to suck. But it surely will not be boring.
The only thing my wife knows is that we are flying from San Francisco to Istanbul this evening. What she does not know is that after a short layover we will be flying to Venice, Italy to spend a couple of days there. You may wonder why we are flying SF-Istanbul-Venice? The easiest answer is that the fare on Turkish Air was almost half of what other airlines were charging into any European destination. Another good reason is that Turkish Air was the most flexible option for flying into one European city and flying out of a different city in a different country.
I wish I could say where we are going after Venice, but it would spoil the surprise. We will be in the air when this blog posts, so mentioning Venice is safe because she won’t see it until …she is in Venice. But I will have a post for every country we visit – at least five, but I’m hoping to squeeze in a sixth country toward the end of our trip.
Wish us luck, and stay tuned for updates!
John Ingersoll
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What a great idea and such a lovely thought. Good for you that you managed to keep the secret a secret. I am curious to know what you are up to next, so I will follow your updates. Have fun the two of you!
Awesome!!!
Oooh, fun! Have a great trip and keep posting so we can live vicariously!
Will do!
Have fun! Can’t wait to hear more!
Leg 1 is over – landed in Istanbul.
Have a great time and I am sure that she will appreciate all the planning that you did.
So far so good! Thanks.
Have fun tweet pics! Wine Ho
Will do!
What a lovely idea. I just returned from Rome, Florence and Cinque Terre on Sunday. I planned the whole trip and would have loved to have my husband help me with some ideas for restaurants or activities. We still had a great time!! I was such a good tour guide that I think I would like to become a tour guide!!! Enjoy. ( I wrote about Italian Syrah on my blog.)
how cool! a surprise for your wife:)
She’s still talking to me so I think it was a success!
yes; I guess it was:)
Very interesting, John! I am reading the other parts now 🙂 I hope your wife is enjoying the surprises in the trip!
Lucky for me she loved all of my choices.