Today is travel day!!

I am extremely excited to be heading out on another vacation. This time, my friend Jess and I, are headed to Europe. We will be spending some time in Dubrovnik Croatia and Budapest Hungary. We’ve researched, planned and are ready to go.

I’ve packed all the necessities:

  • Comfortable shoes – a must, learned this lesson in Prague
  • Snacks for the plane – you never know when you are going to get a craving or will be stranded on the Tarmac – lesson learned in Buffalo
  • iPod – loaded up with playlists and podcasts
  • Camera – can’t wait to try to capture some of the beautiful sights on Croatia and Hungary
  • Sunscreen
  • Water shoes – looking forward to swimming in the Adriatic Sea but do not want to step on any sea urchins
  • My phone – with offline maps downloaded and some external batteries – unfortunately my iPhone has had better days
  • Download all the necessary apps: untappd (gives information and logs different beer),  delectable (information about various wines and tracks wines), Google Photos (this app will change your life!  It backs up & stores all our pictures so you can have more room on your phone plus other cool features) and Snapseed (edits those pictures that need some help)
Airplane snacks

Clearly we are ready. On our way to Toronto stop for a great supper at Canon Creek in Vaughan – the whole menu is great!
We arrive at Pearson and this is when the nerves begin. As much as I love travelling can’t say that I actually love flying. I do  appreciate how fast and convenient it is.

The line through security is slow, the X-ray machine for carry-on luggage isn’t working so there is a wait until it can be fixe

My flight nerves are beginning to kick in as evident by my non stop chatting. We spend our time waiting to board by: walking around the terminal, grabbing some water for the plane and catching up on Olympic news.

Once on the plane, I do my usual flight routine – loading up the seat pocket: water, ginger ale, candy (I picked Swedish berries this time) and put on my compression stockings (this is really quite the feat.)

As we prepare for take off, I find myself doing lots of self talk – yes the plane is safe, it really is the easiest way to get to Croatia (imagine the boat ride). I take a deep breath, close my eyes and find myself wondering about the plane’s phalange and if it is working. I remind myself that it isn’t real and just something made up in an episode of Friends.

Friends episode – phalange

We have a very smooth take off, now the choice of what in flight entertainment to watch. I was hoping to watch my first episode of Game of Thrones but no such luck.

It was mostly a smooth flight just some turbulence over the ocean.

Thanks Air Canada for getting us to Munich safely and with such great service.

Our flight from Munich to Dubrovnik was much more turbulent. We have land, were greeted by our driver Christian and have settled into our air b&b. Now time to enjoy Dubrovnik.