H was taking a trip for work, which would have left me home alone for 5 days. Some people would jump at the chance to spend five days in Paris doing whatever they wanted but given that I haven't made many friends and we live in an apartment that was slowly falling apart, I figured this was a good moment for me to get out too. I've been wanting to do more European travel but have been trying to coordinate with H's schedule.
I went on Google Flights, put in my dates and took a look at what would be the cheapest place for me to go to outside of France. Dublin and Rome were my options (Lisbon might have been too but I was definitely saving that for a trip with H.) Something about Ireland/ Scotland has always called to me and I hope to travel there, but when I googled "Things to do in Ireland", I admit I wasn't overwhelmed by what I saw. Rome seemed so much more interesting (judging by trip advisor), beautiful sights and great food (no one is talking about Irish food, let's keep it real).
So I booked my ticket to Rome. H said he was afraid I would get bored and also, as a woman traveling alone, that I wouldn't be safe. I have been bingewatching Law and Order:SVU for a month so every possibility of what could happen to a woman alone has crossed my mind. Thanks SVU.
But then, during my trip, I got wind of a group of American tourists in Panama who were involved in a bus accident. The driver of their tour bus lost control and the bus went into a ravine. Two people died. Another friend of mine lost her boyfriend in a scooter accident in South Africa. These people were doing regular, low risk things (in groups, no less) and bad things happened.
We can't live our lives in fear. Bad things can happen to me in France or in the U.S or in Zambia. My cousin, the same age as I, died driving down to Atlanta from NC, hit by a drunk driver that crossed into his lane. A girl from my home town, 29 years old, died last week when a car being pulled on a dolly detached and she swerved and crashed her car. Can I really keep myself from living life because I'm afraid something bad is going to happen? These things can happen anywhere. I'm not going to do anything stupid (obviously) but tomorrow is not promised and to not have LIVED because of fear, is not life lived at all.
I went on Google Flights, put in my dates and took a look at what would be the cheapest place for me to go to outside of France. Dublin and Rome were my options (Lisbon might have been too but I was definitely saving that for a trip with H.) Something about Ireland/ Scotland has always called to me and I hope to travel there, but when I googled "Things to do in Ireland", I admit I wasn't overwhelmed by what I saw. Rome seemed so much more interesting (judging by trip advisor), beautiful sights and great food (no one is talking about Irish food, let's keep it real).
So I booked my ticket to Rome. H said he was afraid I would get bored and also, as a woman traveling alone, that I wouldn't be safe. I have been bingewatching Law and Order:SVU for a month so every possibility of what could happen to a woman alone has crossed my mind. Thanks SVU.
But then, during my trip, I got wind of a group of American tourists in Panama who were involved in a bus accident. The driver of their tour bus lost control and the bus went into a ravine. Two people died. Another friend of mine lost her boyfriend in a scooter accident in South Africa. These people were doing regular, low risk things (in groups, no less) and bad things happened.
We can't live our lives in fear. Bad things can happen to me in France or in the U.S or in Zambia. My cousin, the same age as I, died driving down to Atlanta from NC, hit by a drunk driver that crossed into his lane. A girl from my home town, 29 years old, died last week when a car being pulled on a dolly detached and she swerved and crashed her car. Can I really keep myself from living life because I'm afraid something bad is going to happen? These things can happen anywhere. I'm not going to do anything stupid (obviously) but tomorrow is not promised and to not have LIVED because of fear, is not life lived at all.
