Grounded Traveler

I’m the worst sort of traveler. I fantasize and make plans for vacations that I hardly ever take. It’s not that I’m unwilling to leave my home or even that I don’t have the means to do so. I am and I do. It’s more that I like company when I travel. If I don’t have a friend accompanying me or one awaiting me on the other end, then the idea loses appeal. Suddenly, the fantastic trip that I had imagined is clouded with images of me holed up in my hotel room (only coming out in the daytime to take in the sights) due to my fear of being accosted on foreign soil. So much for soaking up the culture! But a woman traveling alone can’t be too careful right?

I would like to think of myself as an adventurer but if I’m being honest, I’m really not. And forget spontaneous (I believe in having a plan). Paranoid is a much more apt description. If there is anything that could go wrong, I imagine that it will happen to me. So, instead of being the type of traveler who jets off to three or four countries each year, I find myself-more often than not-grounded. Like now! I’ve been talking about going to Italy for awhile but now that I know I would have to make the trip alone, I find myself reconsidering. Ok, not just considering. The trip is definitely off as far as the immediate future is concerned. Still, Italy is at the top of my list of places to visit and even though I won’t be seeing it in the next couple months, I am hoping to get there within the next year. Hopefully.