Cheerio, America!

Today is the day: the day I fly across the pond for the first time!

It’s my first time out of the country, aside from a day trip to Mexico, and a cruise. I’ve been to the Virgin Islands, but those are owned by the US, so really, this is IT.

I booked this trip in September — when I had a 9-5 job — and while I am flying solo, I am meeting my long-time best friend there. I’m so excited for us to discover a new place together!

The funny thing is, several years ago, we bought each other piggy banks to put money in to save for international trips. Mine is still on my shelf above my desk (it’s very full). Our goal was to go when we were 35 – we both turn 34 this year. Dreams, y’all!

Not only is this my first time out of the country, it’s my first vacation as a solopreneur. As soon as I stepped out on my own, I wanted to make sure I’d earn enough money in my first two months of business to pay for this trip and not be stressed while I was on it.

I’ve reached my goal and I’m really excited to celebrate it with my friend. It wasn’t easy these past few days getting all of my client work finished and letting all of my clients know when I’d be out of town. And when I come back, I’ll have to hit the ground running — full speed ahead. Trust me, it’s a good problem to have.

But this is what working hard is all about — being able to spend hard-earned money on a trip of a lifetime and make lots of memories.

My flight to London is overnight, so I’m hoping my jet lag won’t be too bad — we have too much planned for that! I’ll write more about our plans in another post (yes, I’ll still have blogs coming the entire time I’m on vacation), but we are heading to Bath on day one and I’m so excited to see what it’s like.

When we were planning this trip, I told my friend I felt like I was just going to cry at all of the sights — these are sights I’ve only seen in movies my whole life and I finally get to see them in person.

Truth be told, there’s no huge reason I picked London to be my first overseas destination. It was on my list of flights to watch and it popped up with a really good deal, so I bought it and started planning it.

But, things always seem to work out don’t they? After I booked the trip, I realized that it’s not a bad pick for a first-timer. After all, the language is pretty much the same, and the time difference isn’t ridiculous. Plus it’s a pretty central location, so we booked train tickets to Paris.

I’m looking forward to all of the touristy things, doing some shopping, and likely stomping in a few rain puddles. I’m also happy that I’m finally making the leap to another country, because I know this will be the start of international travel for me. I’ve already been eyeing other destinations and I haven’t even survived London yet!

But, I know this trip is going to be a fun one. Per usual, I’ll be posting Instagram stories and pictures @Orangejulius7 during my trip, and I’ve got lots of fun, London-related content to share with you here, as well.

Until then, ta-ta!