Don’t hate me because I’m going on vacation
You know that feeling you get when someone you know tell you they’re going on vacation? You’re all, “Aww… how FUN! Good for you, you need a vacation! Where are you going?”
And then while they’re telling you about their upcoming trip to far flung lands or week of blissful couch surfing, you’re secretly steaming. “Man, this is so unfair. Why should I have to go to work while they’re off eating ice cream on the beach and not replying to five hundred emails? I want to a vacation tooooooo.”
Well, that was me these past three months. Three! Months! That’s the thing about scheduling your vacation for the very end of August. It feels like everyone on the planet is having a fabulous summer except for you which is SO PAINFUL.
On the plus side, I’ve spent three months doing some delicious looking -forward-to-ing (which makes everything that much better when it actually happens, right?), and….
IT’S FINALLY THE END OF AUGUST!
So it’s my turn to tell you about my vacation while you steam. Just kidding! I wouldn’t want that. In fact, I wasn’t going to write this post at all because I know how much it sucks rocks to have to listen to someone else’s vacation plans when you’re not going there, too.
But then I reasoned that there are probably a lot of you out there that have been to these places. And who better to point me in the right direction of where to go/what to see/what to eat? Oh and goodness me, let’s not forget where to shop?!!
So.
This time next week, I’ll be skipping through the green mountains with Heidi and yodeling here: Gstaad, Switzerland.
Photo sent to us today by the groom. As if we weren’t already excited enough.
I’ve been to Switzerland once before eleven years ago (omg, has it been that long?!) when I did a spur of the moment road trip with a German friend I’d met while studying in France, but I’ve never been to Gstaad. (He had a car. That may or may not have been a factor in us being friends.)
And while going to Switzerland is pretty rad in itself, it gets better – it’s for a wedding of a good friend of ours. Which means we get to attend a bang-up event (we all know I love weddings) and hang out with some of our favorite friends who we rarely get to see.
Wow, I know. BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE.
In some miraculous amazing wonderful way (which I wish I knew so I could whip it out for future occasions), I convinced Mr Fink to take an additional week or so off work so that we could also have a “real” honeymoon.
We tossed around many, many ideas (including going to Italy, driving across the south of France and visiting family in Poland) until we (read: I) finally realized that what we really needed was something that would require minimal planning efforts. We’ve both gone through some large stresses lately so we need to just sit back, relax and leave the itinerary to someone else.
The answer? A cruise!
Neither of us have ever been on one. But I figure that it will either be super gigantically awesome, or we won’t really love the cruise experience but WHO CARES SINCE WE’RE ON A CRUISE. A win-win situation, really.
The day after the wedding, we’ll have to haul ass reeaaaalllly early in the morning (did I mention it’s the day after the wedding?) to get back to Geneva and catch our plane to Barcelona.
Departing from Barcelona, our cruise takes us to
- Naples, Italy
- Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy
- Livorno (Florence/Pisa), Italy
- Villefrance (Nice), France
- Provence (Marseilles), France
- Barcelona
We then get to spend a couple days in Barcelona before flying home.
I originally wanted to go to Greece but the timing didn’t work out. Oh well. Greece isn’t going anywhere. And apart from Rome, I haven’t been to any of these places so I’m super excited.
And Mr Fink? He was happy to go along with whatever I decided on… provided there was some deal-hunting involved. Ah, we do love a good deal.
What about you – have you ever been on a cruise? How about to any of these cities? Any MUST-DOs that we absolutely shouldn’t miss??
My name is Kasia Fink and nothing makes me happier than finding goodness. This is a collection of my findings... I mean, finkings.
That’s awesome!! I’m of very little help (no travel advice), but I just wanted to wish you guys a safe and relaxing vacation! Take lots of pictures :)
Jealous indeed!!! I’ve only been on Caribbean cruises — didn’t expect to love it, but I really did. It’s such a relaxing way to travel from place to place. And of course there’s all the food!
I’ve been to both Nice and Florence, but no specific advice for either place. Just enjoy the food (did I mention food??) and soaking up all that wonderful atmosphere.
That sounds absolutely amazing! I LOVED Florence, Nice, and Marseilles – believe or not, I much preferred Florence over Rome and Nice over Paris. There’s just so much culture and beauty in those cities. I don’t have much advice other than ENJOY IT!
As for the cruise, you might want to take along motion sickness medication. I NEVER got motion sickness before but I ended up getting really sick on the first day of my first cruise. Also, I dunno if you like to gamble but cruise ships usually are awesome if you want to make money. Most of the people in the cruise casinos are novices just there to have fun so just by KNOWING the rules of poker and blackjack I made over $300 less than a hour!
Hmm, I never thought about the motion sickness. I’ve never had it but I guess there’s a first time for everything. Thanks for the advice.
Ooh! I’m pretty sure I’ve been to Gstaad! I’m afraid I don’t have any specific recommendations though. All of Switzerland blurred together except for the skiing. One thing I do remember, although this may have been on the way in Germany, brace yourself for the salt. You know how it used to be a preservative? Well despite the fact they now have fridges they still use a ton of the stuff. Unfortunately I don’t have any shopping advice. We were doing the grungy backpack thing except that we had a rental car.
Marseilles was nice too. We spent most of the time on the beach though so again, no shopping recommendations. Oh, for food though, in France we lived on fresh bread and cheese. SO good and fast and easy! I also went for a horseback ride on native Camargue ponies which was a lot of fun.
In our experience people in the south of France don’t speak as much English as those in Paris, but if you know any other languages try them out! We were once in a lingere shop for 30 minutes trying to communicate until my mom slipped up and spoke Spanish. The rest of the conversation was completed in 3 minutes. You never know.
Wow. For being such a long comment there’s really nothing of much use in there! Ah well. Have fun! It sounds like an amazing vacation!
A horseback ride on native Camargue ponies sounds so romantic! Too bad the mister is allergic to horses (much to the dismay of my rancher father).
We both speak French so we should be ok; I find that if you know that, you can pick up some Italian and Spanish fairly easily. At least, I think. It’s been so long since I’ve heard either! Mmmmm, I LOVE hearing people speak Italian!
I am soooo jealous of you right now!!! That sounds so amazing! I have to admit, I secretly hate looking at other people’s pictures from their vacation when I know there is no chance of me having one anytime soon. Ahhhh I am a horrible person for admitting that. Don’t get me wrong I always look at them even if it takes 3 hours.
I haven’t been to any of those places but I have a friends that have been to a bunch of those places and LOVED them. I think its pretty much impossible not have fun whether on land or sea!!! You will have a fabulous time!!
I only have one request…please fed ex me shirtless spanish lover…and not the one in a speedo and an uber furry beer gut;)
Happy Travels!!!
No you’re not horrible – you’re human! I get jealous looking at other people’s vacation pics too. In fact, I think everyone does, but not everyone admits it, see. ;)
One shirtless Spanish lover coming right up – but only if he fits in my suitcase.
You are going to have the BEST time ever! I visited Switzerland in March of this year and I still don’t think I can completely grasp just how beautiful is it! A dear friend moved from our home town near Toronto to a small town outside of Zurich and I secretly hope she marries her fab. bf so the hubs and I have a reason to visit again really soon! So jealous!
Re: the cruise, I too have only ever done the caribbean. cruise (on Carnival), but it was amazing. The food was divine (and all-you-can-eat soft serve never hurt anyone!) and the onboard service was great (maybe mention you’re on your honeymoon and see if you can get bumped up at the gate?).
As for motion sickness, they have HUGE counterweights on the big ships, so you should be okay. I think I only felt it one night but it may or may not have been the booze!
Good luck, and have fun!!!!!