Oh, the planning!
(Not a complaint...simply a statement.)

Just as Unravelling has a lofty goal of 100 miles of knitting and walking by April 1st, I have a lofty goal of umpteen pages of reading in 4 travel books...which has cut way into my knitting time!! OK, so it's not QUITE the same thing -- but you should definately check out Celia's knitting/walking journey!

The planning itself isn't the problem... it's doing the planning while bouncing from NY to Seattle to China to NY to Puerto Rico to NY -- phew! Oh yah...all while working full time.

"Yes, today I'm honored to accept the master certification in multi-tasking. Thank you..."

I guess I'll start at... the start... I'll be making 4 new stops in four new cities/countries in the next... less than 2 months! That doesn't include the stops in Hong Kong, 2 stops in China, and Florence, Italy... all for work.

Sunday, VERY early, I'll fly to Aguadilla, Puerto Rico to start my week away! I'll proudly walk down the isle and represent my dear friend Toni as her maid-of-honor while there. I'll take a ton of photos - yeah new camera!! Have rental car, will drive! I want to hike in the tropical rainforests: El Yunque and Guanica State Forest, visit the Rio Camuy Caves, swim with the dinoflagellates in Mosquito Bay on Vieques and perhaps even learn to surf in Rincon!! Yes, I've been reading the travel guide. I didn't realize the lack of safety at night in PR... traveling alone I'll have to be extra careful! I do wish Dan could have come...but it's quite a commute from South Africa.

Yesterday I booked the hotel rooms for the start of the BIG trip (starting March 9th)...which begins in Mumbai (otherwise known as Bombay.) This first stop is for work, but I'm hoping to get in a bit of play time! Dan will arrive in India a day before my boss and I arrive. This will be the first time I see him since I last saw him in Seattle. Since we last saw each other I will have been to China and Puerto Rico, and he will have completed his month-long volunteer journey through South Africa and some of their botanical gardens. Yeah!! I've been reading the two Mumbai guides trying to sort out my evening fun and what I could squeeze into that one free day!!

From there I'm taking a few days off (shocking, I know) and we're traveling onwards to Sri Lanka! I've been reading the The Rough Guide to Sri Lanka too! I have to book the hotel for our first night, in Negombo, today. Thankfully Dan's taking care of the rest of the days where we'll call Kandy home-base. A friend of his will act as tour guide too boot! I'm really looking forward to it!

The forth guide I haven't looked at in weeks, but will do so after Sri Lanka... What guide? Paris! Yippee!! A little planning will undoubtedly go far! It's a few years old, this guide. I bought it in 2004 when I had tried to plan a trip to Paris to no avail. Michelle and I have got the housing swap organized too! Yeah!! And...our plane tickets have been secured! There are quite a number of people coming for the wedding from NYC and around Europe! It is sure to be a FUN time!

It's also likely that I'll have a day or two free in Florence, an unexpected treat, due to Good Friday and Saturday...So this means I'm also going to be packing these two books! (Narrowed down from three volumes we'd used last fall!)

Ohhhh, where has the knitting time gone!! Work really does get in the way! I am very excited. So much to see... so little time!! I'm also happy to be sharing a few of the stops with Dan and girlfriends of mine. Yeah!!!

The hardest part? Packing!! How the heck am I going to pack one suitcase that will work for the tropics of India & Sri Lanka, the air conditioning of Hong Kong and China, the style and elegance of Italy and Paris -- AND the wedding in Paris. All in one suitcase! I guess it'll be the true test of packing! I guess I'll have to rely on fabulous accessories! I'm hoping to send the dress I'll wear to the wedding with Michelle so it doesn't have to visit and survive 7 cities in 5 countries first! And I may send the Paris and Italy books ahead to pick up in Hong Kong... these travel books are HEAVY!!

If anyone has any "You MUST SEE" suggestions for any of these cities, please drop me a comment! Cheers! Time for work!