I have a big mouth. Which is ostensibly an odd thing for an introvert such as myself to say. The problem is sometimes I overthink a response to the point of not actually speaking at all, while other times I blurt a response without thinking at all.
And so, when a … friend? acquaintance? friendly acquaintance who is now becoming a friend? … said that she wanted to go to Rome for a long weekend and would go alone if she didn’t have someone to go with, I said something like “Don’t go on your own, I’ll come.” And then I hoped it was one of those conversations where things are said and forgotten and no more is said. The next time I saw her she was excitedly telling people we were going away together.
Now, don’t get me wrong — she’s a lovely person and I’m glad we’re becoming friends; Rome, from what I briefly saw of it one weekend last year, is wonderful; and I’m sure we’ll have a great time. I’m apparently incapable of turning down an opportunity to travel when there’s someone to go with. But even aside from my debt repayment kick, I have my heart set on going to the Middle East in the spring, before renewing my passport over the summer, thereby keeping the Israeli stamps in my old passport and ensuring I won’t be barred from travelling to large swathes of the Arab world for the next 10 years. Paying for an unplanned 4-day jaunt to an expensive tourist hub won’t make either of those things any easier.
And yet, I’m excited. Solo travel (which I may end up doing again in the Middle East — details at this point are up in the air) has its rewards, but there’s a lot to be said for having someone to share the experience, point out the sights to, and sit down for a meal and a drink with at the end of the day.
So, Rome will be my first trip of 2010…I wonder what else I’ll blurt myself into before the year is out.
