Planning the Holiday

It is January and the weather is cold and grey in England. I am sitting at home with my husband Thomas, drinking tea and looking out of the window at the rain. Thomas says, "I am tired of this weather. We need a holiday. Somewhere warm and sunny." I say, "I agree. Where shall we go? And when?" He says, "How about April? The weather should be nice in southern Europe in April." I say, "April sounds perfect. It is not too hot and not too cold in April. The days are long and there is plenty of sunshine." Thomas gets his laptop and starts looking at destinations. He says, "What about the coast? We could go to a city near the sea." I say, "That is a good idea. I would like to see some culture too. Museums, old buildings, good restaurants." He says, "Let me see what I can find."

Thomas searches on the internet for about thirty minutes. He finds a beautiful city on the coast that has old buildings, museums, a famous market, and many restaurants. He shows me the photos on his screen. I say, "It looks wonderful! How do we get there?" He says, "We can fly. The flight is about two hours from London. Or we can take the train, which takes about five hours but goes through beautiful countryside." I say, "Let us fly there and take the train back. That way we can see the countryside on the way home." Thomas says, "That is a brilliant idea. Now, when exactly in April? The first week or the second week?" I say, "What about the fifteenth of April? That is a Tuesday. We could go for one week, until the twenty-second." He says, "Perfect. Let me check the flights."

Thomas finds flights for the fifteenth of April. The morning flight leaves at eight and arrives at ten. The afternoon flight leaves at two and arrives at four. He says, "Which flight do you prefer?" I say, "The morning flight. Then we have the whole day to explore when we arrive." He says, "Good thinking. The morning flight costs one hundred and twenty euros per person. So two hundred and forty euros for both of us." I say, "That is reasonable. Book it!" He books the flights and we get a confirmation email immediately. It says: "Flight confirmed. London to destination. Tuesday 15 April. Departure 08:00. Arrival 10:00. Passengers: Thomas Brown, Sophie Brown." I feel excited already. We have something wonderful to look forward to. Only three months to wait!

Now we need to book a hotel. Thomas searches for hotels in the city centre, near the old town and the river. He finds several options. There is a five-star luxury hotel for two hundred euros per night, a three-star hotel for eighty euros per night, and a small family-run hotel for sixty euros per night. I say, "The family hotel looks charming. It has good reviews and it is in a perfect location, near the market and the river." Thomas reads the reviews. People say the rooms are clean and comfortable, the breakfast is excellent, and the staff are very friendly and helpful. He says, "I agree. Let us book this one. Seven nights at sixty euros is four hundred and twenty euros total." I say, "That is very good value. Does the price include breakfast?" He checks and says, "Yes! Breakfast is included."

Thomas books the hotel. We get another confirmation email: "Reservation confirmed. Park Hotel. Double room. Check-in: Tuesday 15 April. Check-out: Tuesday 22 April. Seven nights. Breakfast included." I am so happy. I say, "Now we need to think about what to do there. What activities can we do?" Thomas gets a guidebook from the bookshelf. He bought it last year when he was thinking about this destination. He opens it and reads, "The city has a famous cathedral, a castle on a hill, several museums, a beautiful river walk, and a Saturday market that is one of the best in the country." I say, "That sounds amazing. We should make a list of things we want to see." Thomas gets a piece of paper and we start writing our list together.

Our list of things to do includes: visit the cathedral, go to the castle, walk along the river, explore the old town, go to the Saturday market, visit the art museum, try the local food, take a boat trip on the river, and go to the beach for one day. Thomas says, "That is a lot! Do you think we can do all of that in one week?" I say, "I think so, if we plan carefully. We do not have to rush. We can do one or two big things each day and relax in between." He says, "Good idea. We should also leave some free time for just walking around and discovering things by accident. Sometimes the best experiences are the ones you do not plan." I say, "You are absolutely right. Let us not over-plan. We will have a rough idea but stay flexible."

Thomas says, "We also need to think about transport. How will we get from the airport to the hotel?" I say, "We can take a taxi. It is the easiest option with our luggage." He says, "And for getting around the city?" I say, "The guidebook says there is a good bus system and a metro. We can buy a weekly transport pass. That will be cheaper than buying individual tickets every day." He looks it up and says, "A weekly pass costs twenty euros per person. That gives us unlimited travel on all buses and the metro for seven days." I say, "That is excellent value. Let us buy those when we arrive." Thomas writes it on our planning list. He also says, "Do we need travel insurance?" I say, "Yes, we should get travel insurance. It is always better to be safe." He makes a note to buy insurance next week.

Over the next few weeks, we prepare for our trip. In February, I buy a new suitcase because my old one is broken. Thomas buys a new camera because he wants to take beautiful photos. In March, we buy our travel insurance and our weekly transport passes online. I also buy a phrase book so I can learn some basic words in the local language. I practice saying "hello," "thank you," "please," "excuse me," and "how much is it?" Thomas laughs at my pronunciation but I do not mind. I want to be polite and try to speak the language when we are there. I also make sure our passports are valid. They do not expire until next year, so we are fine. Thomas checks the weather forecast for April. It says temperatures will be between fifteen and twenty-two degrees, with mostly sunshine and a little rain.

It is now the first of April. Only two weeks until our holiday! I am very excited. I start making a packing list. I need summer clothes because it will be warm: shorts, t-shirts, dresses, sandals, and a swimsuit for the beach. But I also need a light jacket for the evenings because it can be cool after sunset. Thomas needs his walking shoes because we will do a lot of walking. I also pack sunscreen, sunglasses, my camera, my phone charger, my book, and my phrase book. Thomas packs his camera, his laptop, and his guidebook. We do not want to take too much because we only have one suitcase each and we might buy souvenirs to bring home. I say, "We should leave some space in our suitcases for shopping!" Thomas laughs and says, "Good thinking!"

The night before our trip, we check everything one last time. Passports? Yes. Tickets? Yes, on our phones. Hotel confirmation? Yes. Money? We have some euros that we exchanged at the bank last week. Suitcases packed? Yes. Alarm set for five in the morning? Yes, because we need to be at the airport by six for our eight o'clock flight. Thomas says, "Are you excited?" I say, "Very excited! I cannot wait. I have been looking forward to this for three months." He says, "Me too. It is going to be a wonderful week." I say, "Good night, Thomas. Tomorrow our adventure begins!" He says, "Good night, Sophie. Sweet dreams about sunshine and good food!" I close my eyes and smile. Tomorrow we will be on a plane, flying to our holiday. I can barely sleep because I am so excited!