Edinburgh, United Kingdom, Europe

I’m doing it again! In 2010 I started what I thought was going to be the trip of a lifetime, and so far it has been. I’m not sure if this one can overtake the last one, but I am sure going to give it a run for its money! My journey this time is going to start out in the Middle East, then through Europe, all through South America, and to Antarctica! My friends are all sick and tired of hearing me talk about this trip, and I’m happier than anyway to get going!

Even though today was officially the start of my one year trip, before I could get going I had a lot of stuff to finish up around the flat. I still had a lot of packing and cleaning to do before I could turn the keys over to my letting agent so it was a hectic morning. Luckily I managed to get everything done before my good friend Graham came over to give me a lift to the airport.

We went out for lunch for one last catch up before I headed off, and then he brought me and all my belongings over to Paul’s house. Paul is being a great friend and holding on to a few bags that contain everything I own that I am not taking travelling with me. It’s going to save me a small fortune over the next year, so it’s much appreciated.

After missing the turn for the airport (sorry Graham, I had to mention it), we got to Edinburgh airport with more than enough time. Lee and Pnina (Lee’s mom) are anxious travellers, so even though I was more than two hours early for the flight, they were already checked in and waiting for me at Costa Coffee.

I checked in, we breezed through security, did some duty free shopping, and found our gate without much anxiety. We had a standard flight to Paris, two hours, no delays, and found our way on to our connecting gate with tons of time to spare. Lee and I wasted time by watching movies on our tablets while Pnina was happy to people watch in the airport.

I’m now on the flight to Tel Aviv, and everything is going as smoothly as I could hope for. The first hurdle is going to be getting through Israeli immigration. Lee and Pnina have return flights booked for 31 March, whereas mine is booked for the 24 March. I only did this because it was much cheaper and I don’t plan on using the return flight anyway. We’ll see how this goes…