I just had about an entire month of traveling every weekend. First, I went to visit my family in England. Then, I was off to Berlin to meet up with my parents, who are traveling around Europe while my dad, a professor, goes to various conferences. They came to Barcelona for a few days, then we went to Madrid this past weekend.
Checking out the East Side Gallery after staying out until 4:30 a.m.
That’s 3 out of the past 4 weekends that I’ve been jetting around Europe and doing some serious sightseeing. In between trips, my flatmates (who just moved out) basically had a solid two weeks of goodbye parties. We had 13 visitors scheduled to come in one weekend. Then I got a surprise visit from one of my best college friends. He brought another friend, so we had a really full house!
Just some of the visitors around last week. Not even joking.
Oh, and I’ve been working my regular schedule during all this.
It’s been a lot of fun, but now I’m completely exhausted. I’m not complaining at all – I know I’m lucky! But my body has finally given me the big “ENOUGH!” wail.
My eyes are red. My body aches. I have massive bags under my eyes. My skin just looks worn out. My feet are aching from pounding the pavement for hours in broken sandals. I’m on the verge of getting sick, but my body is too full of adrenaline to give in to it yet.
Playing sentry at the Palacio Real in Madrid in said broken sandals.
Having just a short amount of time in certain cities or with certain people definitely encouraged me to get out and do stuff for every possible hour of the day. It’s fun for a few weeks; any longer than that and it’s just not sustainable. I can work, sightsee, and party until 4 a.m., and then get up and do it again the next day. Just not every day (much to my chagrin!).
Travel is a lot of fun –Â I love taking advantage of being in a totally new place and exploring, figuring out what the vibe is of this exotic location. I love doing tourist trap stuff, finding hidden gems, trying tasty new food, and doing some serious socializing/partying. I have tons of photos and stories I can’t wait to sort through and share here.
Beautiful English summer flowers.
But although it’s been great, having some downtime after a rush of travel is completely necessary!
So how am I wrapping up my crazy travel month? Well, it’s pretty boring. After work, I headed straight to bed for a long siesta. The big event of the day was heading to the supermarket. And I’ve spent the evening resting my poor achy feet, relaxing, drinking tea, and enjoying the cool evening breeze. Sigh.
It’s good to be done traveling…for now.
Besos!
-Jess
Holy cow that’s a lot of visitors. I can barely handle one or two, never mind a whole herd of people!
Yeahhh it was a little overwhelming, to say the least! But at least with fifteen, there’s no pressure to go out and play tour guide 24/7.
I would be as exhausted as you are!!! Traveling is so great, but also so tiring… and it’s always good to be back home and relax a little bit after traveling.
Wow, it might have been so crazy to have so many people visiting at the same time.
Yes, I need some rest before I do anything crazy again!
Haha I totally know how you feel. Fun is fun … until it’s not.
I tend to ignore my body’s pleas for rest when I’m on the move… and then end up having to pay for it later. Take lots of naps and drink lots of water! 🙂
Hehe I do exactly the same thing! I always get sick after traveling, so I’ve already taken your advice about napping and water 🙂
In the weirdest way, kind of glad I’m not the only one. I was starting to think there was something wrong with me!
rest + water is totally my cure for everything!
except colds. then it’s + ginger & honey tea 🙂
This is exactly why I love slow travel. Short vacations are too tiring!
Agreed! Slow travel is much better, though I’ll take quick vacations if that’s the only choice.