8-1-2019
Today is the first day of my 6 week sabbatical. It feels really good. After 5 passionate, fortunate and at times tiring years of service, my company has rewarded me with 6 weeks of paid time off where I can be completely off the grid. This perk is called “Recharge” and the idea is that you take time to relax so that you can come back to work refreshed and work another 5 years with the same vigor you had when you started.
Waking up this morning, I felt simultaneously excited and in disbelief. I feel really lucky to have this perk. Its not one that is common and it is one that I have looked forward to for years now.
When I decided I was going to take “Recharge” this year, I was pretty overwhelmed deciding what I should do. “You can go anywhere in the world!” I told myself. 6 weeks is a long time so it put experiences on the table that might not have been there in a shorter timeframe – safari in Africa, backpacking through South East Asia, working at my childhood summer camp, training to be a SoulCycle instructor – all of these ideas crossed my mind. It’s funny then that I landed on centering my trip around a place that I’ve already been. After a few weeks of researching and daydreaming, it was ultimately my love of wine that led me to pick France. Though I’ve been to Paris, I’ve never been to wine country. Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Loire Valley – these are all places I have dreamed about visiting after reading about them in books. Now I’m going.
My pre-trip goals were to learn French and take more somm classes – neither of these things happened. So, here I am on a plane, feeling slightly annoyed at myself for the lack of prep, but mostly feeling fortunate as all heck to be on my way to Europe with one of my best friends (Hi Joanna!).
For the next 6 weeks, the goals that I am DETERMINED to keep are:
(1) Be present in the moment as much as possible
(2) Have many deep, meaningful slumber party conversations with people that I love
(3) Eat everything
(4) Drink amazing wine, learn about wine and connect with winemakers.
Along the way, I also hope to get some clarity around some larger life questions I’ve been asking myself – I find these questions often work themselves out when I’m traveling. Having “thinking goals” has always been an important part of any trip for me.
The purpose of this blog is to share my 6 week adventure with friends and family at home and anyone else who has a travel bug and may be looking for some ideas. The trip has been well researched with input from many of my very type A friends J and will span 5 different countries.
Our first stop is Italy – my favorite place in the world. I can’t wait to show Joanna around Rome tomorrow – it’s her first time and we will eat everything.
Summer in Six Weeks 