Tornados, Earthquakes, Hurricanes, oh my!

These past few days have just been crazy, to say the least! In the midst of getting ready for my awesome trip, I experienced an earthquake and a hurricane in a matter of a week! I experienced the tremors of the Virginia based earthquake on the 55th floor of my office building in Manhattan...needless to say I was absolutely scared out of my mind! It felt like I was on a moon bounce. Being on the 55th floor of any skyscraper is unnerving in any situation, but being on the 55th floor of a notoriously unstable skyscraper, that is literally build on stilts, was unbearable (more info here) I got out of the building as fast as possible and my office migrated to a bar for the rest of the day. :-)

My office, 601 Lexington Avenue

Then, after the earthquake, Hurricane Irene decided to make her appearance. After they decided to evacuate parts of Manhattan, I decided to weather the storm in Greenwich, CT with Steve. I later discovered that Greenwich would be right in the eye of the storm...just my luck! Surrounded by huge trees, I quickly regretted not staying in my concrete Brooklyn shelter. After a night of the craziest winds I have EVER experienced, I was thanking God that all of the huge trees were still standing. See below for some pictures of what the storm did to Greenwich:

Where we experienced Irene

All of this drama reminded me of the Brooklyn tornado September 16, 2010.... There were trees down all over our neighborhood and the skylight was ripped off of our Park Slope apartment building. It leaves me thinking - what next? Maybe we'll experience a dust storm -or if we're really lucky, Mt. Vesuvius will erupt while we're in Italy! Ugh stormy days, stay away please!!

14 days until departure!

Reasons people think I'm nuts:
"Do you know where you're going?"  - kind of...
"Do you know where you're staying"  - nope...

If ever there was a definition of winging it, I think this trip pretty much epitomizes it!  I think most people are scared to completely leave their destiny to chance, but I truly love it.  How much fun is it to let life just lead you down a path??  Take chances and see where life takes you.  To truly live in the moment is a blessing and it is one that I refuse to take for granted!

Me in Florence, Italy in 2007.  They say if you rub the Porcellino's nose,
you will return to Italy someday.  So glad the saying is true!!

Camera arrives tomorrow.  Get ready for some awesome pictures!!!

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. - Helen Keller

I'm will be leaving for London in 19 days, which will be the start of a month long backpacking journey throughout Europe.  I find myself bouncing between being completely elated and completely horrified.  It seems that my to-do list is quickly growing as the days to departure dwindle down and my anxiety is steadily increasing... Did I buy the right backpack? Which camera should I buy?  Do I have the right apps on my iPad to survive navigating Europe?  How much will I have to do when I return to work??  Will the hostels turn out to be like the movie...?  eeeek!  I try to catch myself in these hesitant moments, take a deep breath and remind myself that in only 19 days I will be embarking on the trip of a lifetime. 

Everything leading up to this point has been centered around taking chances and risking it all to pursue the trip of our dreams.  My roommate, Katherine, and I had been tossing around the idea of escaping to Europe and when her sister, Natalie, expressed interest in joining, we knew it was something we had to to.  We took huge risks and booked our flights even before figuring out if this trip was practical.  Sometimes when life hands you an idea, you just have to run with it and make it happen.  I know one thing is for certain... this will surely be the start of one daring adventure. 

I will be posting photos and movies throughout our trip and I hope that you will follow us for the ride.  Heck, why not be as reckless as us, book a flight and just come meet us... come on... you know you want to!