Barb

Jim, I can't certainly understand your feelings. Last year, just two weeks after 9/11, my sister left for 3 wks. i Italy, my first trip to Europe. I had planned this trip for over a year and was just so darn glad to get on that plane that I did not have time feel anything but relief. This year, I'm going back to Italy, but solo and so it's a whole different feeling. During the day, I'm excited, planning, etc., but in the early hours of the morning, I say to myself, what, are you crazy! I'm excited for the adventure, but at the same there is this little feeling of dread.

Betsy

I don't know if you'll get to this so many are posted, but I always feel dread and nervous before a big trip. I wonder what I think I'm doing, what if...what if... what if.... I worry about arrival. I worry about my dog at home. I worry about everything. Luckily I have a friend who reminds that I always go through this before I leave for a trip. I'm hoping this time I remember it when the time comes in July. I see I'm not alone! But once I get there!!!! Oh man I remember why I love to travel!

lestat

I am very glad I am not the only one - I get this about 2 - 3 days before every trip. I have no idea why - letdown after all the planning? (anticipation is half the fun!) worry about leaving my job, etc.? Who knows? All I do know is I always have a great time!

Kathleen

Could it be that in the planning stages, you feel in control? Comparison shopping, making choices, arranging reservations, etc. Then, once all the decisions have been made, you realize that from here on out, you no longer have that control. Your safety, your wallet, your optimism, are all subject to outside forces. Your transportation could sink, crash, or fall apart. You could get robbed and nobody would care, least of all the police. You could encounter unrelenting rudeness, annoyances, disappointment, lonliness, boredom.<BR><BR>Now, ask yourself this question: could all these bad things also occur at home?

Harriette

I think that although we like the adventure of a trip we also have a little apprehension. Generally most people do not like change--they like the familiar because it can be hassle free. going to unfamiliar place always causes me to be a little nervous. I also am going to Italy in about 7 weeks but am still in the excitement phase but as it gets closer I also get more nervous until I am on the plane. Go and enjoy and report back

john

topping

andi

I am usually so excited I could burst before a trip. I am leaving for Paris tomorrow for a much-anticipated trip and I am almost filled with dread. It's very disconcerting. I think it has much to do with the worrisome state of the world, my concern about anti-semitic incidents in France, where I'm going. I also like what the post above said about no longer being in control Now that I've packed, made all the plans, etc. the big things are out of my hands (can you tell I'm a control freak)? But I'm sure that once we get there, it will be WONDERFUL.

amy

I felt the exact same way before we left for Florence two years ago. Although we had gone to Europe before, the trips were to London, France and Switzerland, and I spoke a sort of ulitarian French. With the Italy trip, we would be venturing where I didn't have the same level of comfort.<BR><BR>Between all the warnings on the internet site, a fear of a language I couldn't grasp (why hadn't I taken Spanish...there's such a correlation between the two languages?), and a belief that I wouldn't like Florence (it was my husband's idea to go there), I was bummed.<BR><BR>We had a great time. The only cab drivers we had were unbelievably honest--one chased us down the street because he thought his tip was a mistaken overpayment, our minimal language skills were enough, and Florence was like taking Art 101--The Renaissance. Loved it.<BR><BR>The next year, I got bummed because we were going to do Rome. I had heard even more terrible stories, felt Rome would be too big to do it justice, and felt overwhelmed by all the centuries of history I would have to grasp in order to "present" it to my kids. <BR><BR>I cried the day we left Rome--it was that nice of a trip.<BR><BR>So thank you for posting--I know I'm not alone in the pre-trip "it this all worth this" feeling.<BR><BR>

American Woman

I get this way, too, no matter how big or small the getaway is. I start to worry that the house will burn down while we're gone or one of our parents will die, etc., etc. I try to settle down and picture myself at the destination. Fortunately, when I'm on the plane or in the car, my enthusiasm kicks in! Yeah! We're off!<BR>

Nancy

Hi Jim,<BR><BR>I always say, "Please God, if I have to die let it be on the way home"! <BR><BR>Last year we went to Italy for the 1st time. I had waited 5 long years for this trip and about a week before the trip, I got this overwhelming anxiety thing going. I think because I knew it was going to so unlike anywhere I'd ever been - and would we figure it all out. <BR><BR>As soon as we entered the Grand Canal - we were exhilerated and a the start of a trip of a life time.<BR><BR>Keep a journal - and have a fabulous time.<BR><BR>Nancy<BR><BR>

For Andi

Have a safe and wonderful trip. We are going to France in May and I feel the same way that you do. Please post your experiences when you return. I look forward to reading about your trip.

xxx

I absolutely love to travel and have felt the same way. For me I think it has to do with work. I have figured out by now that it is too stressful for me to leave on a Friday. I work very long hours and find it very difficult to do laundry, pack, etc. and get everything done during the weekdays before leaving on a Friday night. Usually when I go to Europe I leave on a Friday since it is an overnight flight, get in the saturday night stay etc. During the winter I went to the Carribbean and left on a Sunday and it worked much better. I could deal with everything in the office on Friday, wrap things up, stay late if I needed to and then spend Saturday packing and treat myself to a manicure and pedicure. As for my next trip I don't think it worth giving up two days of your trip but I would leave on a Saturday v. a Friday. <BR>I don't think that directly addresses Jim's point but it is another way to make life easier. I think it is naturally to get a little down before leaving because you realize how much fun (and effort) it has been to plan for the past x months/weeks/years and then the trip will be over in a week. however, once you are on the trip that week will contain so many great experiences and memories (take photos!) you will be smiling for a long time after.

Shanna

Jim, I think everyone feels like that before they go. Once the planning is done, there's a big letdown and for myself, I start thinking that I would rather stay home and just take a long nap. Then, as the departure date approaches, it hits me that "Yay, I'm going to .. . .(where ever)" and I get crazy excited all over again. The planning - and reviewing all the information now available - can really wear you out. And you are right about the negative posts; they can really bring you down if you allow yourself to read too many. Give yourself a little vacation from your vacation and in a couple of weeks, you'll find yourself excited all over again. And have a great time - I hear Italy calling me this summer too, but the dentist is getting my travel dollars instead!

carol

I love taking trips. Yet I'm usually very very anxious before a trip. I worry and worry and worry, and stay up late the night before packing, or, if I've finished packing, I just stay awake worrying. It's a combination of nice, apprpriate excitement with lots of fear and fear about all the things that might not work out well--from luggage not arriving, to not speaking the language well enough, to having trouble with the steep hills on a hiking trip, to forgetting to pack important things, to my father dying while I'm away (that actually DID happen when I was in Greece in 1998), to my dogs escaping from the boarding kennel, to the hotels not honoring my reservation. What can I say? I'm a worrier. But I've finally realized that a lot of this worrying is just normal excitement that takes sort of a "detour" while I'm impatiently awaiting the big event. Once I arrive where I'm going, my worries vanish. On vacation (and, on good days, even when not on vacation) I'm very flexible, very inquisitive, not a control freak, ready for surprises, and luckily see the humor in many screwball situations and mini calamities that could be really disturbing if I didn't laugh. I always have a good time on vacations.

cindy

I guess I'll jump on the bandwagon here. I'm glad to read so many feel the same way. I started planning (and reading this site) at least a year ago for our trip to Italy in June. All plans went well and everything is done, except for the packing and actually boarding the plane. I was wondering why I've suddenly stopped caring too much about it.. I don't want to read any more articles or books on Tuscany and even getting bored with Fodors!! I think I will recapture my enthusiasm and excitement once we actually get underway. But I'm just trying to forget about the whole thing for the next few weeks, until its time to start deciding what to put in my suitcase!

xxxxx

Obsessions ultimately cannot fulfill.

Minerva

Yet another multiple x with an oh-so-profound remark...

elvira

xxxxx, your pithy comment changed my life.<BR><BR>My grandmother, who traveled every summer to somedamnplace, said she'd begin to regret making travel plans about a month before leaving. She said it went away when she walked out the door with her suitcase. Me, too.<BR><BR>It is the natural order of things for humans to feel elated, then flat, then sad, then flat, then elated...as long as it sort of rolls along, it's normal (manic-depressive is a different matter altogether). It's Nature's way of keeping you sane (and rooted in reality).

Faith

I also think that it is tension from over planning. Last year I was obsessing on whether I was picking out good restaurants in Tuscany and I hadn't even left yet! I frantically wrote down recommendations from here and from books on sights and places to eat so I wouldn't miss a good place. I became a nervous wreck and decided I didn't want to go at all. That lasted for a day. Then I came more or less to my senses, cut back my planning and started just trying to relax. Then I wanted to go again. Then I started thinking about places to visit near our rented villa in Tuscany, etc. and it started all over again. Maybe I am nuts.

Lynne

Going to Paris in June -began packing<BR>and purchasing clothes in February - to<BR>the endless amusement of my last-minute-<BR>o-I-guess-I-forgot-my-(fill in the blank) husband. I'm taking a 2l" carry<BR>-on with clothes and shoes for a month<BR>and it takes a *lot* to get the right<BR>combination of things to fit into a <BR>case that size (not to mention the<BR>shopping for the items &lt;g&gt. Booked<BR>the Paris hotel in Feb. also.<BR><BR>Yesterday, bored with packing/repacking,<BR>I glanced at the confirmation for the<BR>hotel - guess what, I'd missed a day!<BR>We were out on the street for one night<BR>unless I could get us a room! LOL!<BR>Talk about over-planning and under-<BR>thinking. My DH may forget to pack<BR>his shorts but he wouldn't have shorted<BR>us at the hotel!<BR><BR>Although we have to vacate our room, the<BR>hotel found us another so all's well <BR>that's almost ended well (I hope). The<BR>funny thing is, this little panic has<BR>sort of put my obsessions to rest and<BR>I'm going to wait out the next five <BR>weeks in relative non-obsessional calm!<BR>Well, maybe not ! ;-)