RzzzA

Just thought this may be an interesting topic. I'm 22 and am planning my first European adventure in 2003! I CAN'T WAIT!!!<BR><BR>How about you? How old/young were you when you first set off for Europe?

Spider

I swore to myself that I would get there before I turned 30, and I made my first trip when I was 29. I've been back twice since then.

Nancy

I was 32 before I ventured overseas. I was afraid of flying and could not even bear to think of being in a plane for 12 or more hours from the West Coast. Finally, my boss at the time got sick of listening to my excuses and sat me down and told me there is a whole world out there and that I was letting my own fears stop me from seeing it. <BR>I am grateful to him for opening my eyes.

s

35 - got back Monday

curiousx

17 - and stayed there for 10 years. I go back often.

Ann

I was 20, and going after Christmas to see my Irish boyfriend I had met the previous summer, in the glamorous city of Birmingham. Now he's been my husband for 10 years and I fortunately have only had to go back to B'ham a couple of times, spending most of my time in Ireland.

Ann

BTW, I learned that hard way that it's not a good idea to finance your European adventures with a credit card when you're a student working part-time for paltry wages.

Kent

65, London this past October.

Marilyn

19, between my sophomore and junior years of college. Went again the following summer, and enough times since that I long ago lost count.<BR><BR>Note: In 1973 my boyfriend and I took off for 3 months in Europe. I had a thousand dollars for everything except the plane fare, and it was enough. Amazing, eh?

Elizabeth

20 - 42 years ago; it was a wonderment, and I came home with a real sense of my ability to cope with life.

Sheila

Well I was born and brought up in Europe so I guess it was when the little swimmy thing reached the egg<BR><BR>But I made my first overseas trip at the age of 15 to Austria, and, my, was that FUN??

Susan

I also was born and raised in Europe so I was very young, however I was 12 when I went to another European country and 15 to the US.

Ira

Marilyn wrote <BR>&gt;...19, between my sophomore and junior years of college. <BR>Note: In 1973 ....I had a thousand dollars for everything except the plane fare, and it was enough. Amazing, eh?&lt;<BR><BR> Go ahead, make me jealous. In 1973 I had a wife, two kids, a mortgage, car payments and was $3000 in debt. (%&gt<BR>

Rex

15, in the summer of 1969.<BR><BR>I didn't get back for the second time until December of 1985.<BR><BR>Twenty times since.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Nan

Wow, Rex, were you a flower child?

daph

25 on a &quot;grand tour&quot;

Rex

Nope. Well, not at that age at least (wink...)<BR><BR>I was a senior in high school (summer before). It was one of the kinds of trips that were popular in those days: take a &quot;college course&quot; in &quot;western civilization&quot; in six weeks. Started in Rome, then to Pompeii, Brindisi, Athens, Thessalonika, Yugoslavia, Venice, Milan, Geneva, Paris, London.<BR><BR>I think that the whole thing cost $900, including airfare and all lodging, meals, bus etc.<BR><BR>Those were the days.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Ben

People from the UK consider a trip to continental europe as &quot;going overseas&quot;? I never thought of it in those terms but I guess it's technically correct.

Catherine

I was four years old. My parents went on vacation to Paris and I got to tag along. I haven't been back since. What a waste, all I have to remember by are old photos! C'est la vie!

Sue

21, between my jr. and sr. years in college, 41 yrs. ago; on a kind of &quot;grand tour&quot;, traveled both ways by ship; visited London, Amsterdam,Brussels,Heidelburg,Rothenburg, Munich, Innsbruck,Luzerne, Venice,Florence,Rome, Sorrento,Nice, and Paris. Didn't get back until 1979, and have returned 10 times since. Every trip has been wonderful in its own way, but none will ever equal the wide-eyed excitement of being there as a college student! In 1961 there definitely were no McDonalds, and Europe was still very much aware of WWII, especially in Holland. The young people there could not understand how we were so blase about it; I learned a lot that summer. I feel very grateful to have had that opportunity at a time when traveling to Europe was a really &quot;big deal&quot;!