A Literary Tour of Europe
An American On Holiday
Since early this year, I’ve been planning for my dream, European adventure. For some reason, going to Europe is the kind of thing we Americans dream of. Even though we ourselves are very, very un-European, there’s something about being in a land that’s old, much older than the civilization that’s grown up around us, with written history that has had a greater impact on us than we have even had, in turn, on the rest of the world, that we Americans just adore.
Many of you have been to Europe yourselves. My wife went to Europe when she was eighteen and lived there for several months. She saw just about every European city there was to see, and that’s great.
However, traveling as a grown-up (I’m twenty-five, that’s a grown-up age, right?) is different than traveling as a young, broke, college student. In some ways, it’s even more intense as you get older. You are constrained by more mature expectations, and time. We Americans, great though we are, don’t get a ton of vacation time. So we have to use it very, very wisely. Where will you go on your European adventure? What areas will you compromise on? Will you take that extra nap, or get in another sight? Will you climb to the top of the Eiffel tower, or eat out at that idyllic French restaurant.
