On Plans.

I like plans. Plans are good. They give you the security of knowing what's going to happen, and make you feel a bit more prepared for that unknown that is the future. I like planning things, and they give me something to look forward to.

So I think I've made my opinions clear. I have for the last two or so years, been pondering and planning this trip of mine. Partly to give me something to look forward to, but also to give me some modicum of control and of knowing how to cope in a country where I don't speak the language.

Now that I'm here, however, I don't like my plans any more. I had aimed to spend a week or so at a time visiting different cities, and to intersperse that with a few weeks at a time with farmstays such as through Workaway or WWOOF. I figured this would offer a nice break from the constant travelling, walking and sightseeing, and balance things out. I like my quiet peaceful countryside, so it sounded ideal.

The thing is, though, I'm actually enjoying the travelling, walking and sightseeing. I don't really want to be lingering for weeks at a time in one place. I'm currently on my first farmstay, at a riding school southeast of Florence in the Tuscan countryside hillside and had planned to stay here three weeks. So far I've been here three days. While it's a lovely place, the whole ethos of workstays just doesn't seem to fit in with what I want any more. Plans and desires and motivations morph and evolve, and I think I need to be honest with myself and acknowledge that maybe, what is better right now is to wing it, and just do the backpacking-round-cities thing. I don't do spontaneous that easily when it comes to going places, so this is kind of a shock for me. But I'm going to go with it.

What it does mean, though, is that because I won't be spending 3 or 4 weeks at each farmstay, my trip will be significantly shorter than planned. I don't want to stay in one place for too long, but my budget constraints mean I can't just use that extra time to travel to other places. It's a possibility, but it's unlikely.

So. I will be leaving my workstay in Tuscany at the end of the week, and deciding where to go next. It wasn't what was planned, but it's what I want to do, so nyer nyer to the haterz.