In 9 days, I’ll be walking around in Athens on my own. Later that day, Manise and Ralph will be joining me. It’s going to be Baz*, Greece edition!
They're a married couple and I'll be flying solo. I actually won’t feel like a fifth wheel. We’ll be more like 3 friends travelling than a couple and a nerdy, photobombing friend tagging along. Here’s why.
Taking the romance out Greece
The 2 lovebirds will already be travelling for a week before we meet up in Athens. By then, I hope they would have already done all the romantic stuff lovebirds do. Whatever that is. Honestly, I have no clue.
In fact, I’ve jokingly told them to take all the romance out of their system before we meet. In reality, I never thought that their being all lovey-dovey would be an issue. They’re not really a PDA couple. (I’ve lucked out!) And, most importantly, they are fun to be around. Ralph is a living, breathing encyclopedia. And I’m not even exaggerating. Manise is level-headed and the reigning queen of shade (that’s a compliment, girl, don’t come for me).
To be clear, I would only make travel plans with drama-free couples with whom I have a certain level of comfort. I can’t think of anything worse than being caught in another couple’s drama. I’ve been there. And international drama is the worst. There would really be no escape given that you’d already have made joint plans.
It’s Baz!
Ralph is the first Baz member I met. We go way back. We’ve hung out together on numerous occasions. And Manise. Well. She’s reached “partner in crime” level in my book. She’s the perfect travel companion for me. She’s a walker. She enjoys museums, history and art. Bonus point: she’s a no nonsense kind of girl. And lord knows I need some common sense in my life sometimes—*sigh* all the time.
When hanging out together the couples in our group have that ability to go on friendship mode very easily. If you saw us hanging out together, you’d never know some of us have been married for quite a while. You might even be hard pressed to identify the couples in the group. Case in point, in the photo below, this is not Hubby kissing me. You’re right in guessing that it’s actually The Annoying Little Brother.
Me time!
I actually plan on taking some “me” time. I’m looking forward to the solo travel time and the few hours I’ll be spending on my own before they land. I also plan on making myself scarce in an effort to give them some couple time. (I’ll have to report back on how successful I’ll be.)
While I prefer to travel with others, I do enjoy spending some time alone. Sometimes, just walking at my own pace and not be mindful of a companion is cathartic.
The girls’ trip we had initially planned turned into a mixed group trip (2 couples and little old solo me). The other couple couldn’t make it. I did mention to Hubby that the boys would be there. But I never seriously considered him joining me. This trip fell under the doing-my-own-thing category, which I’ve explained at length here .
So, yeah, D-day -9. And I’m really excited!
*Baz: (slang-ish) Haitian Creole term to identify a group of friends. This is how I refer to the group comprised of my husband’s high school friends and their wives.