A Journey of a Lifetime
If you follow along on Instagram @bigstoryliving, you know that the first official Big Story Living Curated Journey to Europe is officially one for the books. After seven months of learning and planning, this crew of amazing women set out on March 3 to put all of our learning to the test and curiously explore Europe together. From Munich to Salzburg, Vienna to Prague, we explored every tourist attraction and hidden passageway we could find. We ate and drank our way through some of the most famous cities in the world, spent lots of time alone as well as with the group, savored the beauty, walked for miles, endured blisters and aching bodies, slept in hotels, an Airbnb and a train, and did it all with one eye on the world and the other eye on Jesus.
With the Big Story Living Travel Companion (a guide I created for the journey) to keep us centered, curious and thoughtful towards our faith, we set out each day to see what was around every corner just for us…and every single day was lovely in its own way.
Kudos to Jessica, Lori, Sarah, Emily, Alex and Molly. You were so brave to trust me in this adventure as my very first group. It was a joy to teach you, to watch your eyes light up, and see you persevere through the bumps along the way. I am blown away by how “all in” each of you were throughout this entire process. Thanks for allowing me to learn to facilitate these adventures with you. I’m already dreaming of an alumni trip with you in the future!
If you want to see more views from our journey, just pop on over to Instagram and click on the story icon that is entitled, “Journey 3/23.”
And if you are interested in traveling with us in the future, send me a message here. Our November 2023 journey is already full but I will be announcing what will be in store for 2024 this December, with sign ups beginning in January 2024. If you message me now with your interest, I’ll put your name on a “first-come, first-served” list, and you’ll be the first to know when registration begins.
In my next newsletter I will share the breakdown of how much money I spent on this entire budget journey.
Until then, I’ll leave you with this What’sApp message that I received this morning from a friend on our trip.
I’m am honored to have been on such a trip of a lifetime with you ladies. Each one of you are amazing and so special to me now. We went into this as strangers and witnessed each other in our vulnerable spaces, (hello crying in public on a European train :) ), and saw wonder and delight through each other’s eyes! Amy you taught me the beauty of slowing down and taking in the magnificence of the sights. Sarah, your love of food and experiencing the tastes of the journey, added so much richness! Lori, you have a special way of engaging in wonder and awe and taught me how to deeply appreciate that which was in front of me! Emily, your reverence for life and joyful presence was a delight to be part of. Alex, thank you for your sense of humor and ability to bring lightheartedness and joy into every moment! Jessica, I was struck daily with your kindness and watched you ignite your sense of who Jessica is and what you love and said “yes” to life during this trip.
I truly hope to connect with you all on a regular basis. It has been an honor to journey with you all! Well done and welcome home.
Travel Tip of the Day
Imagine you find yourself in an airport somewhere in the world and your flight gets canceled or delayed in such a way that you’ll never make your connecting flight. Chances are your airline app will allow an opportunity to rebook online. But this doesn’t always happen. So what next? Well, you could stand in line like everyone else trying to get on the same flights, keeping your fingers crossed all the flights for the day aren’t filled by the time you reach the front of the line. Or you could call your airline, of course. But what if the line or phone wait is SUPER long and your precious time is ticking?
DO THIS NEXT…
Google the international phone number to your airline and call it for assistance.
For example…if I Google “worldwide phone numbers for American Airlines reservations” I can immediately find a list of customer service phone numbers all over the world. Pick one and call an international number instead. You may have to pay a fee but the wait is probably shorter, and these representatives have access to the same itineraries as local US agent. Do this, and you just might have a fighting chance at getting home in a reasonable amount of time despite your interrupted flight.
Happy Travels!
Amy
Congratulations on the success of your first curated journey to Europe! I enjoyed the pictures and comments from everyone on the trip. I hope you all were blessed through this adventure and will take opportunities to share your blessings with others. Welcome back home!