My Excel checklist was open, my fingers ready on the keyboard. Drew and I were considering a week long holiday in March, and my extensive research on Europe was finally coming to fruition. In my ‘Europe Travel’ spreadsheet I had already listed five potential one-week trips I had researched that would allow us to visit as many new places as possible, with no backtracking or doubling up on previously visited destinations. A journey through Romania & Bulgaria was a promising option. Or maybe the first of two visits to the Balkans, to quickly knock off several tiny countries that are younger than I am.

And then Drew destroyed my carefully laid plans with a single statement: ‘Maybe we can go somewhere outside of Europe.’ I temporarily lost vision and my ears began to ring. Outside of Europe? After I’ve done all of the research and listed all of the countries (and their adorable tiny flags)? After I’ve mapped out multiple scenarios for the next 2+ years of travel in order to get me to my goal of visiting all of Europe while we still have it on our doorstep? Why would we ever even think about leaving this massive continent while I’m still 20 passport stamps short of my goal?

Drew rolled his eyes (or am I just projecting?) and reminded me that this goal is mine and not his and in fact, he had his eyes on some of the exotic islands where posh Europeans go with their seemingly endless holiday allotment.  Maybe we could go to the Maldives? Or Sri Lanka? Or even Mauritius?

After quickly dismissing his ideas as TOO – expensive, pretentious, far away, inconvenient, and not within the immediate vicinity of me and my spreadsheet, I took a few days to consider our options.

I know I am heavy handed with my goals, but I always thought that Drew appreciated this about me, as it was my adherence to these goals that pushed us to visit 15+ countries last year. And he would surely agree, in part, that my enthusiasm for travel is generally a good thing. But when enthusiasm borders on tyranny, even the most gentle and low-key person has a breaking point. My insistence on Moldova in March probably put Drew over the edge, and steered him to researching warmer alternatives.

Ultimately, we compromised because we are adults and that is what we do. I gave up my Europe goal (just this once!) but insisted on a stop off in a non-beach resort location, not confident in my tolerance to spend a week on a beach with nothing to do but read and swim.  Drew temporarily gave up his dream of the Maldives to allow for a less expensive alternative – the Seychelles Islands. We will still indulge his obsession in snorkelling at a (slightly) cheaper price, and I will get my multiple passport stamps because I haven’t yet seen the light as to why this isn’t a commendable goal.

We are both happy with our decisions, and as the day draws nearer, I’m looking forward to a long flight, some truly foreign cultures, and once again, stretching out of my comfort zone.  We will spend a few days in Abu Dhabi and then continue to the Seychelles and I’m sure it will be amazing and thought provoking and relaxing and just what we need.