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Well, as most of you out there know, the United States, as well as Japan, Sweden, and the U.K., have issued a “terror alert” to warn their citizens of potential terrorist activity in Europe in areas that are frequented by travelers...places like Belgium and France where I’ll be traveling in less than a month (I’ll also be going to the Netherlands, but I haven’t seen it mentioned specifically...yet). The alert itself is fairly vague and supposedly, it’s not meant to discourage travel to Europe, it’s meant for us to be more vigilant and alert while we’re there. The U.S. (and other countries) don’t want to get too specific because apparently, the intelligence the government has gathered doesn’t name specific targets but they suspect the attack may be like the “commando style” attack that took place in Mumbai two years ago. The warning does intimate a “potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure”. “Tourist infrastructure”, hmmm...that would be places like subways and crowded places like the Eiffel Tower (which has been evacuated twice in a month for bomb threats), which I’ll be visiting in November.
So of course, the big questions is...(everybody say it with me), “Should I cancel my trip?” My first inclination is to say “no”. No, I’ve already paid for my plane tickets. No, I’ve already reserved my lodging. No, I’ve never been to Amsterdam. No, I’ve never been to Belgium. No, I’ve never been to France. No, I haven’t had a vacation in a long time and I’ve been suffering from travel-deficiency for several months now. Of course, it’s my “no” and no one can take it away from me. My mom can make me feel guilty about it but she can’t make me stay home.
By now, I’m sure you’re asking why I’m even talking about this if my mind is made up and here’s why...my 80 year old aunt is traveling with me to Europe. In a previous GlobeDiva Travels post, I posted Should You Travel Solo or Not? and spoke about my trip to Spain last year where I got the chance to travel with my Aunt Cal and my younger cousins.
Please read the rest of my post at GlobeDiva Travels.
