There are a few things in life that strike fear in me.  Topping the list would be SPIDERS and SNAKES!  The short list would continue with walking over grates in the footpath, gas grills, karaoke, sea creatures lurking if I swim out too far in the ocean, and I'm sure there are a few more.  One thing that I hope will NEVER make its way onto my list is the fear of flying.

I love to fly.  I always have!  I remember my first flight ever...when I was quite young, my family flew to Arizona to visit my aunt.  I still have memories of sitting in my seat playing with one of those sticker books with decals that you can stick and re-stick hundreds of times and they never wear out.  Since then, I've flown more times than I can count! 

It's not just the destinations that I enjoy, but I actually love TO fly.  I love airports, terminals, layovers (4 hours or less), and I even love airplane food!  I find that airports energize me...the thought of traveling turns me into an excited child inside :)  

With all the travel I have done, I've never been so amazed at the ease of travel since moving to Europe.  I try to explain to many people how easy it is to travel here.  It's inexpensive, so you can go for just a few days.  It's quick, so you can fly for two hours or so and land in a completely different world with no jetlag.  One of the best perks is that I now have friends in many places, so I get personal tours and inside information :)  This is key to a great experience!

Sometimes I'm asked HOW travel can possibly be THAT much easier in Europe, so I thought I'd take a minute and give you a glimpse.  As I was browsing online today, I took about five minutes to make a comparison between domestic travel in the States and international travel in Europe.  Here's what I found!

Domestic Return flights: (from Knoxville, TN for a week in late February)

• to Chattanooga = $452 (I included this for a laugh) :)
  
• to Denver = $260
• to NYC = $272
• to Philadelphia = $475
• to Orlando = $148
• to Houston = $336
  

International Return flights: (from Dublin, Ireland for the same week)

• to Paris = €60
• to Barcelona = €52
• to London = €33
• to Brussels = €35
• to Malta = €32
• to Rome = €98

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, "There are no foreign lands.  It is the traveler only who is foreign."  I love this quote...I would have loved to talk to him!  I think he would have loved flying too :)