A couple of weeks ago, I returned from an extended vacation in Europe. Included in this was what I could only describe as a YOLO (You Only Live Once)/ "You Fly, We Buy," one-of-a-kind milestone birthday experience: From July 30th to August 15th, my wife and I, and my dear college friend and her family, pooled our resources and hosted family and friends to "crash" our rented villa. The catch here was that the villa was smack-dab on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world: Lido Circeo near Terracina, Italy. There were some growing pains and stressful moments along the way, but in the end, the success factor was judged by the unsolicited comments of those who made it to the villa (the judgement factors: 1. without any prompting whatsoever, the words "best idea ever" and "the best trip ever" were stated numerous times by different parties; and 2. the number of tears shed by both adults and children upon departure). Although the experience was not picture perfect, it was much better than expected. Over a series of posts, I'd like to share my tips on how to identify, book and enjoy your YOLO experience to celebrate whatever milestone you choose, to make it truly a one-of-a-kind experience.
Part 1: Choose Wisely
A little backstory for you: I had initially thought of this as a fantasy--as unattainable as my middle class existence would dictate: for my 50th birthday, I wanted to rent a big, fancy villa (or a castle), and invite my family and friends to fly over and crash at our temporary home. It was a "You Fly. We Buy" concept, but of course, the catch was that I was dead set on renting something in Europe. My wife, ever the pragmatic Gemini, suggested that to keep it more reasonable and attainable, we rent a cabin in northern Wisconsin or at least host it at a place on the North American continent.
Of course, I dismissed this right away--and thus it remained a fantasy.
Fast forward to February 2015 and a surprise visit by my college friend, Vivian, who came to my town to attend a mutual friend's 50th birthday party. As it turned out, the party was a blast, we both had fun, we both had a quick lesson in curling (go figure!) and the weekend was to end as uneventfully as it started. Mother Nature had other plans. And so the impromptu, "short" overnight stay turned into an extended 4 day visit--complete with blizzard and unadvisable driving adventure (in a blinding snowstorm) to get frozen custard. During this extended weekend visit, I revealed my fantasy "you fly, we buy" event, and we started searching for villas for kicks. One thing led to another, and we both decided that this was not such a hare-brained idea (no offense to creatures of the lapin variety). In fact, the more we searched, the more attainable it appeared to be, if we shared our resources. Vivian shared her viewpoint (she's a cancer survivor and knew people who never made it to magic number 50), and I legitimized it on my end by relating the story of a high school acquaintance who had terminal cancer, had planned to make a last visit to my home town, and passed away prior to it--never reaching 50. And we both, being first generation Americans, whose parents were from the European continent, were dead set on having a shin-dig in Europe: no ifs, ands or buts.
And thus the crazy fantasy of mine grew wings.
As time flew by and stress grew stronger, and more plans were made, we had basic logistics to decide: WHEN, WHERE, WHO, and WHAT. We already had the WHY. Being a childless couple, my wife and I preferred a shoulder-season event, but Vivian (a schoolteacher and mother of a pre-teen daughter) could only venture during the summer hiatus. Fine. We have a time... ish.
Where? Vivian wanted to accommodate her fair-skinned husband and suggested somewhere where mountains could be hiked, but within reasonable driving distance of a beach. I thought, "Fine. Doable." But secretly, I wanted to be as close to salt water as possible. And Vivian admitted that this was her desire as well.
But where? Croatia (my wish; but Vivian had been there a couple of years prior)? Italy (ooh... Vivian was never in Italy, but I had been there)? Greece? Spain? Portugal (outside chance--we were both pretty set on the Mediterranean)? Hmmm.... to be determined....
WHO? Ah hah! Do a Facebook invite! Nuf said! (Well, there are other ways to invite, and in retrospect, because a good portion of my relatives in Germany are not active on Facebook, this ended up a point of criticism). But you have to invite those you desire to be there,... And maybe those you're not quite sure of, but like based upon past experience.
WHAT? Ah, that's a good one. Our search focused on Airbnb.com and HomeAway.com (with the occasional VRBO.com and TripAdvisor.com visit, as well as outside searches of European villa rental firms). This is what we'll focus on below.
Before we focus on the WHAT, let's go over best practices for the WHO, WHERE, and WHEN. So here goes....
WHO: you can try the FB event invite, and, for the most part, it worked, but I did receive a lot of "feedback" (criticism) from relatives who have better things to do than hang out on FB. So my suggestion is to put together a list of primary, secondary and even tertiary invitees. Gather their emails (and if they still believe in 1950's era communication methods, try snail mail and telephone). Keep a good record of who you invite, because you will find that there is a point where you attain a critical mass of YES attendees, and may have to engage in some creative accommodating.
WHERE: nail this down as quickly as possible. We started out with "I don't care, as long as it's near the sea." Well, this still creates a wide-open option: how far from the sea? And the qualifier "near the sea" includes approximately 26 European countries, ranging from Norway to Malta, from Portugal to Turkey. Choose wisely. Be specific in your desires. And--most importantly for the WHAT portion--what are your "nice to haves" and your "must have or no go" needs for a venue? If you are truly open, then you have the option of either making your partner be specific on the country (which, if I depended solely on my wife, would end up being an endless lesson in geography and why Sweden is not located near the Greek isles). BE SPECIFIC of your intended country to visit. Then nail down how far you are willing to drive to do some of your favorite activities. In other words, what are you willing to go through hell and back for, and what are you not willing to do? This is very important. You will find that driving customs in other countries are "unique" and at some point you will find a "F@*k it" point of no return--whether you don't care or you just won't venture past the front door. Do some creative research here: if you're traveling to Scandinavia, you'll find the drivers are courteous and law-abiding... and the petrol is outrageously priced, even for European standards (and if you drink any alcohol, you'll find a rude awakening from the sin taxes applied to any alcoholic beverage there). If you're traveling to Italy, the petrol is pretty pricey for European standards AND (as a Scottish travel once remarked when we were in Sicily), "the Italian are quite nice, once you get them out of their automobiles." But the food is quite reasonably priced AND fresh!
WHEN: Nail this down too. Shoulder season will definitely be cheaper. And if you go in high season (June through early September, for Europe), KNOW THE MAJOR HOLIDAYS in your destination country! Example: we chose to rent from July 31 to August 15 in Terracina, Italy. Here's the rub: August 15 is Ferragosto--and all of Italy almost literally shuts down for Ferragosto (and most of Italy goes on vacation for a couple of weeks after Ferragosto). If cost is your foremost concern, knowledge is power. Summer is expensive. Period. Just deal with that. Otherwise, if you have friends and family who are more flexible, then shoulder season might just be the ticket!
Now for the WHAT.... That is what Part 2 is for.
Oh, come on! You didn't think I would just spill my guts in one posting, did you? Besides, there's more to come! Now do your homework. This type of thing is attainable. It's also attainable if you intend on staying on the North American continent or in the Western Hemisphere.
Stay tuned for Part 2. And while you're waiting, here's a link to use for your Airbnb.com experience: https://www.airbnb.com/c/paulh136?s=41
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