It Was A Nightmare

Original photo created by John Wilhelm the photoholic

It's been a while since I had a nightmare. It is 2:40 am, and I just forced myself to wake up from this dream, now I can't sleep.

One of the top things on my bucket list is to ride a motorcycle in Europe. 

On this particular nightmare, I am gathered with a group of people somewhere in a strange European country. Everyone around me is speaking with a British accent.

In the meantime, I am worried and began talking out loud that we needed to hurry up and get moving soon in order for me to get out of there before sunset. In the nightmare, I am not sure where we are, and where are we headed. I am also concerned because I am riding a scooter that I've never ridden before, and don't know how to turn the lights on. 

All of a sudden, without any warning, everyone gets in a bus, and I am left outside. The bus starts moving and I had to grab a pole to avoid being stranded on the road. All our scooters are secured on a trailer using straps, and attached to the bus. While the bus is running down the road, I am standing on the bus rear fender holding for dear life.

After arriving to the next destination, I kept reminding everyone, that soon will get darker and I don't feel comfortable riding a scooter without lights. 

By the time I get out of the building my biggest fear has come true. It's already pitch dark, and is also raining. And to make things worse, everyone is gone. I am alone with the scooter without lights, standing in the parking lot without a rainsuit. I have no idea where am I, or where I am headed next. 

I did the most logical thing I could think of, I forced myself to wake up.  

The 2022 Bucket List

In three weeks I am traveling to Paris, France, for the first time. To say I am a little nervous about this trip after several months of planning it's an understatement. I am a little worried that the new COVID variant Omicron could force the French authorities to apply more travel restrictions, and prevent me from visiting the country. 

For years I've been dreaming of riding a motorcycle in Europe. If all goes well and the weather cooperates, I plan to rent a motorcycle for a couple of days during my stay. I already received my International Drivers Permit. I contacted AAA (American Automobile Association) , visited their local office here in Philly and got the International Drivers License the same day. 

In addition of carrying my Nikon DSLR and a couple of lenses, I am planning to bring my GoPro camera with the handheld gimbal stabilizer and use it to vlog about the trip. Ordered extra memory cards, extra batteries for my Nikon and GoPro cameras and also a couple of European travel plug adapters. All the camera gear is ready to go. 

Don't laugh, but it's been so long since I used my GoPro cameras, that while testing recording a video the other day, nothing worked. Nothing was video recorded. For twenty minutes I was freaking out, panicked, trying to figure out why nothing was recording. Until I noticed that the GoPro camera lens cover was on, that's when I realized that I need to use my GoPro more often. 

I am looking forward to this my second trip to Europe. I just hope that this time the weather is nice during my stay, the motorcycle rental is dependent on the weather conditions.