Like all good things, this trip began in a bar. It was a warm evening as we stood along the railing of a roof top bar in Orlando. The illuminated bank buildings filled the sky as the loud music filled the air. One of my co-workers was celebrating a birthday and bar hopping had brought us to this relatively empty bar on a Wednesday night. I said, "It's too bad you're in school, I was hoping to go to Munich this year again." "I'm not in school. I'm taking the semester off," she replied.

The Gatwick Express approached Victoria Station in central London. For the past thirty minutes, my eyes have been glued to the window, watching the English countryside glide past. My first thought, as we passed through the numerous towns between London and Gatwick was how old everything looked. Yet, I was fascinated by the almost cliched look of the buildings. I was in England.

Last week, a friend of mine on one of the social network sites posted their status as "wants to travel." I gave them a simple two word response: So Go. But it got me thinking that there is no logical way to justify travel outside of work related travel. Of course, those who travel for work, their status might well be "don't want to travel."

When you're flying out of central Florida to London, there's one choice in non-stop service: Gatwick. My flight was departing from Tampa around 5 in the evening, with arrival around 7 a.m. the next day. Which means, unless you want to spend your first day in London in bed sleeping, you've got some serious planning to do way before you depart.

Let's pretend you're on vacation in London with your family. You've spent the last several months planning this trip and saved up for it even longer. The day is all planned out: morning at the British Museum (I'd love to see the Hadrian exhibit), take the tube to Westminster station (the kids love "Minding the Gap"), check out Westminster Abby, walk across the River Thames for a ride on the London Eye before hopping back on the tube for some dinner plans across town. A perfectly planned day, except in the middle of your London Eye ride, it stops and you're stuck there for over an hour trying to get your kids to urinate into a plastic bag. There goes dinner and the rest of your plans for that day.

Sometimes the decision to take a "big" vacation doesn't come easily. I took my first vacation to Europe in September 2004. The planning for it actually began in 1999.

Unfortunately, I can't afford to travel all the time. It would certainly be nice to be able to take off for several months, lazily making my way through the French countryside or sitting at a beer garden in Munich, enjoying conversation with some of the locals. But while we're wasting away at our day jobs, there's always television to take us on a journey.

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