One of my long-time dreams is to go on an extended urban backpacking vacation through Europe, as my dad once did when he was young and living the broke Ph.D. life in Paris. I told my boyfriend about this dream not long after we started dating, and he said, "let's do it."

Well, I paraphrased those words. It was a text message and I don't remember what exactly he wrote. But I remember feeling so overwhelmed and happy over the sentiment that I started crying.

I can be a very emotional person.

Due to work commitments, we were not able to do exactly what I dreamed of. Instead, we planned a week-long trip over Thanksgiving. We decided where we wanted to go. Flight and train tickets were bought. Hotels were covered by my excessive hoard of Star Alliance points. Itineraries were not really set, both of us preferring to be more spontaneous with our time. Recommendations were given to us by friends.

And...