The Beginning of the Selfish Years

It’s hard to imagine that only a week ago Mrs. Selfish and I packed all of our worldly possessions into a 8′ x 16′ x 8′ container and left our Orlando home of 7 years.  Now officially homeless, we’re wandering the world for the next year – hitting an estimated 28 countries and 6 continents. Oh, and did I mention we’re flying business class the majority of the way almost entirely on miles and points?  More on that later.

The trip of a lifetime

Mrs. Selfish and I are travel junkies starting 6 years ago with our first international trip together to Paris. Since then we’ve made it a policy to take at least one international trip a year, and have visited roughly 20 countries at this point.  This trip is a bit different though.

Mrs. Selfish is not much of a roughing it gal – so hostels and camping are out of the question. Some places we’re staying in hotels, others in B&B’s, but we’re spending the majority of our time in apartments.

Unlike previous trips, this one comes fully loaded – two laptops, an iPad, a kindle, 3DS, two iPhones, and two cameras.  I’ll be working the entire way across various projects.  Mrs. Selfish plans on learning various languages, brushing up on her photography, and taking a class or two on her journey to become a Renaissance woman.

So where to from here?  Honestly, I’m not quite sure.  We started the blog because it’s an easy way to let friends and family know where we are and what we’re doing.  Also, it’s the thing to do in this day and age.  Additionally, since I’ve become obsessed with “travel hacking”, it seems like a good way to convince our friends and families of the benefits – we’ve earned upwards of 1.5 million miles in the last 11 months (most without setting foot on a plane), so it’s time to start using them!

First leg of the Selfish Years: Ireland

Although I’m not entirely sure where the blog is heading, Mrs. Selfish and I are heading around Ireland for the next 7 days.  Not only is this my first time driving abroad, but it’s also my driving on the opposite side of the road, and the first time I’ve driven in a manual car in the last 10 years. Further, because Ireland is supposed to be one of the most dangerous driving countries in the world, it makes me more than a little nervous.

But there’s no time to worry about that now.  After wandering around the city for the latter half of the day, it’s time for a Guinness and some rest!