Around the World in 80 Dates Read Online Free Page B

scarf?
    Communication all had to be via email: It was the only way I could keep track of what I’d said to whom, and reply to people in my own time rather than real time. Most people were fine with this but occasionally someone insisted that we had to speak on the phone:
    I don’t want to rush you but I much prefer speaking as opposed to typing. Feel free to call me on 877-722-****. Toll-free USA. In Canada or elsewhere 561-178-****. Christopher, Florida
    This always put me in a spin. I didn’t really have the time for more than a single conversation with any one person and there was no way they’d just want to talk once; inevitably they’d want to know all about me as well as when I was coming over, how long I was staying, and all the other details of my trip. But I didn’t have answers to these questions yet, and the stress of organizing this mammoth undertaking was taking its toll as I comfort-ate, putting the “ate” in “date” just at the time I really needed to look my best.
    I was tentatively working toward a route that would start in the Netherlands, head up through Scandinavia, then down through Mediterranean Europe and central Europe and on to the States. This was just guesswork, though, because—for example—until Henk in Amsterdam got back from his skiing trip, I had no way of knowing if he was free on the 27th? If he was, that would mean I’d be able to make it down to see Frank on the Belgian border, thereby arriving in Barcelona in time to meet Carlos before he set off for his conference in Russia:
    â€¦though I am in with my good friends in St. Petersburg and maybe it would be that you like to join us there if you are in a visit to this place?
    I just needed everyone to stay still long enough to give me an answer that would allow me to include them in or eliminate them from my itinerary. Then—knowing they were locked in—I could work out who, logically, I should see next. And that was just the dating side of it. My friend Karin, who worked at the Netherlands tourist board, was hugely helpful in trying to work out how I would get between three dates spread over two hundred fifty miles:
    I’ve been looking for public transport facilities from Schiphol to the Efteling and from the Efteling to the Keukenhof and I must say it’s not good news…. It will take you two and a half hours to get from Schiphol to the Efteling and three hours to get from the Efteling to the Keukenhof. I knew it would be bad as you have to use both trains and buses, but I didn’t know it would be this lousy. A taxi is not really an alternative, that will be really expensive, but I was thinking you could maybe rent a car for two or three days. Do you have your driver’s license and would it be a good idea? I’ve attached an information sheet with car rental companies at Schiphol and in Amsterdam. If you like the idea, you could phone them and ask for prices. If you do prefer to use public transport I can tell you exactly which trains and buses you have to take, so just let me know.
    I felt guilty, as she clearly wanted me to make a decision and all I could do was be vague and noncommittal. The problem was that she was asking about the minutiae of one aspect of three dates while I was in a totally different place, struggling to get the big picture straight on all aspects of all eighty dates. It felt akin to being dragged from a burning building by the emergency services, only to have them demand back an overdue library book.
    With so many options and nothing actually nailed down, I started feeling the enormity of what I was attempting. I was getting a tad tense trying to stay focused while having to remain upbeat and chatty corresponding with the avalanche of potential dates. I knew I wouldn’t get much in the way of sympathy ( “Help, I am being hounded by an endless supply of eligible, international bachelors, all wanting to date me….”