One Day Till Takeoff

Our trip was conceived back in February when my plans to visit Europe with another friend fell through and I discovered that the Alaskans had been dreaming of something similar. A few weeks later I had successfully invited myself along and the detailed planning began. Now, months later, I can hardly believe that we're actually going! I have so many apprehensions about local customs I'm sure to make a mess of, and I worry about delayed trains and hostels that may have misplaced our reservations. Buuuut I'm trying to remind myself that I have everything I could possibly need packed, good friends that will have my back, and Google. I don't want to have too many expectations, but I can't help but think this is going to be the trip of a lifetime!

All that said, I wanted to post our itinerary of when and where we'll be during the three weeks, along with some of the things we'll be doing and seeing:

Itinerary

8/25/12 Flight out of Seattle 8:35AM
8/26/12 Arrive at Barajas airport in Madrid, Spain 8:30AM
- check in at Las Musas Residence hostel
- explore the city leisurely: marketplace, churches, plazas
8/27/12 Second day in Madrid
- Pueta de Sol square, the Royal Palace, Retiro park, bars
8/28/12 Valencia, Spain
- Check in at Hotel Olympic
- Oceanographic aquarium, beach, Gulliver park, get to bed early
8/29/12 Bunol and Barcelona, Spain 6:30AM
- participate in La Tomatina tomato throwing festival in Bunol!!!
- check in at Sant Jordi Diagonal hostel in Barcelona
8/30/12-9/1 Barcelona, Spain
- park Guell, gaudi architecture, window shopping, beach, bars, clubs, marketplace, TravelBar tours and classes
- bid a fond farewell to Phil in the afternoon
- board overnight train to Paris 8PM
9/2/12-9/5/12 Paris, France
- arrive in Paris 8:30AM
- check in at Oops! hostel
- Eiffel tower, catacombs, Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, chateaus, shopping
- Versais day trip
9/5/12-9/7/12 Beaune, France
- check in at Hotel de France
- wine tasting, relaxing, walks through the countryside
9/8/12-9/11/12 Cinque Terre, Italy
- arrive in Monterrosso and work our way through Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomagiorre
- hiking, swimming, kayaking, cliff diving, eating
9/12/12-9/15/112 Rome, Italy
- check in at The Yellow hostel
- the Vatican, the Colosseum, famous statues, churches, marketplace, shopping, bars
9/15 Flight home to Seattle 11:50AM - 8:55PM

Just some photos to wet your appetite until we have ones with us in them!

So, my hope is that this blog will be a way to share some cool photos and videos with friends and family, along with interesting stories from the trip. I will try to have a new entry up every 3 days or so, but don't be too mad if I fail. Most of the hostels should have computers, but I may also just be too tired or having too much fun!