For those wondering, I just made it back to the US. Lack of consistent internet access kept me from updating the blog in the past several weeks, though I continued to have an amazing time. This experience has been (though it is cliche to say) life-altering. Learning to live on the road and out of a bag for 40+ days has at various times been exhilarating, intense, frustrating, eye-opening, and rewarding. The things I have done, the people I have met, and the places I have seen have all provided me with a lifetime full of memories. I took over 2,000 pictures on this trip, and while they can provide an idea of what I saw, looking back on them makes me realize how little justice they give to actually being there in the moment. I look forward to sharing my memories, pictures, and stories (well, those appropriate for the crowd) with my family and friends. In the meantime, here are some tidbits from my trip...

By the Numbers:

Thousands of dollars spent
Hundreds of memories made
Dozens of people befriended

7 Countries visited (UK, Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands)

13,537 total miles traveled
8534 by plane
3657 by train
932 by car
469 by bus
45 by bike

Highest elevation (on land) reached: 2,560 feet above sea level
Lowest: 0 feet

Weight of bag carried: 62.3 pounds
Number of times back pulled out carrying the damn thing up and down stairs: 1

Airport security line suffered through: 6
Number of times subjected to a "pat-down": 2

Number of deportation arrests witnessed: 1

Nice immigration/customs agents: 5
Douchebags keeping the stereotypes alive: 2

Average size of hostel rooms: 4 bunks (8 people)
Largest room: 8 bunks (16 people)

Number of times Michael used the word "quaint": Whatever infinity minus 1 is

Lessons Learned:

• As anyone in France can tell you, Champagne is only good as an apertif, and salad should always come after the main course
• In Spain and France, you can drink fine wine more cheaply than you can water or Coke
• At McDonald's in Ireland, tacos are a popular menu item. In Spain, you can get a beer with your Big Mac. In Italy, I had a better cappuccino at McDonald's than I can get at most coffeehouses in the US.
• You can subsist on 3-4 gelato a day. Trust me.
• Lugging around a 60lb back sucks. On my next trip, I'm fitting everything into a carry-on bag. Even if it means wearing the same 2 outfits in every picture.
• Before you make a day-trip to a city on a whim, at least make sure the places you want to visit will be open first.
  

Pictures 4

Ellwood, D-Day tour guide extraordinaire, and I on Omaha Beach. Omaha Beach was one of two American landing sectors on D-Day, the other being Utah Beach. Losses were devastatingly high here for American troops, as portrayed in Saving Private Ryan (Normandy, France)

Pointe du Hoc. Army Rangers climbed the 100ft cliffs behind me to capture a battery of 6 artillery guns (Normandy, France)

Here, I'm on the Arc de Triumphe, with the Eiffel Tower behind me (Paris, France)

Pictures 3

St. Peter's Basilica (Vatican City)

View from roof of Duomo (Milano, Italy)

View from hiking trail in Cinque Terre (Italy)

Pictures 2

Michael and Helene outside in her garden, after breakfast (Bordeaux, France)

Michael and I halfway up to the cupola of Saint Peter's Basilica (Vatican, Italy)

Me in French wine country (St. Emillion, France)

Michael, Chloe & Co., and I in her apartment/our bedroom (Lyon, France)

Shattering Stereotypes

Misconceptions are always a huge part of traveling. Misconceptions about what living arrangements will be like, about how easy catching a train at 8:00 in the morning will be, about how much money you will need for food each day, or the amount of clothes you can get by with... the list is endless. However, the biggest misconceptions tend to be about another country's people and culture. Hardly a day goes by without me discovering stereotypes and impressions I had previously held to be embarrassingly wrong.

Now, I am not saying before this trip I was ignorant or narrow-minded--that's not the case at all. Still, it's hard not to come in without SOME preconceptions about what to expect from people when overseas. I mean, one can only watch classic animated Disney movies so many times before a set of stereotypes is created, especially about the French (OK... the bad guys have crazy eyes, pencil-thin mustaches, and laugh like "HON HON HON" while the good guys always kiss a girl's hand and say "mon cheri"....got it). Keeping with the theme, in the US, the French have a reputation for being unwilling hosts, especially towards Americans. And I can't tell you how many people told me that it's impossible to get the French to speak in any language other than their native tongue. In my experiences, both of these misconceptions couldn't be further from the truth.

On Friday, Michael and I took a train from Barcelona, Spain to Narbonne, France. There, we picked up a car for 6 days of unlimited driving freedom. After a quick stopover in Carcassonne (a beautifully restored Roman/medieval city), we drove 6 hours along the Pyrenees and Atlantic coast to Bordeaux. Here, we met with Helene, who is the mother of Michael's co-worker. Though neither of us had ever met her, nor even talked with her, none of this mattered to Helene. From the moment we drove into her garden (a gorgeous green area filled with roses, cherry trees, fig trees, and peach trees, walled in the middle of a bustling city), Helene greeted us with eager hospitality.

For 2 days in Bordeaux, we were treated like close family friends. Helene gave us the keys to her house, the freedom to come and go as we pleased, our own private rooms, and access to her fully stocked fridge. Dinner with her was, simply put, amazing. In typical French fashion, we enjoyed 3 hour meals with 4 or 5 courses, during which Helene taught us the proper way to eat (Champagne is always an apertif, never an after-dinner drink…salad should come after the main dish, not before). A typical meal reads like something you would find in a 5-star Parisian restaurant:

Sliced melon (from the Bordeaux region), served with Champagne
Fresh French bread served with beef pate and beets
Puff pastry stuffed with grilled pork and ham, served with red wine
Mixed salad with apples, beets, and an almond-vinaigrette
4 types of cheese with bread and more wine
Locally made artisan pistachio ice-cream with a strong cup of black coffee

Needless to say, dinner-time was my favorite part of Bordeaux, though the entire stay was incredible thanks to our gracious host. Luckily for us, Helene is visiting her daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter in Virginia later this summer, so we will be able to return the favor (or at least attempt to).

After leaving Bordeaux, we made the 6 hour drive to Lyon, where we had our first Couch Surfing experience. For those unfamiliar with CS, it is a sign-up service with which a person can offer their couch/bed/spare-room/floor to travelers and choose those they want to host. On the other end, you can also “surf” those offered places. It’s a great way to meet people and see the non-touristy side of a city, all while saving money.

In Lyon, we were lucky enough to be hosted by Chloe, an energetic and friendly 23 year-old who has a passion for traveling, the English language, and the United States. Thankfully, Chloe happened to be on holiday from school, so she was able to spend the entire time with Michael and I, showing us around Lyon’s sights during the day and taking us out for some fun during the night. The evening we arrived, we also met 8 or so of Chloe’s friends, most of whom went out with us to the music bar (which happened to be a boat docked on the Rhone, one of Lyon’s two rivers). Chloe and her friends warmly welcomed us and kept us involved in all of their conversations (which were all carried out in well-spoken English. Chloe and Co. appreciated the chance to speak English, Michael and I appreciated the fact that we didn't have to test out our horrible French). The social aspect of CS is what makes it such a unique and special experience, one that I hope to get involved with on the hosting end sometime in the future. Going from strangers to friends and travel buddies in such a short time with Chloe and her friends was really fun, and I hope that they come out to the US soon so that I can take them out to Chloe’s favorite restaurant, McDonald’s.

Even in my relatively short 25-day jump through the UK, Ireland, Spain, and France, I can safely say that traveling is one of the best things a person can do for themselves. It is an eye-opening experience that has allowed me to meet some great people who have shattered previously held misconceptions and unfair stereotypes, all while becoming new-found friends.

So, what have Michael and I done since my last post? Lots of beach in Barcelona, lots of driving in southern France. Because I don’t have a ton of time, I’ll give it to you in itinerary form:

May 23: train from Madrid to Barcelona
May 24: La Boqueria (large open-air market packed with fresh produce/fish/meats) in the morning for breakfast and to pick out stuff to make for dinner. Beach all day, back to hostel to cook dinner, out for a few drinks
May 25: see May 24
May 26: see May 24
May 27: Train from Barcelona to Narbonne, France, where we picked up our rental car. Carcassonne (a beautifully restored walled medieval city dating back to Roman times)
May 28: Drive to Bordeaux along the edge of the Pyrenees. Relaxation, dinner, and some Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers with Helene.
May 29: Walking tour of downtown Bordeaux, visit to the beach and HUGE sand dune, dinner with Helene
May 30: 6 hour drive to Lyon (after a failed attempt to visit wineries near Bordeaux), out to the boat-bar with Chloe and friends
May 31: Walking tour of Lyon, drinks and conversation at home with Chloe and friends
June 1: Beautiful drive through French Alps to Nice, France. Awesome Thai food for dinner (which was capped off with complimentary digestifs served in some… interesting shot glasses)
June 2: Four trains to Cinque Terre (Riomaggiore), Italy. 2 hours of hiking along seaside trails.
June 3: Explored Riomaggiore, much needed internet café (we just booked Paris…four days before we are set to arrive), and dinner with Jin and Linda, two girls we met at our hostel.
TODAY: Train to Rome, visit to the Vatican, climbed to the top of the cupola

So yes, we have continued to have a great time. This trip has been, the vast majority of the time, extremely relaxing and enjoyable. I am eating non-stop, though I’ve yet to gain weight because of all the walking we have done. And though I wasn’t a wine guy before, I have been trying a lot while in Spain, France, and Italy. Like I told my sister, a glass of wine is cheaper than soda or bottled water, so why not, right? I just might make it back to the US slightly more cultured.

Thoughts on Hostels, Traveling, and Tapas

Hola, y saludos desde Espana. Michael and I have spent the past 5 days traveling around central and southern Spain., from Madrid to Granada and back. Along the way, I have come to a few realizations. Firstly, I think the Spanish officially take the prize for the most exotic and beautiful people on earth. For over 2000 years, Spanish control has shifted between many different powers, from Western Europe to the Middle East, creating a melting pot of people and cultures. African, Arabic, Italian, and English traits are all evident, allowing for a very diverse-looking population, all gorgeous in their own way. Still, I haven’t had much luck meeting Spanish girls, which actually clumsily brings me to my next point.

Staying in hostels and participating in hostel activities has proven to be, by far, the best way to meet people. Coming into this trip, I had no idea what to expect from our stays in hostels, which was slightly concerning considering that we are staying in hostels for over 90% of the trip. If anything, I had a negative impression, thinking that it would be like freshman year in the dorms, except instead of 1-3 roommates, I’d have 3-9. I didn’t even want to think about the shared bathroom situation. However, overall it has been a really enjoyable experience which has allowed us to meet some awesome people from all around the world. We enjoyed traditional Irish music and dancing with 2 girls from Alaska while in Galway, met Zoe while on a tapas tour in Granada, (having some great conversation and getting tips about Spain and France along the way), and most recently met people from South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia while on a hostel organized bar-crawl. The next day, we went on a daytrip to Segovia with two new friends, Bridget and Neeharika, and will be meeting up with another, Sophie, while we are in Barcelona. Had it not been for the hostels (group bathrooms, rooms that smell like dirty feet, snoring roommates and all) we never would have had the opportunity to meet such like-minded, fun-loving people.

Lastly, traveling on Spain’s extensive and well-ran train system has convinced me that the US is in need of something similar. I absolutely LOVE traveling on the trains. Airport security is a pain in the ass, and I dread it every time. Already, I've suffered through long lines, in Dublin I was given a rough and, um, let’s say thorough pat down, and been charged $60 extra dollars to have my bag ever so lovingly taken care of by the airport’s luggage squad (good thing I brought that extra roll of duct tape). Security at train stations, however, is quick and efficient and leaves me surprisingly headache free. The trains themselves are modern, clean, decently spacious, and comfortable, and FAST (200-300KPH). The journeys are full of great views and have allowed me to see the astoundingly beautiful Spanish countryside. So far, I have seen double rainbows arcing over an olive tree grove, twisted through mountainous farming villages, and saw the sun set behind the rolling hills outside of Madrid. It is a complete departure from train travel in the US which, in my experience, is slow and full of delays. Amtrak has a less-than-glowing reputation and has only been able to stay afloat because of extensive aid from the US government. A high-speed rail system would allow for quicker travel between major US cities (particular the Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York, Boston corridor), alleviate traffic congestion in those major cities, and it would reduce the amount of air-traffic. The success of high-speed rail throughout Europe and Asia indicates that an efficient and well-maintained system would also do very well in the US. I know there was a brief mention of starting such a system in Obama’s State of the Union address this year, but I honestly never followed up to see what is happening with that.

Anyway, as for what Michael and I have done for the past week or so: Monday and Tuesday, we were in Galway, Ireland, a coastal city almost due west of Dublin. It is a really small town with a pretty vibrant night life. Everything was walkable from our hostel. We saw Cathedral of our Lady, a beautiful Roman-Catholic cathedral with several mosaics, towering vaulted ceilings, and many stained-glass windows. On Tuesday, we went on an 8 hour tour of the Cliffs of Moher, where we also stopped at a variety of castles and dolmens, which are ancient Irish tombs dating back to 3000BC (before the Great Pyramids were built). We saw some great Irish music while in Galway, which I actually hadn’t managed to catch much of in Dublin. Wednesday morning, we took a bus from Galway back to Dublin, and then caught a plane to Madrid, Spain in the evening. The next morning, we took a train to Granada, an Andalusiam city famous for the Alhambra, a 14th century Moorish fortification located on a mountain overlooking the city. That night, we went on a tapas tour and learned that the only way to see the Alhambra would be to line up early in the morning and hope to get a ticket (the tickets are often sold out days, if not weeks in advance). After coming back from the tour and getting to sleep around 3:00am, we were up and out the door at 6:45am. After a 30 minute steep uphill walk, we nervously waited in line for 1.5 hours and were luckily able to get tickets for both the garden and the Alhambra. It is impossible to describe exactly how beautiful the whole complex is. From the meticulously maintained gardens, to the 360 degree views of the city from the tops of 14th century guard towers, and the stonework/tilework of the interior buildings, it is all amazing to take in. For anyone who makes it to Spain, visiting the Alhambra is, in my opinion, one of the most spectacular things you could do in all of Spain. After hiking back down the mountain, we grabbed lunch and waited for our train back to Madrid. We returned around 11PM that evening, checked in to our hostel, and went for a late dinner. On Saturday afternoon, we visited 2 art museums, El Prado (European art from the 12th-19th centuries) and Reina Sophia (modern art, famous for tons of Picasso--including Guernica). That evening, we went on a bar crawl, where we met Sophie (from Australia), Bridget (New Zealand), Neeharika (Michigan), and Dylan (South Africa). After plenty of dancing (an extreme rarity for me, as anyone who has gone out with me knows), we came back around 3:30am and were up in time for an 11am daytrip with Bridget and Neeharika to Segovia. There we saw an aqueduct built by the ancient Romans and the last Gothic cathedral built in Spain. After changing hostels (thanks to my own error) we met back up with Bridget and Neeharika, as well as Sophie, and headed to a taperia recommended to me by our new hostel. For those who don’t know, tapas are traditional Spanish snacks (mostly in the form of finger foods) served alongside beer and sangria. Though they can be small, if you have a large enough group like we did, you can get enough to make up a meal. This particular taperia, El Tigre, was suggested because I asked for the most authentic, non-touristy place in Madrid. When we arrived, the place was PACKED with people, non of whom spoke English. All 5 of us stood crammed should to shoulder eating alongside Madrilenos, enjoying a huge mug of beer and 4 heaping plates of tapas, all for the modest price of 5 euros. After saying goodbye to everyone (and making tentative plans to meet Sophie here in Barcelona), we headed back to our hostel. This morning, we took another train to Barcelona and spent 4 hours eating our way across the city. We went to this gelato place twice, and with all due respect to Splendora’s, it is the best I have ever had. We also made it to a massive open air market, where we picked up some exotic fruit, Spanish chocolates, and decided to return tomorrow so we can pick up fresh ingredients to make our own supper. For dinner, we went to another tapas restaurant, where I had pulpos pequenos (baby octopi), un pincho de pescado (small fish sandwich topped with hearts of palm), and caracoles (I’ll let you look that one up). I hope this ridiculously long post makes up for the lack of updates I have been giving, but I will try to blog more often. Look for more pictures to come soon.

"Bear in mind that you should conduct yourself in life as at a feast"
--Epictetus

Pictures 1

Michael and I at the Cliffs of Moher... crappy weather, but we were lucky to even get this shot. The fog rolled in and completely covered the area 10 minutes later.













Michael watching some street performers in London. That's British Parliament and Big Ben across the Thames River.












Michael in his heaven. An artisan chocolate shop in Borough Market, London.













Baby Cliffs of Moher. A little bit better weather. Right behind me is a 100 foot fall to the Atlantic Ocean.










We're in Granada right now, safe and sound. About to head out for a tapas bar hopping tour. Walking tour and Alhambra tomorrow morning, back to Madrid in the evening. More pictures and posts to come soon.

Living the Irish Experience

There are some places that you enjoy because of the weather, and there are others that you enjoy in spite of it. Last time I was in Dublin, my dad and I had nothing but beautiful, sunny, early-summer weather. It was awesome.

2 years later to the day, I returned with Michael. Flying in, I noticed some heavy cloud cover and what looked like rain in the distance. Completely jaded from my previous experience, I convinced myself that it was only the Dublin equivalent of San Francisco's morning fog. I mean, it was only 7:30 in the morning. It'd burn off, right? Wrong.

Basically, typical Irish weather, I am now realizing, is cool, mostly-cloudy with intermittent moments of sunshine, and a 30% chance of rain at all times. Wind varied from breezy to "watch your head, there goes that lady's umbrella!".

In spite of all this, Dublin is an AMAZING town to visit. Considering its sizable population (506,000+ in the city itself), it exudes a much smaller, quaint feeling. Streets are lined with 4-6 story buildings (shops in the bottom floor, residences on the upper),with dominating landmarks being churches and the important municipal buildings. There are several wide pedestrian malls, tons of walkways lining the River Liffey, and Phoenix Park, one of the largest enclosed parks in the world at 1,750 acres, all kept spotlessly clean. And, of course, the locals are extremely friendly. With all the crap Ireland has been through in its tumultuous history, I am always surprised by the consistently pleasant demeanor of Irish people. No matter where I went (tourist traps like Jameson's Distillery, music bars, cafes, shops), it was always easy to strike up a conversation with someone. In fact, most people were downright chatty, to the point it was hard to break out of a conversation that started with, "Excuse me, but do you know where St. Stephen's Green is?" I love it.

As far as what Michael and I did in Dublin? On Friday, we did a bit of walking, saw St. Stephen's Green, went to the Irish Museum of Modern Art, I got a late lunch of fish & chips, then walked back to our hotel (tiny, but well worth the price. For some reason, it also had a sauna). When the hunger pangs hit later, we walked down the street to a bar that offered free "tasting" plates with the purchase of a beer. It was all prepackaged frozen food, but it did the trick. Saturday, we woke up early to catch Dublin's Temple Bar Market. I had heard many good things about it, and we weren't disappointed. It featured a wide selection of local and specialty foods, with most of it being organic. Once again, Michael and I pigged out. Natural yogurt with organic blueberry topping (Michael had goat's milk yogurt), fig-raisin sourdough bread, a gluten-free, raw mixed seed protein bar dipped in organic chocolate, fresh apple cider spiked with apple brandy, and some exotic Spanish fruit. I also picked up a Mayan cacao spread, which is insanely delicious. It's sweet but finishes with a nice spicy kick thanks to some added chile and cayenne. We then went to Jameson's Distillery, where yours truly was picked to do a sampling of different types of scotch and whiskey. I got a diploma and all. We had a great authentic Irish dinner (I got a meat pie) and headed back home.

We're now in Galway about to head out to catch some live music. I have a good first impression of this small, very walkable city.. Tomorrow we take our first organized tour of the Cliffs of Moher. Weather is calling for a 30% chance of rain, a high of 59, and winds at 20mph. Bring it.

“May you always have walls for the winds, a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire, laughter to cheer you, those you love near you and all your heart might desire.”
--Traditional Irish Blessing

Leaving London

Today, Michael and I caught a 6:45am flight out of Heathrow for Dublin, Ireland, requiring a 4am wake-up call and the inevitable half-blind mad scramble to make it down to the cab in time. We ended up making it with enough time to spare for a sit down breakfast. The breakfast was good enough (for airport food) but what made it an experience worth sharing was our server, Tatiana. Whenever she appeared at a table, she immediately made her customers smile and laugh, a tough feat even at 5:30 in the evening but a seemingly impossible one at 5:30 in the morning. She joked around with us, gave Michael a hard time for his indecisiveness and eventual food choice, and refused to take my plate until I had eaten the last bite. It was a great way to end our London trip.

Anybody who knows Michael and I also knows that our lives revolve primarily around food. I think eating is life's greatest simple pleasure, and trying good/new food was a high priority for me on this trip. So far, we have been pretty successful. We have snacked like crazy all day (mini hazlenut-raisin baguettes, artisan chocolates, fresh fruit, Chinese custard buns, and tons of espresso macchiatos and cappuccinos to name a few things) in an attempt to save room for dinner, our one true meal of the day. While for the most part the food has been good or better, the table service has been all across the board. To go along with Tatiana, we had what might be the worst service I have ever had at a Thai restaurant near Regent's Park, and that seemed to be the norm for London restaurants--you never knew what kind of service you were going to get. With expensive prices to start with, a 20% VAT (value added tax), and a 10-12.5% "service charge", it can be aggravating.

Still, we have had some pretty amazing food. Some of my favorites have been fresh-off-the-boat raw oysters, braised pork back with a garlic salsa verde, a bottle-conditioned English IPA that may be one of the top 5 IPAs I have had (note: I worked at Beer Run and my favorite style is IPA, so I have tried a bunch), and a house-baked pear tart. Michael has enjoyed snacking our way through local markets (we are doing another large one tomorrow in Dublin's Temple Bar district). His favorite finds have been a 100% dark chocolate bar (incredibly bitter, but surprisingly enjoyable) and Yokan, a Japanese sweet-bean dessert.

We still managed to do plenty of touristy things in London. On Wednesday, we went to Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Borough Market, and then saw the night performance of All's Well That Ends Well at the Globe Theater. We payed 5 pounds to get groundling standing tickets, which are actually better than any of the 30+ pound seating options in the rest of the theater. We were literally leaning on the stage, so that was pretty cool. I had never read/seen the play before, and was impressed. Not my favorite, but it definitely had its funny, witty moments. On Thursday, we started at St. Paul's Cathedral, which was too expensive to justify buying 2 tickets, but it was beautiful from the outside. We also saw British Parliament and Big Ben, then spent 2 hours in London Aquarium, which was a lot of fun. I got my fingernails cleaned by Cleaner Shrimp (think Jacques from Finding Nemo) and Michael made friends with some anemones. We also saw a shark eat another fish, some sting rays, and these weird iridescent jellyfish. It was the first attraction we spent a decent amount of money on, but it was well worth it.

"My friends were poor but honest"
--Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well

Arrival

Just a quick post to let everybody know we made it to London safely, if not slightly jet-lagged. The flight didn't feel long at all-- After dinner and 2 movies (Due Date and 127 Hours), I wasn't even able to finish an episode of Family Guy before the Captain announced our descent into Heathrow. We made it through customs relatively painlessly and arrived in baggage claim just in time to see our bags come out the conveyor belt. After a 25 minute ride on London's underground (which was ridiculously packed, being AM rush hour), we arrived in Paddington Station, which is less than a block from Paddington's Pride, our hostel. We dropped our bags off and immediately headed out (it was only 9:30am at this point).

Paddington's Pride is in a great location, walking distance to several beautiful city parks. In our 7.3 mile loop, we made it to Hyde Park, Kensington Palace, Green Park, Buckingham Palace, and St. James' Park. By then, we had reached check-in time at Paddington's Pride, so we took a tube back, got our assigned bed in the 6-bed room, and discovered our free Wi-Fi. As I type this last sentence, we are getting ready to head out to a highly recommended Japanese restaurant near Regent's Park, a well-deserved meal after a full day of walking (on no sleep, too). I'll try to post once more before we head to Ireland.

"I refer to jet-lag as jet-psychosis"
--Spalding Gray

Final Countdown

It's May 2nd, and the countdown is now at T-minus 7 days. Some might argue I am not as prepared as I should be at this point, but the fact that I haven't purchased all of the things I need for the trip (or even a luggage bag, for that matter) doesn't really scare me. In fact, I'm just going to take it all as a challenge.

Remember that show Supermarket Sweep? The one that was only worth watching for the final 5 minutes, when crazed teams ran through the aisles of a grocery store shoving lamb legs and giant containers of Advil into their carts? It was like a NASCAR race... nobody would admit it outloud, but the entire time you were hoping for a huge wipeout, preferably one involving the soda aisle or that huge pyramid of laundry soap. And afterward, everybody convinced themselves if it had been THEM, they would have won, because they would have gone after the big money items instead of wasting their time grinding that damn coffee... but I digress.

Tomorrow, I have scheduled myself a full day. CVS for passport photos, AAA for my international driver's license, AT&T to activate an international phone plan, and a trip to the blood-for-money center so that I can afford all of it. After sipping the obligatory apple juice and eating oatmeal cookies for 15 minutes, I'm heading to Target, where the true madness will break out.

I'm going to Target with a list in my head only, which I am told is a cardinal sin of shopping. But in the spirit of the rest of the trip, I am just winging it. In all likelihood, I'll leave missing one or two essential items, but at least I'll have that awesome 64 count combo-bag of Orbit chewing gum and a pack of strike-anywhere matches to show for it.

Also, today Michael and I did a lot of concrete planning. Though we still don't have a confirmed place to stay in London (7 days is plenty of time to find one, right?), we have set out dates all the way through the 2nd of June. Here's our itinerary as of right now:

10 May- 13 May: London, UK
13 May- 16 May: Dublin, Ireland
16 May- 18 May: Galway, Ireland
18 May: Bus back to Dublin, fly to Madrid
19 May- 2o May: Granada, Spain
20 May- 23 May: Madrid, Spain
23 May- 25 May: Valencia, Spain
25 May- 27 May: Barcelona, Spain
27 May: Pick up rental car in Narbonne, France
27 May- 2 June: Southern France roadtrip
2 June: Drop off rental car in Nice, France

Feel free to leave any suggestions you have before we leave. Otherwise, bookmark this site-- http://aroamersramblings.blogspot.com --and stay tuned for more posts from the other side of the pond!

"We must get beyond textbooks, go out into the bypaths and untrodden depths of the wilderness and travel and explore and tell the world the glories of our journey."
-- John Hope Franklin

Around Europe in 51 Days

Today, Michael and I bought our tickets for Europe. With the recent spike in gas prices, we ended up paying a bit more than we originally planned on, but there will be no cutting corners on this trip. We chose to fly Virgin Atlantic on the recommendation of several friends and a few travel websites. And because of their absolutely awesome in-flight amenities, which include an open bar and individual on-demand entertainment, which will be sure to provide a distraction from the constant WC traffic, located 2 rows behind us.

Our itinerary:

Monday, 9 May 2011
WASHINGTON, DC (DULLES) --> LONDON, UK (HEATHROW)
Depart 6:40PM local time, Arrive 7:05AM local time

Wednesday, 29 June 2011
LONDON, UK --> WASHINGTON, DC
Depart 11:15AM local time, Arrive 2:30PM local time

For the math-impaired (myself included, see following story), that's a grand total of 51 days.

In other news, Michael and I were one click away from purchasing 2 round-trip tickets to Europe with a return date a full 7 days earlier than required. According to our rough travel log estimates, that would have put us somewhere in the Greek islands when we were supposed to be on a plane back to the US. Though there are worse places to be stranded than on the Mediterranean coast in the middle of June, it still would have been an unpleasant discovery. First major crisis: avoided.

"Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you DO do it, it is not all mixed up"
--A.A. Milne

The Grand Tour

Hello friends and family, and welcome to my travel blog. Here, you will be able to keep up with Michael and I as we travel throughout Europe. I will, of course, keep you updated on where we are and what we are doing as often as possible, and will hopefully include some thoughts on life, culture, travel, etc. as well

On this trip, we will be primarily traveling around western Europe. Both of us have been to Europe before and have come up with a list of places we would love to revisit, as well as an even longer list of places we would like to see. So far, we have "narrowed" the Must See List to: England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Belgium, and Amsterdam. Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic are all options we will explore if we have the time. I know.

The aim of this first post was to A. Email as many friends and family as we could and provide them with a somewhat reliable way to keep in touch with Michael and I when we are in Europe, and B. Get any thoughts from you all before we head out. It could be a place you loved last time you were across the pond, favorite hostels you stayed in, some travel tips you might have, names of friends in Europe that might be willing to put us up for a night or two, or any insults you want to hurl our way while you still have the chance. Just leave a note in the comment section following this post.

"When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money”