EUROPA!

Europe! Yes, this has been a dream of ours for a very long time. We feel very very lucky to be able to go. There's no other time in our lives that we will have this opportunity. So, "Carpe diem!" or whatever.

The best part about this itinerary is that we have personalized it as much as we can. At first we wanted to see all the typical sights (and yes, we are seeing a lot of those), but then we realized that if we are spending our hard-earned money to go, we might as well do EXACTLY what we want. So here she goes.

Dublin, Ireland

Our first stop here is merely a layover. We plan on spending more time here on our way out of Europe. However, I'm determined to find a short, red-headed Irishman passed out in a local pub. Our trip to Ireland will then be complete.

London, UK

London! Oh man. We're barely missing the Olympics (by a couple of weeks). I think that might be a good thing. We are staying at a hostel in the middle of the city. We will be sleeping in a room with 8 other people. Wish us luck! Haha. 

The afternoon we get in, we'll be taking the time to relax a bit. See the shops, find Abbey Road, etc... 

The next morning we see Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and a bike-ride through Hyde Park. 

That afternoon we will see the Hunterian Museum (Awesome museum at the Royal College of Surgeons. The place is famous for having anatomical anomalies like the bones of an Irish Giant! This is where I get my medstudent-nerdfest on. I'm stoked). Then it's a short walk over to the British Museum (Rosetta Stone, Easter Island statue, Egyptian tombs, Magna Carta). Late that night we will go up to the Tower of London and see the London Bridge.

The best part about that entire day? Everything I listed above is free. :)

Paris, France

We take an early, 3-hr Chunnel (the train actually goes under the English Channel for a bit) ride to Paris. 

Our first stop is going to be Notre Dame. Then it's a trip to the Catacombs

 (where over 6 million Parisian remains were moved to get rid of disease-ridden cemeteries in Paris). Then it's to the Montparnasse Tower (only skyscraper in Paris. Awesome view of the city and the sparkling Eiffel Tower). Our night in Paris will be spent in a nice little hotel close to the city center.

The next day will be spent seeing eating at the bakeries, making out in front of the French, and a view of the 

gardens at Versailles. Finally, we'll night-cap our Paris trip with a climb up the Eiffel Tower. Late that night we'll board our night train to Nice, France. It should be pretty nice... (get it? Nice and it will be nice?...I mean, do you get the joke?)

Nice, France

Not too much to say about this stop. It will be our "relaxing phase" of our trip. We are spending two days here in a beach-side flat. There's an antique market, a bastille, and lots of shops. 

Cinque Terre, Italy

This beautiful Mediterranean coast-line group of five fishing villages is one part of our trip that I am most excited about. The Cinque Terre area is not as touristy as the rest of our stops. We are staying in a B&B in the Riomaggiore village for two nights. We'll be going from village to village (a hiking trail that goes along the cliffside through occasional olive groves) cliff diving, swimming, eating, and relaxing.

Alright...take a break. We're only halfway through the trip. Go get a snack or something. 

Pisa, Italy

 Our train goes right through Pisa on the way to Rome...so why not stop there for a lunch date? 

Rome, Italy

I know, I know. Of all the pictures of Rome I could've posted, I posted the Trevi Fountain? Well, the reason the fountain is significant is because our B&B is literally an alley away from it! We're spending two days in Rome. First day is seeing the usual attractions: Colosseum, Roman Forum, Pantheon, gelato...

The second day will be our trip to the Vatican!

Venice, Italy

Although Venice has always been a must-see for me, there are not a whole lot of things to do there. We will spend a lot of our time there just enjoying the sights and culture.

My one goal: Eat Venetian gelato on a bridge (possibly ^that bridge) over a Venetian canal. I know, historians and museum-goers alike are cringing at my lack of appreciation of all Italy has to offer. Oh well.

Vienna, Austria

Our night-train from Venice brings us to Vienna in the early morning. Our Vienna stay itinerary is currently under construction. We are open to suggestions!

Budapest, Hungary

Finally, four years after leaving the beloved country, I'm able to return! 

We'll be staying with Timi, a good friend in Budapest. There will be much to see and do. I'm excited to show Joan everything. 

I would list everything here, but there is going to be a lot packed in. We are renting a car here in Hungary for four days. This will allow us to go to places like:

The Balaton. 

Esztergom. (Seat of the Catholic Church in Hungary. Largest cathedral in Hungary. It has been inhabited since 300 BC.) Esztergom is also on the border of Slovakia. We'll most likely pop over and do lunch in Slovakia.

Some other things we are doing is seeing the Terror House in Pest, Heroes Square, Moszkva Ter, Parliament building, and the Danube. We will go down to Kaposvar and over to Debrecen as well.

Bekescsaba, Hungary

The last four days of our trip will be spent here. I love this place. We found a nice B&B on the outskirts of Bekescsaba. We'll be hanging out with Julika, having a bogracs, church, then lunch in Romania. We will actually be leaving Hungary on the 4 year anniversary of when I first left Hungary. It should be a wonderful way to end the trip.

Besides the car in Hungary, we will be traveling with our Eurail Pass that allows us to get on and off the train in our select countries as much as we want. We each have just our backpacks (REI is a European backpacker' wonderland). We'll be taking our phones and can be reached through the app Viber (Uses Wi-fi). I was surprised at how low we were able to keep the cost of our whole trip. If you want the details, just email me. It's pretty sweet. Joan has been the spreadsheeting master-- budgeting our way through the plans. Seriously, without her this trip would be a financial disaster. (It might still be...) 

Anyway, we'll take lots of pictures and buy lots of European chocolate. And get fat off the bakeries and delicacies (we need to start stocking up to hibernate in PA).

We fly out on July 4th and return on July 25th. 8 countries in 21 days. Europe here we come!

*I do not own the rights to any of the images in this blog. Sources can be found attached to the images themselves.