Hola!

First off, I apologize for the almost two week delay in my first posting. I feel really loved by all those of you who have gotten on my tail about posting, and am sorry I have just gotten around to this one, which sadly, won´t even be a full one.

Currently we´re in Barcelona for two days, and thus far, this has been the only real ´break´that we have gotten in the hectic world of traveling. Briefly, we started as planned in London continued to Amsterdam, Paris and decided to take a few days off in a city that didnt have TOO much to see in the way of sights and nice relaxing beaching for our enjoyment. Tomorrow (Friday), we´ll be heading to Madrid for the day/night and then on to our three day stay in Pamplona for the running of the bulls.

Once we get to Pamplona I should have more of a slow steady day and some reliable sources of internet with our hotel, therefore I´ll be doing a full blog of our adventures thus far. But in preparation for that blog, just know our trip started off jet-lagged sleeping on a random couch our first night in London...du, dun, dun...

I hope all is well at home and everyone is making it through the heatwave that I hear is going on in the states. Additionally, once again, thanks for the support and especially to mom for the frantical calls needing help and of course the 2 minute calls saying I´m alive.

Adios!

In the works

So, first and foremost, thank you for taking the time to visit my blog! Secondly, I figured before I left and life started to become more and more unknown, I would provide a little rundown on the basic information about the trip and our plans thus far.

Departure date: June 30 from NYC à Heathrow, London

Arrival date: TBA… 5 weeks later, early August

Time difference: 5-6 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

Accomplice/Body Guard/Wandering partner: Brian Opalacz

Shelter: Hostels (possibly hotel stays for occasional sanity and a stress-free stay)

Itinerary*(Brief and Ideal):

• London: Arrive early, July 1 and July 3 sightseeing the ‘big’ sights: Buckingham Palace, British Museum, National Gallery, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Covent Garden, Shakesphere’s Globe Theater (possible show?). On July 2 we have a day trip to Salisbury Cathedral, Bath and Stonehenge. Evening of July 3 fly out to Amsterdam
• Amsterdam: Arrive night of July 3. Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank House, Red Light District, NEMO Science & Technology, Brouwersgracht. Possible departure beginning our Eurorail train passes for 1 month, July 7.
• Paris: Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower Louvre, Arc de triumphe , Grand PalaceBasilique du Sacre-coeur, Holy Chapel, Luxembourg Gardens, Musee Picasso
• Madrid: Bullfights at La Plaza de las Ventas.
• Pamplona: This is our only scheduled date. We have reservations from July 12-14 for the Running of the Bulls.
• Berlin: Brandenburg Gate,Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Topography of Terror, Zoologischer Garden, Egyptian Museum
• Krakow: Wawel(Brian is 100% Polish, so he is taking the lead on this one)
• Prague: U Flek(Beer festival), Charles Bridge, Prague Castle District( St Vitus Cathedral→ Golden Lane→ Royal Palace→ Vladislau Hall→ St George Basilica), Old Town Square
• Vienna: Maria Theresien Platz (Museum of Natural History, Art History Museum, Museum Quarter), St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Hofburg (Hero’s Square→ Augustianian Church→ Vienna Boys Choir→ Imperial Treausury→ Butterfly house), Museum of Military History
• Budapest: Varosliget City Park (zoo, circus), Castle Hill (Royal Palace, Hungrarian National Gallery, Matthias Church, Fishermen’s Bastion), Great Synagogue, Museum of Ethnography, St. Stephen’s Basilica
• Italy (Venice -Florence - Rome) We are planning to spend a week going down the peninsula. Brian’s sister spend a semester in Italy and has helped him to plan the majority of Italy (which I know nothing about currently). But don’t worry, I’ve had my input with islands such as Capri and Assisi that my friends have highly suggested.
• Athens: With our Europass we are able to take a ferry from Italy to Greece, and a possibly cruise around the Grecian Islands. And of course the sights: Acropolis, National Archaeological Museum

*Be advised this is my ‘ideal’ schedule, without inevitable mishaps and changes that will come. Also, these are also only the major cities which we have planned. For example, we may stop in Brussels between Amsterdam and Paris, Barcelona between Paris and Madrid, etc. We may also decide not to go to Berlin, but Munich instead which would shift our trip to go straight from Madrid to Krakow, travel eastern countries and swing by Munich before we head into Italy. There is also the geographical jump between Madrid and Berlin, in our beginning stages of planning we wanted to make sure we hit Italy last, so with that goal and our reservations in Pamplona, we planned to book a flight from Madrid to Berlin to see the eastern countries. However, now we have just decided to take a ‘hotel train’ and chill out for two days while planning the remainder of our trip.

Additionally, as you can see we have some stuff planned out more-so than other places, and the majority of the planning has come from books and websites that say these are the places we have to see, or what sounds interesting to us. I figure the real planning will come with time, or at the spur of a moment. And finally, these are only my plans so far, Brian and I have yet to combine out ideas on what’s important and where to go.. that looks like one for the plane ride.

So, as you can see a lot is up in the air, so if you have any suggestions for ‘must-sees’ let me know at any time. Thanks again for all your support! I miss you all and can’t wait to hear from you!
Courtney