From Paris with Love

The view sure is great from high atop the Eiffel Tower! We spent the day climbing the over 600 stairs just to reach the half way point then took an elevator to the top! It was amazing looking down at the entire city of Paris and spying the Louvre, Notre Dame (Which we were visiting the day before and blew me away) and every other amazing feature of this beautiful city. I am unable to post pictures right now but you can take my word that its beautiful here.

The best thing I have done so far has been a kayaking and snorkeling excusrsion I took with Jonny, Alan, Brenna and Lilly a new addition to our group while we were in Barcelona and now Paris. We tok kayaks out on the Mediteranian and went snorkeling in the coves. It was an amazing trip and the best part was the water is so salty you dont even need to swim the water just holds you up!

Everyone is having a great time and the things I could talk about are endless! I want to write so much more but there is always something going on here. I have to get ready for dinner and then a exploration of the local night life here in Paris!

Obrigado Lisbon hola Barcelona!

Im writing from a hostel in the middle of Barcelona Spain! We arrived this afternoon after a 15 hour train ride from Lisbon. Lisbon was unbelievable, if I were to describe every adventure and cool place we visited this would be a book not a blog. The first three days have taken up over twenty pages of my travel journal. My favorites so far have been the white sand sand beaches in CaisCais and the castle that looks over Sintra, the vacation spot for Kings of Portugal for centuries! Lisbon could not have been better and so far Barcelona is living up to its reputation, we have only been in town for 5 hours and we have already witnessed a massive peace protest in the central square and I just finished eating octopus for lunch. There are still 38 days remaining on this adventure and if they are anything like these first few then this will be one amazing ride!

Updated Itinerary...Croatia? Croatia!

With just one week until we arrive in Portugal our itinerary is finalized! Because half of the group will be separating with a few weeks remaining, Emma to Greece and Jonny and Erik to unknown lands, we decided to make some changes to the rest of the trip. Katie mentioned to me that she had heard nothing but good things about a spot in Croatia called Dubrovnik.  To be honest I couldn't point out Croatia on a map much less think I would ever want to go there. I trusted Katie's judgement and when I got home and searched for Dubrovnik I couldn't have been happier! Dubrovnik is a an old port city packed full of maritime history. It has quickly become one of the places I am most looking forward to visiting. When I mentioned Croatia to my parents my Dad said they recently involved in hostel actions with neighboring countries he scared my Mom quite a bit but after some research all nerves have been calmed!

So the cities we will be visiting over our 42 days in Europe will be:

1. Lisbon, Portugal
2. Barcelona, Spain
3. Paris, France
4. Amsterdam, Netherlands
5. Berlin, Germany 
6. Prague, Czech Rep.
7. Vienna, Austria
8. Dubrovnik, Croatia
9. Cinque Terra, Italy
10. Florence, Italy
11. Rome, Italy

Two Weeks! Well 13 days 21 hours and 5 mins but whos counting...?

I'm sitting at work with very little to do and Europe on my mind. I have just 7 more work days remaining before boarding the plane! It feels like I have a ton to do in very little time but the time is going by so slowly! I am all about making lists and rather then crossing things off, the "travel" list seems to grow each day! Just a portion of the list includes:

• Buy a small camera
• Haircut*
• Find a paper back version of Raptor Red 
• Work on the beach body (its currently 82 degrees in Lisbon)
• Study up on destinations, customs and etiquette

I want to be as prepared as possible so I don't miss out on anything. I continue to get suggestions from anyone who has been to Europe or traveled in general. According to Kathleen I must make sure to have Kender Eggs in Germany, Sarah insists I keep a detailed travel journal and Shanna challenges me to beat the 1,500 photos her and Riley took on their trip! (This should be easy considering I have about a month more time) And of course my awesome parents! Mom makes sure to tell me all of the motherly things like making sure to keep track of all my paperwork, cash and always ends the conversations with an uplifting "You are going to have a great time." And my Dad, who is always good for the lighter side of these type of things, instructs me to watch Euro Trip to see the perils of the Red Light District in Amsterdam! Coming from them all of this information is well appreciated!

As you can see from the list above the haircut is an important piece of the final preparations. When in Vegas Jonny, Mike and myself rocked the "Bro-Hawks" for the trip. Yes, this is extremely cheesy and borderline douchy but it is just another fun thing to do! I have been thinking for this trip I need to step it up a notch and that includes the hair-do! I have a plan for a cut that should be fun and help me fit in a bit better across the pond. I've mentioned it to a few people and the reviews are mixed but I'm hoping I can pull it off! And yes, I am avoiding saying what it is so you will just have to wait and see!