pre-trip post - overview

So, here i am at last, planning this trip i thought i would never get the chance to do. Europe. A life long dream. A growing experience i am sure i will never forget. How exciting is this? huh?

I decided to start a blog, which I will attempt to update as I take my 24 day adventure overseas. So check back often and feel free to leave comments, ask questions and share your thoughts with me as I take this huge leap into the 'old world'.

Most of you know I will be traveling alone. Yes, i said ALONE. This is going to be an internal journey as much as it is outward. I am in search of peace of mind... my "zen" so-to-speak (how Buddhist of me, dont you think?).

Perhaps it's waiting for me somewhere in the hills of Tuscany or on the steps of the Royal Palace in Madrid or on a gondola in Venice. Then again, it could be as simple as resting in the Retiro Park in Madrid or finding a new friend while traveling via train to a new city. Where ever it is, I am determined to find it and keep it close to my heart so that I may travel back to that "zen" place in my heart when i return to New York whenever the need arises.

So here are my tentative plans, since i know many of you have been asking.

I leave August 30th ( a day earlier than my tour of Italy is expected to begin... with a few extra dollars in my pocket to show for it).

I am traveling with a tour group called Trafalgar. www.trafalgar.com on a "breakaway" tour, which, in plain English, means all the travelers are with the ages of 21 -38. I am quite happy about this. Although I love hanging out with the "older" crowd, I wasnt really in the mood to follow a "big yellow duck umbrella" and stop for pee breaks every five minutes. No offense to some of you... you know i love you al, but I wanted a slightly more adventurous route with people MY age (meaning, NOT 21 and not 61). I think this tour will give me that edge I am looking for... no all night binge drinking (yuck) yet, it wont hurt me to do a couple of late nights exploring the cities or hanging out in the lobby are cool too!

My "Viva Italia" tour ends on Sept 11th, where, like the rest of my fellow travel companions, I head off to the airport and board a plane. But its not for a my journey home: about 2 and a half hours later I will be in Madrid, Spain. Espana! Si? Tu sabe Espana? Yo quiero taco bell... JUST KIDDING.

Madrid and the surrounding area will be home to me for about 4 days. To be perfectly honest, I havent really decided yet. I am staying in a very, very cheap hostel. I found it at www.hostelworld.com. There were pictures and reviews from past guests and it didnt look half bad. The cost is approx. $18 a night, doesnt include breakfast and I will have to rent towels for bathing. No biggie. One of the biggest things I looked at was temperature control. This particular hostel has AC AND, it is also centrally located right near Puerto Del Sol. Puerto Del Sol is the center of the city, where i can get to just about anything by foot or bus or metro. Puerto del Sol is also home to the famous marker which claims to be the exact center of all of Spain.

I am considering a couple of other options just outside of Spain. One is the Basque Country (http://www.basquecountry-tourism.com) located on the Atlantic coast, bordering Spain and France. Several towns are spread throughout the area in both Spain and France. The people who live there are very unique. They speak a completely different language in addition to Spanish and French. They have developed their own culture and are famous for ham and sheeps cheese among other things (soon to be discovered by moi - oui!). If i do decide to head to the Basque Country, my main stop, and probably my base camp for at least one night, will be San Sebastian (on the Spanish side). I will probably venture north from there, into France and then up into Bordeaux, famous wine country along the coast. My intensions are/were to visit a vineyard and compare them to Long Island's wine country( a region only 30 years young), but I don't really know if it will be feasible. Although the area is accessible by train, its very difficult to get around once I have arrived. I may skip this because I am not apt to spending more money on additional transportation.

One of the other options I had considered, and probably could still consider, is Segovia. Segovia is north west of Madrid, approximately an hour by train (on the way to Basque Country). It is home to an ancient Roman aqueduct, a rennaissance cathedral and a castle. From what i am reading, it sounds like there is a lot of history there. I would like to try and get there, but I cant seem to find a train that goes into the station. I may have to wait until I arrive and ask the Turismo Informaciones (TI for short) office.

Once I have spent a few days in Spain, I will head north to Paris. I am staying with Olivia, a French exchange student that my family has kept in touch with the last 15 years. She is eagerly awaiting my arrival. We plan to go sightseeing in Paris for a couple of days and then she suggested we visit Versailles to see some castles. We may spend a couple of nights out of town together, which will be great. I speak NO french whatsoever. Je ne parle Frances. Oui? No! hahahha. French fries? French dressing? French toast? Yup, thats about the extent of it.

My final leg of the trip will be London. I will attempt to head into London at least two days before my flight home so that I can do some sightseeing there as well. I havent really gotten into planning that part of my trip yet, but I am sure my mother will be a huge asset with her English background.

24 days.... 4 countries.... and a lifetime of experience all wrapped up into this glorious and adventurous journey i am about to embark on.

Be sure to check back here. I will update as often as I can. Sometimes I will only enter key phrases that describe my experience and later write a bit more about the details. This often helps me linger on my thoughts and feelings and makes for a better blog entry in the long run.

Ciao!