Killing a week in Europe - what's a girl to do?
I started this blog to have a forum to tell everyone about my upcoming summer vacation. I thought a blog was a great way to keep all my family and friends up to date about my trip, without having to spend time writing multiple emails. My blog from my Asia trip in 2008 didn't fare particularly well (mostly because I forgot to write it), so I'm trying again. I thought that this time around, I should probably practice ahead of time. Also, internet access is a lot better in Europe than in Asia, so that will help too. I hope.
So what is this fabulous vacation that I can't wait to tell you about? After a lot of thought and weighing many options, I decided to spend my summer in Costa del Sol, on the south of Spain. I visited Spain once in college (10 days in Seville) and always wanted to go back. But I wasn't looking for a "live out of a suitcase" whirlwind tour, so I decided to rent an apartment in Almunecar, in the Granada province. For 6 weeks. Just because. I thought it would be a great way to really get to know what it's like to live somewhere else and it would still give me the opportunity to get work done during the day. Did I mention that I love my career? At this stage of my career, I can still work away from the office during the summer months (with Internet access), so it seemed like a great time to plan such a big trip.
Even though I've rented my apartment for 6 weeks, I actually have to leave for a week in the middle. It turns out that the apartment was already rented for the first week of July. But since it's exactly what I wanted (across the street from the beach, in a town with great bus lines, and only 90 minutes away from both Granada and Malaga), I decided to use that week to do some sightseeing around Europe. Except that I had no idea where to go. Until this afternoon. Walking around Philly (in between Starbucks 1 and 2), I noticed a travel agency with pretty good prices on flights to Europe. So I stepped in and started talking with one of the agents. And the planning began...
I knew there were a few things that I wanted. For one thing, I was really hoping to get to Barcelona (a couple hours by air from where I'm staying). And since Barcelona is pretty close to France, a trip to Paris sounded ideal. From there, I was less sure, but I did know that I wanted to visit Brussels if possible (my great-grandmother was born in Belgium). After some discussion with my travel agent, I also thought that Amsterdam would be a lot of fun. So here's my final itinerary:
2 nights in Barcelona (Gothic Quarter)
3 nights in Paris (Latin Quarter)
2 nights in Amsterdam
2 nights in Brussels
Hotels in Amsterdam and Brussels yet to be determined (although I am very excited for the Eurorail trips that I will get me to each city!), but overall, I'm very excited. Now, I've just got to decide about whether or not I should visit another country before settling into my apartment come June. And whether I should visit somewhere else when my lease is up. Any suggestions?
So what is this fabulous vacation that I can't wait to tell you about? After a lot of thought and weighing many options, I decided to spend my summer in Costa del Sol, on the south of Spain. I visited Spain once in college (10 days in Seville) and always wanted to go back. But I wasn't looking for a "live out of a suitcase" whirlwind tour, so I decided to rent an apartment in Almunecar, in the Granada province. For 6 weeks. Just because. I thought it would be a great way to really get to know what it's like to live somewhere else and it would still give me the opportunity to get work done during the day. Did I mention that I love my career? At this stage of my career, I can still work away from the office during the summer months (with Internet access), so it seemed like a great time to plan such a big trip.
Even though I've rented my apartment for 6 weeks, I actually have to leave for a week in the middle. It turns out that the apartment was already rented for the first week of July. But since it's exactly what I wanted (across the street from the beach, in a town with great bus lines, and only 90 minutes away from both Granada and Malaga), I decided to use that week to do some sightseeing around Europe. Except that I had no idea where to go. Until this afternoon. Walking around Philly (in between Starbucks 1 and 2), I noticed a travel agency with pretty good prices on flights to Europe. So I stepped in and started talking with one of the agents. And the planning began...
I knew there were a few things that I wanted. For one thing, I was really hoping to get to Barcelona (a couple hours by air from where I'm staying). And since Barcelona is pretty close to France, a trip to Paris sounded ideal. From there, I was less sure, but I did know that I wanted to visit Brussels if possible (my great-grandmother was born in Belgium). After some discussion with my travel agent, I also thought that Amsterdam would be a lot of fun. So here's my final itinerary:
2 nights in Barcelona (Gothic Quarter)
3 nights in Paris (Latin Quarter)
2 nights in Amsterdam
2 nights in Brussels
Hotels in Amsterdam and Brussels yet to be determined (although I am very excited for the Eurorail trips that I will get me to each city!), but overall, I'm very excited. Now, I've just got to decide about whether or not I should visit another country before settling into my apartment come June. And whether I should visit somewhere else when my lease is up. Any suggestions?
Traveling is so much fun! You get to see and experience so many crazy things! I've spent a couple days in Paris and Amsterdam. Both were great places to visit. I've never been to Spain or Belgium though! Very exciting. Can't wait to read about your plans and adventures!
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