Monday, September 26, 2011
Switzerland: Day 1
We all woke up anxious and excited to get out and explore! We have been going non stop since we arrived in Europe and we are all ready for a little downtime! The hostel that we are staying at is GREAT! Very clean, helpful, and close to town! We ate breakfast, showered and set out on our adventure!
We spent our day wandering around town, discovering cute little shops and taking pictures of the beautiful surroundings! It is gorgeous here and we all feel so fortunate to be here!
We had cheese fondue for lunch, people watched at the park, and took naps in the sun! It was just what we needed after a long week in the city!
We are planning to make our way up a mountain tomorrow! Cant wait to see this beautiful town from above!
Ciao!
K.J.E
We spent our day wandering around town, discovering cute little shops and taking pictures of the beautiful surroundings! It is gorgeous here and we all feel so fortunate to be here!
We had cheese fondue for lunch, people watched at the park, and took naps in the sun! It was just what we needed after a long week in the city!
We are planning to make our way up a mountain tomorrow! Cant wait to see this beautiful town from above!
Ciao!
K.J.E
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Photo Update
Our first glimpse of the Eiffle Tower!
Em and I at the Louvre
Em and Jam in our hostel in Paris
Gerlan, Jamie and I jumping infront of the Arc de Triomphe
Gerlan and I at a patisserie on Victor Hugo Boulevard on our way to the Eiffel Tower
Em and Jam enjoying the light show
Our wonderful roommate Julia from Scotland
Em and Jam on the train to Switzerland
Beautiful Interlaken!
Jam giving me a piggy back ride across the park in Interlaken
Hanging out in Switzerland :)
Travel Day - Paris to Switzerland
We woke up Friday morning in a panic: We had all overslept and it was now 11:00. We had missed breakfast and were supposed to check out at 11:00 and non of us had showered or packed our stuff! Gerlan to the rescue...again! We ripped the sheets off our beds, ran downstairs to check out and met Gerlan in the kitchen! He had left over bread and cheese that he let us eat for breakfast and gave us his room key so we could go back up, shower and pack our stuff! We headed out around 1:00 with sad hearts that we were leaving our new friends behind! Paris wasnt nearly what we expected but we all had a blast and we are leaving with two new friends!
We headed to the train station, got through security, and decided to get some food! We were waiting for our train platform to come onto the screen when we realized it was there (our stop was hidden in small letters because it was only a connection) and we only had 15 minutes! Not only was our platform a ways away but our train car was all the way at the end! We began walking fast and realized we needed to begin to run! Picture this, 3 little american chickens in a large Paris train station, carrying backpacks almost as big as themselves, running down the platform to catch their train... we looked/felt ridiculous! We finally boarded the train and sat down to catch our breaths!
The train ride was beautiful! It was fun to see all of the rolling hills and gorgeous scenery! We had a lot of fun listening to music, catching up in our journals and laughing about all the fun times we had had. The train ride flew by and we were in Basel in no time! We had to catch our connecting train, and after a little confusion, were sitting in our seats, ready for our short train ride to Interlaken!
We arrived around 8pm, found our hostel (we are getting better, only took us 20 minutes or so), ate dinner at a little Italian restaurant (Jamie claims it was the best dinner she had ever had: Hawaii Durum), and went to sleep!
All in all, a very relaxing day! We were all excited to explore the quaint little town in the morning!
Goodnight!
K.J.E.
We headed to the train station, got through security, and decided to get some food! We were waiting for our train platform to come onto the screen when we realized it was there (our stop was hidden in small letters because it was only a connection) and we only had 15 minutes! Not only was our platform a ways away but our train car was all the way at the end! We began walking fast and realized we needed to begin to run! Picture this, 3 little american chickens in a large Paris train station, carrying backpacks almost as big as themselves, running down the platform to catch their train... we looked/felt ridiculous! We finally boarded the train and sat down to catch our breaths!
The train ride was beautiful! It was fun to see all of the rolling hills and gorgeous scenery! We had a lot of fun listening to music, catching up in our journals and laughing about all the fun times we had had. The train ride flew by and we were in Basel in no time! We had to catch our connecting train, and after a little confusion, were sitting in our seats, ready for our short train ride to Interlaken!
We arrived around 8pm, found our hostel (we are getting better, only took us 20 minutes or so), ate dinner at a little Italian restaurant (Jamie claims it was the best dinner she had ever had: Hawaii Durum), and went to sleep!
All in all, a very relaxing day! We were all excited to explore the quaint little town in the morning!
Goodnight!
K.J.E.
Paris: Day 2
What a day! We spent all day walking around the city of Paris with our new friend Gerlan. We started off our day with a couple errands including hitting the grocery store for some picnic supplies and the post office to mail some post cards! We then jumped on the metro and headed to the Champs Elysee. We were a little early to meet Gerlan so we decided to have an impromptu picnic in the park nearby with cheese, bread and grapes!
While walking the Champs Elysee, and explaining to Gerlan all about the United States, we came across the biggest Abercrombie and Fitch store we have ever seen! Naturally, Gerlan had no idea what A&F was so we decided we HAD to show him! The store front was a huge wrought iron gate guarded by two male models. We then walked a long pathway that led to the actual store, where we were met by another attractive male model... with his shirt off! We took pictures and laughed about how ridiculous it all was and then decided we had tortured Gerlan enough!
We continued walking on, stopping at Haagen-Dazs for some ice cream and Laduree for some window shopping! Everything was so beautiful and elegant. At the end of the Champs Elysee stands the Arc De Triumph! We all stood there taken aback at how beautiful and massive it was! We took lots of pictures, both from afar and right underneath and stopped to watch some street dancing!
We finally began making our way to the Eiffel Tower, slowly but surely. It was fun to just wander the streets of Paris, discovering funny shops, delicious deserts and getting in a TON of people watching! We were getting so close when we here "im tiiirreedd" coming out of Gerlan's mouth! We decided to torture the young man no more and stopped to eat the rest of our picnic at a park nearby! We laughed and ate and laughed some more, all with the Eiffel Tower as our backdrop! It was so surreal!
We wandered down to the Eiffel, walked underneath, wandered around the Champs De Mars park, took more pictures and decided to post up and wait for it to get dark! Watching the Eiffel switch from day time to night time is the most incredible thing I have ever seen! It was even more gorgeous at night then it was during the day!
We made our way back to Montmarte, hit the supermarket for some Magnums (Ice Cream bars the Jamie was told we MUST try) and headed back to the hostel feeling so much glee! We all agreed this was the best day so far!
We left the next afternoon for Switzerland and were all excited for a change of pace! Ready to have some down time and enjoy the beautiful sites Switzerland had to offer!
Goodbye France! Hello Switzerland!
K.J.E.
While walking the Champs Elysee, and explaining to Gerlan all about the United States, we came across the biggest Abercrombie and Fitch store we have ever seen! Naturally, Gerlan had no idea what A&F was so we decided we HAD to show him! The store front was a huge wrought iron gate guarded by two male models. We then walked a long pathway that led to the actual store, where we were met by another attractive male model... with his shirt off! We took pictures and laughed about how ridiculous it all was and then decided we had tortured Gerlan enough!
We continued walking on, stopping at Haagen-Dazs for some ice cream and Laduree for some window shopping! Everything was so beautiful and elegant. At the end of the Champs Elysee stands the Arc De Triumph! We all stood there taken aback at how beautiful and massive it was! We took lots of pictures, both from afar and right underneath and stopped to watch some street dancing!
We finally began making our way to the Eiffel Tower, slowly but surely. It was fun to just wander the streets of Paris, discovering funny shops, delicious deserts and getting in a TON of people watching! We were getting so close when we here "im tiiirreedd" coming out of Gerlan's mouth! We decided to torture the young man no more and stopped to eat the rest of our picnic at a park nearby! We laughed and ate and laughed some more, all with the Eiffel Tower as our backdrop! It was so surreal!
We wandered down to the Eiffel, walked underneath, wandered around the Champs De Mars park, took more pictures and decided to post up and wait for it to get dark! Watching the Eiffel switch from day time to night time is the most incredible thing I have ever seen! It was even more gorgeous at night then it was during the day!
We made our way back to Montmarte, hit the supermarket for some Magnums (Ice Cream bars the Jamie was told we MUST try) and headed back to the hostel feeling so much glee! We all agreed this was the best day so far!
We left the next afternoon for Switzerland and were all excited for a change of pace! Ready to have some down time and enjoy the beautiful sites Switzerland had to offer!
Goodbye France! Hello Switzerland!
K.J.E.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
San Paolo
Last night we decided to stick around the hostel so we stopped by a nearby pastry shop and ate our treats at the nearby McDonalds (because the pastry shop was closing). Kelsey's french is improving and she has become our designated speaker. We were walking home feeling a little defeated because it is unsafe venturing out at night on our own, in this neighborhood. We came across some live music and Jamie really enjoyed it!
Remember our brazilian friend?...he is now our best friend! Since we dont know anyone in Paris, and we didnt know his name, his name became "San Paolo" because that is where he is from! He left in the morning and was gone ALL day! Natually, we couldnt stop wondering where he was or what he was doing. We were desperate for a new friend! Around 11, we were getting ready for bed, and San Paolo still wasnt home! This is where it gets interesting...
The door opens, and little San Paolo peeks his head in and says "Haaalllooooo" carrying a half empty bottle of wine. We asked him about his day and he told us he got "lost in this f'ing city" and the eiffel tower was a "piece of crap." Since San Paolo was a little tipsy, and normally quite shy, we decided to forge our friendship, by asking him about his life in San Paolo, what kind of music he likes, what he does in his spare time, and if he has ever heard of Lil Wayne or the Kardashians (to which he answered "oi? who is that?"). He showed us his pictues, played some irish music but unfortunately refused to dance upon request. It was quite an entertaining night for the three of us chickens and our newest roommate, Julia, from Scotland. We came to find out his name was Gerlan (pronounced JERLA) and he has been traveling europe for the last couple of weeks.
We just ate breakfast and are planning on seeing the eiffel tower, the champs elysee, the arc de triumph, and the rest of the main city today.
Au Revoir!
K.J.E
Remember our brazilian friend?...he is now our best friend! Since we dont know anyone in Paris, and we didnt know his name, his name became "San Paolo" because that is where he is from! He left in the morning and was gone ALL day! Natually, we couldnt stop wondering where he was or what he was doing. We were desperate for a new friend! Around 11, we were getting ready for bed, and San Paolo still wasnt home! This is where it gets interesting...
The door opens, and little San Paolo peeks his head in and says "Haaalllooooo" carrying a half empty bottle of wine. We asked him about his day and he told us he got "lost in this f'ing city" and the eiffel tower was a "piece of crap." Since San Paolo was a little tipsy, and normally quite shy, we decided to forge our friendship, by asking him about his life in San Paolo, what kind of music he likes, what he does in his spare time, and if he has ever heard of Lil Wayne or the Kardashians (to which he answered "oi? who is that?"). He showed us his pictues, played some irish music but unfortunately refused to dance upon request. It was quite an entertaining night for the three of us chickens and our newest roommate, Julia, from Scotland. We came to find out his name was Gerlan (pronounced JERLA) and he has been traveling europe for the last couple of weeks.
We just ate breakfast and are planning on seeing the eiffel tower, the champs elysee, the arc de triumph, and the rest of the main city today.
Au Revoir!
K.J.E
Paris: Day 1
After a good night of sleep (in comparison to the first place we stayed) we woke up, ate some breakfast (Kels LOVED the croissants!!), and headed out on the town (way less scary during the daylight hours
).
We didn't have a game plan for the day but thought we would walk wherever we were going because we wanted to see the city. We made our way to Sacre Coeur (domed church on hill in Montemarte). We had been warned by our brazilian friend to watch out for men with strings...as they try to tie them onto your finger or wrist and later ask you for money. They were quite pushy and even called one of us 'big boobed baby' and another one
of us Lady Gaga (which I don't think they realize us American's don't strive to be like Lady Gaga). We pushed our way past them with our arms crossed and made it up to the church. We then actually saw all those guys i just mentioned running because the police were coming (quite commical).
Kels loved the church, as she had really wanted to see it while we were in Paris. We hung out in the surrounding garden as we planned the rest of our day. We started our long trek into the city of Paris (walking) and realized it wasn't as close as it seemed to be on the map. We quickly went into the metro station and bought a day pass train ticket to head to see the Louve (which we found courtesy of a Hungarian walking tour), Notre Dame, and the surrounding area. We had lunch at a little cafe (yummy lemon and chocolate tarts), and met some talkers from New York.
After sitting around the Louve eating chocolate, we decided to head home on the Metro (MFM). We were almost back to our hostel when we spotted the McDonalds a block away...we all looked at each other and figured it was a good idea. We went in and watched Kels order in French (2 diet cokes, 1 sprite and small fry!) Their McDonals is like a small night club upstairs (we got to listen to some Wiz Kahlifa and Chris Brown!)
We are looking forward to another day in Paris tomorrow....we will be going to the Eiffel Tower!
K,J,E
).We didn't have a game plan for the day but thought we would walk wherever we were going because we wanted to see the city. We made our way to Sacre Coeur (domed church on hill in Montemarte). We had been warned by our brazilian friend to watch out for men with strings...as they try to tie them onto your finger or wrist and later ask you for money. They were quite pushy and even called one of us 'big boobed baby' and another one
of us Lady Gaga (which I don't think they realize us American's don't strive to be like Lady Gaga). We pushed our way past them with our arms crossed and made it up to the church. We then actually saw all those guys i just mentioned running because the police were coming (quite commical).Kels loved the church, as she had really wanted to see it while we were in Paris. We hung out in the surrounding garden as we planned the rest of our day. We started our long trek into the city of Paris (walking) and realized it wasn't as close as it seemed to be on the map. We quickly went into the metro station and bought a day pass train ticket to head to see the Louve (which we found courtesy of a Hungarian walking tour), Notre Dame, and the surrounding area. We had lunch at a little cafe (yummy lemon and chocolate tarts), and met some talkers from New York.
After sitting around the Louve eating chocolate, we decided to head home on the Metro (MFM). We were almost back to our hostel when we spotted the McDonalds a block away...we all looked at each other and figured it was a good idea. We went in and watched Kels order in French (2 diet cokes, 1 sprite and small fry!) Their McDonals is like a small night club upstairs (we got to listen to some Wiz Kahlifa and Chris Brown!)
We are looking forward to another day in Paris tomorrow....we will be going to the Eiffel Tower!
au revoir,
Arriving in Paris....
Our Paris trip has been interesting so far. We did great on the train and actually met a lovely local and her 7 month old girl name Margo. She was very open about letting ppl hold her baby. We found this out because she had to get up and change Margos diaper and had to ask Em to move so she could get through... And in coming back just handed the baby to Em while she put the rest of her wipes away in the overhead compartment. She spoke decent English while trying to teach us some French (unsuccessfully). We talked about tv shows, she showed us on our map things we must see and do around Europe! The baby was adorable and I even got my turn to hold her!
We slowly noticed as we became further and further from London that less and less people spoke English. The two hour train ride went by pretty quickly and we soon came to arrive in Paris around 9pm. This is when it go real... And fast! I was about to pee my pants so we quickly looked for a bathroom. Thankfully in French it's just toilet, so this went over fine (although it cost me .70 euro to use the bathroom which at this point was worth it!)
After all that, came the real confusion. Our friend on the train told us the best way to get to where our hostel was...however it wasnt that simple! Everything was of course in French and we already weren't sure what train we needed to be going on! Very little people spoke English, but we went up to the cash exchange desk and asked in French if he spoke English. He spoke some and told us we needed to take the #2 rail. Ok piece of cake we thought as we thanked him and went on our way...Not the case.
We then couldn't figure out how to get to #2! So we decided to go to the ticket counter and ask that guy. He spoke a little English and gave us a map that he drew on and from there we bought tickets from him. Freaky encounter 1 came after that...I noticed this lady come up close behind me as I was getting closer to the gate where I input my ticket. I went ahead and put my ticket in realizing she was most likely attempting to get through the ticket gate with me so she wouldn't have to pay...well that was exactly what she was doing and so I slowed down as she gently pushed me forward as to hurry me up so the little door didn't close on her. Well she was successful and hurried past us.
We then got to our gate, got on the train and rode it to our stop. Imagine 3 girls confused, slightly lost, and a little freaked out realizing again we were in another country, at dark, and we were among the only ones to speak English. Then god himself (according to us) walked around the corner at that very moment and asked if we needed help...In ENGLISH! We said yes in unison and very thankfully. He gave us better directions and we started again. We Finally made it to our hostel, Le Regent Montmart. We got a chance to meet our new buddy from brazil and headed to bed a little past midnight.
We slowly noticed as we became further and further from London that less and less people spoke English. The two hour train ride went by pretty quickly and we soon came to arrive in Paris around 9pm. This is when it go real... And fast! I was about to pee my pants so we quickly looked for a bathroom. Thankfully in French it's just toilet, so this went over fine (although it cost me .70 euro to use the bathroom which at this point was worth it!)
After all that, came the real confusion. Our friend on the train told us the best way to get to where our hostel was...however it wasnt that simple! Everything was of course in French and we already weren't sure what train we needed to be going on! Very little people spoke English, but we went up to the cash exchange desk and asked in French if he spoke English. He spoke some and told us we needed to take the #2 rail. Ok piece of cake we thought as we thanked him and went on our way...Not the case.
We then couldn't figure out how to get to #2! So we decided to go to the ticket counter and ask that guy. He spoke a little English and gave us a map that he drew on and from there we bought tickets from him. Freaky encounter 1 came after that...I noticed this lady come up close behind me as I was getting closer to the gate where I input my ticket. I went ahead and put my ticket in realizing she was most likely attempting to get through the ticket gate with me so she wouldn't have to pay...well that was exactly what she was doing and so I slowed down as she gently pushed me forward as to hurry me up so the little door didn't close on her. Well she was successful and hurried past us.
We then got to our gate, got on the train and rode it to our stop. Imagine 3 girls confused, slightly lost, and a little freaked out realizing again we were in another country, at dark, and we were among the only ones to speak English. Then god himself (according to us) walked around the corner at that very moment and asked if we needed help...In ENGLISH! We said yes in unison and very thankfully. He gave us better directions and we started again. We Finally made it to our hostel, Le Regent Montmart. We got a chance to meet our new buddy from brazil and headed to bed a little past midnight.
London
For those of you we haven't emailed yet... WE'RE SAFE! We made it to London just fine. Our stop over in Iceland was short but sweet... and cold! The Reykjavik airport was beautiful.. very modern, sleek and CLEAN!
We arrived at Heathrow and thanks to Em's exceptional navigation skills we hopped on the Tube and headed for the city center. We got off at Westminster Station and as we exited we were in complete awe of what stood before us: Big Ben, Parliment and Westminster Bridge... our journey was suddenly REAL! I think we all stood there a little dumbfounded for a few minutes. And then, we got lost.
Total travel time between train arrival and checking in at the Walrus Waterloo Hostel: umm.. about 1 hour... total distance: 1 block. A seemingly nice 'chap' smoking (like everyone else in London) outside his double decker bus, pointed us in the wrong direction. Not to blame him entirely, we certainly weren't exactly on top of things either... but, needless to say, we did a lot of walking. Jamie spotted a Lavazza coffee sign hanging from a window, and suddenly we realized THAT was our hostel! Right in front of us. Isabella, the Walrus receptionist was very helpful and checked us in, showed us up to our room (dungeon) and quickly got us some MUCH NEEDED water (especially for Em!)
As if we didn't remember we were staying in a hostel... we were quite surprised by the quality and cleanilness of the place... and the amount of PEOPLE we would be sleeping with. Everyone else in the room was traveling alone (mostly guys), and no one wanted to talk to us! Everyone kept to themselves.
We locked up our packs, freshened up and hit the town!...walking, of course. Our evening in brief: We had fish and chips at a pub, Jamie discovered her ATM card didn't work in England (yikes), we had gelato in Covent Gardens (twice... a grand total of $30). To walk from Covent Gardens back to Waterloo was a little scary. It was dark and dirty and we were the only tourists (which made us feel vulnerable). Thankfully two nice bus drivers we talked to at the first gelato shop tipped us off to be careful and watch our bags. So naturally, the headlamp made an appearance.
We made it home safely and hit the hay (which we were later woken up by noisy roommates, and loud trains). The next morning we caught the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, walked t
hrough Green Park, saw the London Bridge (which was a little dissappointing in person), ate lunch (excellent Indian food...and Subway), and finally made our way to St. Pancras to catch the Eurostar.
Overall, we had a great time in London. People were very helpful, kind, and it was easy to navigate once we learned the ropes.
More to come soon.. we'll update you on Paris!
Love,
K,J,E!
We arrived at Heathrow and thanks to Em's exceptional navigation skills we hopped on the Tube and headed for the city center. We got off at Westminster Station and as we exited we were in complete awe of what stood before us: Big Ben, Parliment and Westminster Bridge... our journey was suddenly REAL! I think we all stood there a little dumbfounded for a few minutes. And then, we got lost.
Total travel time between train arrival and checking in at the Walrus Waterloo Hostel: umm.. about 1 hour... total distance: 1 block. A seemingly nice 'chap' smoking (like everyone else in London) outside his double decker bus, pointed us in the wrong direction. Not to blame him entirely, we certainly weren't exactly on top of things either... but, needless to say, we did a lot of walking. Jamie spotted a Lavazza coffee sign hanging from a window, and suddenly we realized THAT was our hostel! Right in front of us. Isabella, the Walrus receptionist was very helpful and checked us in, showed us up to our room (dungeon) and quickly got us some MUCH NEEDED water (especially for Em!)
As if we didn't remember we were staying in a hostel... we were quite surprised by the quality and cleanilness of the place... and the amount of PEOPLE we would be sleeping with. Everyone else in the room was traveling alone (mostly guys), and no one wanted to talk to us! Everyone kept to themselves.
We locked up our packs, freshened up and hit the town!...walking, of course. Our evening in brief: We had fish and chips at a pub, Jamie discovered her ATM card didn't work in England (yikes), we had gelato in Covent Gardens (twice... a grand total of $30). To walk from Covent Gardens back to Waterloo was a little scary. It was dark and dirty and we were the only tourists (which made us feel vulnerable). Thankfully two nice bus drivers we talked to at the first gelato shop tipped us off to be careful and watch our bags. So naturally, the headlamp made an appearance.
We made it home safely and hit the hay (which we were later woken up by noisy roommates, and loud trains). The next morning we caught the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, walked t
hrough Green Park, saw the London Bridge (which was a little dissappointing in person), ate lunch (excellent Indian food...and Subway), and finally made our way to St. Pancras to catch the Eurostar.Overall, we had a great time in London. People were very helpful, kind, and it was easy to navigate once we learned the ropes.
More to come soon.. we'll update you on Paris!
Love,
K,J,E!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Tomorrow is the day...
Well tomorrow is the big travel day! I've spent today cleaning, lounging, getting Tucker ready for mom to be away for 3 weeks and thinking about what I can toss out of my pack to make room for some good souveniers to bring back! I'll finish my packing tomorrow before Kels comes over in the morning. From there Kels and I are going to head to Em's house to watch some of the Seahawk game (possibly struting around the living room with our backpacks on talking in accents so we can be sure to get some practice in before we go!) Then we're off to the airport! We're all excited for our layover in Iceland too-just to say we've been to Iceland (even if it is just the airport!)
We're so ready and excited for our trip to begin :) Here's to 3 great freids ready to hit Europe!
Ciao,
Jamie aka Jam
Friday, September 16, 2011
What it's like for girls to pack:
How many t-shirts are you going to bring?
What about socks? 10 pairs?
Whose bringing the voltage converter?
Do you like this shirt in purple or green better?
Needless to say, it was a long process!
What about socks? 10 pairs?
Whose bringing the voltage converter?
Do you like this shirt in purple or green better?
Thursday, September 15, 2011
2 Days and Counting..
WOW! What a week it has been! The last 5 days have gone by so fast. It is hard to believe that 2 days from now we will be stepping onto a plane, just the beginning of the several travel days we have to come in the next 3 weeks!
The last week has been spent finalizing last-minute preparations, requiring lots of skyping, texting and phone calls! Kelsey and I finally found two great girls to sublet our apartment (HUGE relief) but that meant that on top of packing for the trip, we had to pack up and move our whole apartment! It was sad to pack our things and close that chapter of our lives, but we both said how excited we are to begin the next!
With the arrival of this week came the realization that I needed to crack down on my packing and begin to lay everything out so I could figure out what I had, and what I still needed to get. While we are all three struggling to figure out what to pack and what to leave out, it has been funny to discover the differences in our concerns. Jamie and I are both very concerned about underwear while Kelsey is more concerned about having enough conditioner or what to wear for pajamas. One thing is for certain, we are ALL worried about weight! Our goal is for each of us to stay right around (or under) 20lbs. I think we can do it!
I am so excited to get this journey started and can not think of two better people to share this experience with! We can't wait to share this experience with all of you and are going to try and blog as much as possible while we are traveling abroad! So, sit back, relax and enjoy the ride!
Ciao for now!
Amore, Emily
The last week has been spent finalizing last-minute preparations, requiring lots of skyping, texting and phone calls! Kelsey and I finally found two great girls to sublet our apartment (HUGE relief) but that meant that on top of packing for the trip, we had to pack up and move our whole apartment! It was sad to pack our things and close that chapter of our lives, but we both said how excited we are to begin the next!
With the arrival of this week came the realization that I needed to crack down on my packing and begin to lay everything out so I could figure out what I had, and what I still needed to get. While we are all three struggling to figure out what to pack and what to leave out, it has been funny to discover the differences in our concerns. Jamie and I are both very concerned about underwear while Kelsey is more concerned about having enough conditioner or what to wear for pajamas. One thing is for certain, we are ALL worried about weight! Our goal is for each of us to stay right around (or under) 20lbs. I think we can do it!
I am so excited to get this journey started and can not think of two better people to share this experience with! We can't wait to share this experience with all of you and are going to try and blog as much as possible while we are traveling abroad! So, sit back, relax and enjoy the ride!
Ciao for now!
Amore, Emily
Friday, September 9, 2011
Our Official Itinerary... hot off the press!
Sunday September 18: depart Seattle @ 4:30pm, arrive in London next day
Monday September 19: arrive in London @ 11:45am
Tuesday September 20: day in London, depart for Paris @ 9:00pm
Wednesday September 21-Thursday September 22: Paris
Friday September 23: depart Paris in afternoon, arrive in Interlaken, Switzerland @ 8:30pm
Saturday September 24 - Monday September 26: Interlaken
Tuesday September 27 - Friday September 30: Riomaggiore and Cinque Terre, Italy
Saturday October 1 - Monday October 3: Florence
Tuesday October 4 - Thursday October 6: Venice
Friday October 7 - Sunday October 9: Munich, Germany
***Jamie departs from Frankfurt, Germany to Seattle, Sunday October 9
Monday October 10 - Tuesday October 11: Kelsey and Emily in Rome
Wednesday October 12: Athens
Thursday October 13 - Saturday October 15: Paros, Cyclades, Greek Islands
Saturday October 15 - Tuesday October 18: Santorini, Cyclades, Greek Islands
Wednesday October 19: Athens
Thursday October 20: Rome
Friday October 21: Munich
Saturday October 22: depart from Frankfurt for Vancouver BC... home!
Monday September 19: arrive in London @ 11:45am
Tuesday September 20: day in London, depart for Paris @ 9:00pm
Wednesday September 21-Thursday September 22: Paris
Friday September 23: depart Paris in afternoon, arrive in Interlaken, Switzerland @ 8:30pm
Saturday September 24 - Monday September 26: Interlaken
Tuesday September 27 - Friday September 30: Riomaggiore and Cinque Terre, Italy
Saturday October 1 - Monday October 3: Florence
Tuesday October 4 - Thursday October 6: Venice
Friday October 7 - Sunday October 9: Munich, Germany
***Jamie departs from Frankfurt, Germany to Seattle, Sunday October 9
Monday October 10 - Tuesday October 11: Kelsey and Emily in Rome
Wednesday October 12: Athens
Thursday October 13 - Saturday October 15: Paros, Cyclades, Greek Islands
Saturday October 15 - Tuesday October 18: Santorini, Cyclades, Greek Islands
Wednesday October 19: Athens
Thursday October 20: Rome
Friday October 21: Munich
Saturday October 22: depart from Frankfurt for Vancouver BC... home!
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Gearing Up For Departure!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
13 days, 327 hours and 19,624 minutes until Europe, but whose counting?
Jamie, Emily and I take off for Europe in 13 days! It's hard to believe we're getting so close. By the time we're walking down the Champs-Elysees we will have been planning our trip for a full year. As you can imagine, it takes a lot of effort to plan weeks upon weeks of travel. We've been so lucky in getting to discuss our travel plans with many of you... long hours at the gelato shop have yielded hundreds of great destination suggestions and information.
Our plans have undergone quite a bit of editing over time... what started out just being a trip to Italy inflated to something absurd (and impossible) involving 16 countries (for inexperienced travelers such as ourselves, once you start researching, you realize you want to see everything), to our current itinterary that covers six countries. We had to scratch a lot of great cities off our list... it was hard to part with the idea of going to Amsterdam, and we're all a little sad we won't make it as far north as Dublin (I wanted a Guiness!) We will, however, embark upon great adventures in England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Greece, including a layover in Iceland!
We hope this will serve as a convenient outlet to keep in touch by. We are all first time international travelers, so I'm sure we'll have some great stories to tell. Our journey will add another chapter to our friendship, to which we owe our gratitude to Sirena for bringing us together. Jamie and I first met in 2007, working together at Sirena. We took the same psychology classes at Western and shared a lot of laughs working late nights together at the shop. Little miss Emily was hired in 2008, and we instantly became a three pack :)
We're getting down to the wire and the idea of packing your life into a backpack is a little overwhelming (more so for some than it is for others... Jamie and Emily!) We've crossed a lot off our to-do list, rail passes have been purchased, hostels have been booked, hand sanitizer has been bought, bandaids and passports have been packed away. Europe, here we come!
We're looking forward to hearing from everyone. Please keep in touch!
Our plans have undergone quite a bit of editing over time... what started out just being a trip to Italy inflated to something absurd (and impossible) involving 16 countries (for inexperienced travelers such as ourselves, once you start researching, you realize you want to see everything), to our current itinterary that covers six countries. We had to scratch a lot of great cities off our list... it was hard to part with the idea of going to Amsterdam, and we're all a little sad we won't make it as far north as Dublin (I wanted a Guiness!) We will, however, embark upon great adventures in England, France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Greece, including a layover in Iceland!
We hope this will serve as a convenient outlet to keep in touch by. We are all first time international travelers, so I'm sure we'll have some great stories to tell. Our journey will add another chapter to our friendship, to which we owe our gratitude to Sirena for bringing us together. Jamie and I first met in 2007, working together at Sirena. We took the same psychology classes at Western and shared a lot of laughs working late nights together at the shop. Little miss Emily was hired in 2008, and we instantly became a three pack :)
We're getting down to the wire and the idea of packing your life into a backpack is a little overwhelming (more so for some than it is for others... Jamie and Emily!) We've crossed a lot off our to-do list, rail passes have been purchased, hostels have been booked, hand sanitizer has been bought, bandaids and passports have been packed away. Europe, here we come!
We're looking forward to hearing from everyone. Please keep in touch!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)