August 2010
15 posts
Day 46: London, England to Boston, MA, USA
Well this is several days late, but I just wanted to complete the blog with how our final day in Europe went (Saturday, August 14th). In the next couple days I’ll have some wrap up thoughts on the trip as a whole, plus thoughts on my favorites places. I’ll also post a link to an account with all my pictures- I think final tally was about 4500.
So we had arrived on Friday night in...
Day 45: Dubrovnik, Croatia to London, England
We made it to the end: today is the last official day of Eurotrip, as we depart for Boston tomorrow evening. We knew the next two days would be a lot of hours traveling, so we wanted to make the most of our remaining relaxation time in Dubrovnik. We had to get up early because we had several things we had to get done before 10 am: check out, and return our smart car. I woke up at 8:45 and...
Day 44: Dubrovnik, Croatia
Today was really our last full day of the Eurotrip. We have all day tomorrow too, but we will be traveling from Dubrovnik to London, which is just an overnight layover until our flight Saturday. So since this is the last day we will be spending not in transit, we wanted to make the most of it. It ended up being such a good day, and cemented Dubrovnik’s place in my personal top 4 of all the places...
Day 43: Dubrovnik, Croatia
Today’s entry is going to be short, because we didn’t really do much today. After the day we had yesterday, we wanted nothing more to have a very lazy, even boring, day in Dubrovnik. We went to bed by midnight last night, and I was asleep the minute my head hit the pillow. I woke up at about 9:30 and looked to my left and Scotty was not there. Figuring he was outside on the terrace, I lounged in...
Day 42: Split & Dubrovnik, Croatia
Today can only be described by one word: challenging. Or frustrating. Or irritanting. Take your pick. Scott and I faced a number of challenges today that we weren’t prepared for, because you really couldn’t expect to have a day like we had today. I guess we were due for a long, stressful day because the trip has largely been not been stressful. Sure, there have been stressful moments, but never...
Day 41: Hvar, Croatia
We were up pretty late last night, but still rose early this morning. Scott got up before I did to blog on the terrace, and I work up around 9 on my own and joined him. We had to check out of our hostel by 10 am and switch to our new hostel, which was less than a 5minute walk away. Our new hostel was also very nice; we weren’t able to check in since it was only 10 am, so we dropped our bags off...
Day 40: Hvar, Croatia
Today was going to be a busy day of traveling because we were heading to Hvar, an island off the coast of Split, Croatia. Initially we were going to spend these 2 nights in Split, but Scott had been to Split before, and even though his visit was brief he didn’t remember much worth visiting. We had gotten several recommendations on our travels to go to Hvar, so we changed our plans about 10 days...
Day 39: Plitvice Lakes, Croatia
Today was one of the days I had been looking forward too. During the winter, when I was planning our trip, a classmate gave me the web site of a friend who is a photographer. She explained he took some amazing pictures of Croatia that I should take a look at since it was one of the stops on our trip. When I looked at the pictures, I noticed several were of the Plitvice Lakes National Park. The...
Day 38: Osijek, Croatia & Plavna, Serbia
Today was a different type of day for us. Instead of visiting a museum or archeological ruins, or going to the beach,. Scott and I were traveling to Osijek, Croatia, a city about three hours away, and then onto Plavna, Serbia. In Osijek, we would be touring the library named after his grandparents that was dedicated in 2006. In Osijek, we would be meeting up with some of Scott’s family, who would...
Day 37: Zagreb, Croatia
As Scott commented in the mid-adfternoon, today was a bit of a lazy day, but it was definitely enjoyable. We slept in for the first time in quite a while, as we got up by 9 pretty much every day we were in France so we could eat the free breakfast. However, there isnt breakfast at this hostel, so we slept in until 10:30. Scott woke up earlier, but he was nice and let me sleep. It was definitely...
Day 36: Zagreb, Croatia
Today wasn’t a really exciting day for us because it was a travel day. Nevertheless, it was still a long and busy day. We woke up at 9 once again to catch the free breakfast at the hostel and then finished packing to check out. Sara left us then to head to the train station and to head home to Boston. We were very sad to see her go- I’m so glad we took this trip together. Now I’m...
Day 35: Paris, France
Today was perhaps our busiest day of continuous sightseeing. We’ve had days that have been just as long, but I don’t remember seeing as many sites in one day as we did today. Anyways, the morning started as it usually does: Scott waking me up at 9 am so we could get breakfast at the hostel before departing for the day. We ate our free cereal and croissants (with the nutella we bring down to...
Day 34: Paris, France
We had a busy day of sightseeing planned for today. We had our Museum Passes in hand, so that allows us not to pay any ticket fees (since we paid for the pass) and to skip the lines. So we were excited to be able to see all the things we wanted to see in Paris in an efficient manner.
Scott woke up me shortly past 9 am because wanted to eat the free breakfast at the hostel before departing for the...
Day 33: Paris (Versailles), France
Today was a day I was really looking forward too- we were going to the Palace of Versailles! As I’m sure those reading this blog have figured out by now, I LOVE palaces. The bigger and more extravagant and ridiculously over the top, the better. Therefore, Versailles was a place I absolutely had to visit on this trip.
We meant to get up at 8, but when that alarm went off it was way too early, so we...
Day 32: Paris, France
Today started very early in the morning: with a 5:30 am alarm. I was happy that I woke up though, since I was using Sara’s phone and was paranoid I would sleep through it or I wouldn’t set the alarm properly. But I did, and was quickly dressed and out of the hostel. It was too early for the hostel shuttle bus to be running, so I had a 15 minute walk to the tram stop. Luckily, the...
July 2010
53 posts
Day 31: Nice, France
Today was a clear highlight of the trip so far for me. It was the day of our canyoning excursion. So when Sara and Scott first mentioning the trip and they definitely wanted to go, I was hesitant. It looked thrilling and fun, but given my fear of heights and the fact I am not an adventure junkie, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go. But I watched the little video shown about canyoning at the...
Day 30: Nice, France
I was pretty tired when Scott woke me up at about 9:15 this morning. I immediately had to jump out of bed because we had some things to take care of before heading off for the day. First, Scott had great news: we were all set to go canyoning the next morning. They were able to take all 3 of us, so that worked out. I then went to reception to pick up my laundry. This hostel is so great: for only 5...
Day 29: Nice, France
Today started with Scott waking me up for breakfast shortly before 9. We wanted to get an early start to the day because we had a lot of things we wanted to do in Nice.The breakfast for the hostel is really good because they have so many different types of cereal, plus freshly made bread for toast. After breakfast, we headed into Nice to explore the Old Town and the shopping district. We walked...
Day 28: Nice (Monaco and Eze), France
So today was in actuality our first day in Nice. I got a decent night’s sleep, but my cold kept me up at times and the room was very cold. I love sleeping in the air-conditioning, but I wish the hostel would then provide a blanket. But oh well, a cold room is better than a room without air conditioning. We got up around 9:30 or so, and then got our free cereal and juice at the hostel. They...
Day 27: Nice, France
The location of today should really read “Train” if I was being entirely accurate. Today we had to travel from Cinque Terre to Nice, France. I knew this would be one of our longer travel days because of the lack of direct trains between the two places, plus we had to cross the border. However, I expected we would get to Nice by about 4pm at the latest. But things did not go as we...
Day 26: Cinque Terre, Italy
Today was sadly our last day in Cinque Terre. I absolutely love being here- it was the perfect place to relax and chill out after all our hectic traveling. The towns were incredibly small, but offered exactly what I want in a beach getaway- great weather, cheap or free access to beaches, and good restaurants nearby. Cinque Terre is definitely a place where one could get bored in (there is not much...
Day 25: Cinque Terre, Italy
Scott’s alarm went off at 9 am this morning, because we intended to get an early start to the day. He said “time to get up” to me and Sara, but none of us made a move out of bed. This has become a trend for us during this trip. Luckily, we haven’t missed a train, bus, or plane yet (though we did come close leaving Sorrento) so I guess it’s not a big deal if we sleep in; this is our vacation. We...
Day 24: Cinque Terre, Italy
This has been the day I have most anticipated for our trip: our arrival in Cinque Terre, Italy. While I was looking forward to visiting every place on our itinerary, I was eagerly anticipating Cinque Terre because from the photos, it looked breathtakingly beautiful. Cinque Terre consists of 5 small towns on the ocean (north of Rome and to the west of Tuscany): Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia,...
Day 23: Firenze (Florence), Italy
Today was our second and last day in Florence. It definitely felt like we could have spent more time here- 2 days is not a lot of time at all. At the same time, we did a lot of sightseeing and I hope to return to Florence again. It’s such a great city- has a lot to do, fantastic Tuscan food and gelato, and it’s a really easy city to walk around and see. My one complaint of Rome is that it’s so big...
Day 22: Firenze (Florence), Italy
Today started off with Scott frantically shaking me awake. He quickly explained that is was 6:10…the time we were supposed to be leaving the hostel for the train station. Not sure if his alarm didn’t go off, or he just turned it off somehow, but either way we did not get up at 5:55 as planned. As a result we had to rush out of the hostel and start running to make the commuter rain train to get us...
Day 21- Sorrento, Italy
Today was the most relaxing and least hectic day of the trip so far for me, but it’s also been a really enjoyable day. Sara and Scott were debating going to either Capri or Amalfi, and decided to take a day trip to Amalfi. While the town looks amazing and it would have been a fun day, I could feel myself getting burned out. It’s been 3 really busy weeks. Even in Santorini, we were up...
Day 20: Sorrento (Positano), Italy
Today was an opportunity to explore the Amalfi Coast. We got up on the early side and had free breakfast in our amazing hostel after a really good night’s sleep. Chris also joined us for the day which was great- again, its nice having someone else join our little group. I also think Scott appreciated having another guy around. We hopped on the commuter rail train that takes you into the...
Day 19: Sorrento (Pompeii), Italy
Today we had a 10:49 train to Naples and then onto Sorrento. We woke up at the hotel at 9 and got our complimentary breakfast before heading to Termini train station. From there we got onto our train to Naples. We were taking a really cheap regional train so I was not expecting anything nice. Thus, I wasn’t surprised that the train was not air conditioned. It was absolutely sweltering during...
Day 18: Rome, Italy
Last day in Rome! The time here has absolutely flown by. I feel like the trip is going to go by really, really quickly from this point on. Sara woke me up at 9:30 and my day got started. We decided to go our separate ways in the morning. Scott’s been fighting off a cold so he slept in and planned on wandering on his own later. Sara wanted to see the Vatican Museum, so she headed there (Scott...
Day 17: Rome, Italy
Today was our third day in Rome, and we actually awoke when the alarm went off at 9:30 am. We got ready and had our cappachinos and pastries for breakfast. We decided to go to Tivoli today, which is a city right outside of Rome. Some of the people on my trip had went to Tivoli and enjoyed it, and Sara’s guidebook recommended itas well so it seemed like a good idea to escape the crowds for...
Day 16: Rome, Italy
Today we had planned on getting up at 7 am because we wanted to get an early start to the day. We also went to bed so early the night before I thought we would have no trouble getting up at 7. Wrong. Instead, Scott shook me awake at 9 am to say we overslept. Oh well. We went to the bar around the corner that serves us free breakfast as part of our hotel stay, so that was a nice start to the day-...
Day 15: Rome, Italy
Today we left Santorini, something we were all sad to do. Scott made the point that Santorini was the first place we weere not ready to leave yet, and I completely agree with me. However, I knew I could spend endless days there just driving around on ATVs, going to the beach, and watching the sunset. I definitely want to return someday.
However, a trip to ROME awaited us. I was really excited to...
Day 14: Santorini, Greece
Today was the last day in Santorini. Scott made the point that this was the first place we’ve been that he is not ready to leave. I definitely agree- I could spend weeks here, just driving around on ATVs, sitting on the beach, and eating dinner watching the beautiful sunset. Santorini is definitely a place I need to return to one day.
As for today, we got up early to go on a tour of the...
Day 13: Santorini, Greece
Today was perfect day, part 2. We slept in late because we were worn out from the day before. Personally I was exhausted and a little sun burnt so I enjoyed the opportunity to sleep in. I actually woke up first but Sara and Scott were up by 10:30 and we headed out on the ATVs, which we decided to rent for another day.
We went to Red Beach, a famous beach known for the red cliffs and...
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Day 12: Santorini, Greece
Today can only be described by one phrase: absolutely perfect. Scott woke me up at 8:45, and the sun was already shining. It was definitely an omen for what the rest of the day was going to be like. We quickly got dressed and headed out to get our scooters! Sara and Scott were very excited to rent scooters while we were in Santorini and ride them all around the island. I was more hesitant; I...
Day 11: Santorini, Greece
Today we arrived in Santorini, Greece. In one word, Santorini is: breathtaking. Santorini is one of the places I was most looking forward too on my trip and it even though we have only been here 1/2 a day, I can already tell it will not disappoint. It looks even more amazing that it did in the photos I saw, which I didn’t think was possible.
We had a very early wake up today. I did not want...
