I intend to make this a short and sweet blog so that I don't unnecessarily bore you with endless verbiage. At the same time, I will try to make this as concise and punch-packing as I can.
This is the first day of the month that I'll be traveling to Europe. I never thought this day would arrive, and I thank the Lord that He gave me this opportunity to explore new horizons, at least for me. I know millions of others have traversed the European continent before. I hope it will be a fun venture, filled with good kinds of adventure, excitement, awe-inspiring places and rich times with old friends. If I've learned anything from my travels outside the US, connections always help, particularly if they are close friends.
Everything is about ready, from the red hiking pack I ordered via Amazon.com to the clothes I've folded to the electronic gadgets I'm awash with. Hopefully no gypsy kid will catch me unawares and steal these things, particularly my documents. Peru taught me to never have your belongings off your person, NEVER. Not even for a second.
I have neatly divided my trip into stages rather than trying to take in the whole behemoth at once.
First up will be my friend Nathan's wedding. This will be California, where if all things go well, my rental car will be waiting for me, as well as lodging for the night.
Second will be the flight through San Fran to Barajas, Madrid. There I will Lord-willing meet my former professor Alex Roop. I don't have anything else planned in Madrid except perhaps to visit the Real Madrid stadium and some other notable places. I really don't know much about Madrid at all, so I'm counting on Dr. Roop to give me some tips.
After Madrid, Barcelona will be next. I will only spend a day there so there will not be much to comment on.
The next stage is France, divided into two sub-stages. The first is southern France, namely the town of Agen, where I will meet up with Benji and his family, bringing them all sorts of goodies. I'm counting on them to show me around the town and hopefully have some fun wholesome things to do.
Paris is next. I figure this will be my greatest challenge. For one, I don't speak French, even if Spanish is a close relative. Second, I have no way of knowing except in writing how much the cab fares will be, unless I take a good look at the subway system and take advantage of that. Thought I had this all planned out already, c'mon. Plus, I'll be on my own for most of the time, and will meet Theo only briefly. I did anticipate people being busy but not that busy. On a positive note, I plan on visting Notre Dame, the Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower--in ONE DAY! I have a feeling the entire Louvre will consume the bulk of my time. Better neatly divide up the stops. The second day will be Versailles--at least, that's the plan. May take a pic of the outside, visit the gardens, and maybe, just maybe take a peek inside, where the famed Hall of Mirrors is. The final day I have to figure out some way of getting to the Gare du l'Este. If I miss my train to Deutschland, I'm screwed.
The fourth stage is Germany, specifically Leipzig. Here I plan on spending quality time with Marco, whom I met in Argentina and immediately became soul-friends with. I hope to eat some delicious Schnitzel, and check out any historic places in the city. I plan on spending 3-4 days here.
The fifth and final stage is Sweden, land of the Vikings. I'll be landing in Arlanda airport which is light years away from Stockholm city proper. However, they do have an awesome super train that can take me from the airport to there. I love European transportation systems, even if I've never been there. I hope to see Lisa and the two Lovisas while there. It'll be around 5 days here. I'll leave it to the girls to tell me what's up in Stockholm.
After all that, fly home! Let's hope Uncle Sam doesn't give me trouble on the way in. I.E. Where are you coming from? You're not flying in from West Africa or the Middle East, are you?
