After a long hiatus from travel I will be on the road again for 6 weeks this summer.
Here is a map of my planned itinerary: map It will take me from the heart of Europe to the continent's eastern edge. Except for Prague, the trip will take me to places I've never been to. Hopefully this trip will be as thrilling as my 2002 sojourn. I'm extremely excited, especially since John is joining me for the first 3 weeks.
With 2 weeks to go before we bid Chicago adieu, we have done most of the necessary preparations. Pensions and hostels are booked (no Ritz on this trip), planes and train reservations are made, sight seeing priorities are taking shape, wardrobe options are being debated and our back packs are waiting for their loads.
As I live by the adage: "a traveller without knowledge is like a bird without wings ", I have been reading as many guidebooks as I can. Of course Rick Steves' is invaluable and we would most likely be using most of his suggested itineraries. I've also read Lonely Planet, Let's Go, Rough Guides and my favorite Time Out guides. I figure one cannot have too much information.
While part of me cannot contain my excitement another part of me is already imagining how I'd feel after this is all over. Would I have the post trip blues? Would wanderlust be rekindled? Would this propel me to keep travelling? Or would I just be exhausted? One thing is certain, I would feel that the experience was more than worth the time, expense and effort of it all. After all in the words of Cole Porter...
"....it's a swell planet if you take time to scan it. And it all belongs to you..."
for as much as i love my hometown of chicago, i sometimes can't wait to leave it. i travel to experience one of life's greatest legal means of getting high. i hope you enjoy reading my entries as much as i do writing them.... full info
