The specifics..

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Ohhh the specifics...

You would think planning something like this would be a little easy. You get a backpack, you fill it with stuff, you get a plane ticket and you wing it. It hasn't been quite like that.

First, I had to figure out how long I wanted to go for. Then I had to read a hundred travel blogs and watch a million videos to see how much that would cost me. Then there is the plane ticket, eurail pass (but what KIND of pass), Travel insurance, hostel information, currency exchange... blah blah..

The eurail pass I chose to go with is 15 non consecutive days in a two month period of time. But there is so many rules as to what applies to "a day" ... do I get to travel on it the morning of June 8th and then get off for a few hours and get back on as long as it is before midnight? or is a day a 24 hour period of time? and what 24 hour period of time is it? with all the time changes and all... tricky business people.. tricky business. A client of mine told me when she traveled over there in 1998, Eurail passes like mine were around 500 dollars... well.. not anymore.

Travel insurance is easy for people who already have health insurance, but not for me. What happens in the case of me needing to go to the hospital or get a major surgery (lets all pray that does not happen). Travel insurance is another huge thing that I have been reading about for wayyy too long with no real answers.. but I know it is needed.

Did you know that you need a special kind of towel to travel with? Dry - it folds into a 4inch by 4inch square... crazyness.

the 45 liter backpack I will be taking allows me one pair or jeans, a pair of hiking pants that are also yoga pants that are also sleeping attire. a few tanktops. a few tshirts. one longsleeve. a windbreaker and a very very thin northface coat. a pair of flip flops for ALL those times I wont be in my tennishoes (which wont be that often). maybe there is room for ONE cute outfit or a sundress... my toiletries, my camera, all my information and a travel journal. That's about it. You wash your clothes in sinks and hang them to dry from a bungee cord you carry with you. You make copies of all your information and store it with the people you are with or mail it to someone you know over there in case you are one of the 60 percent of tourists that get's pickpocketed and you lose all the things VERY important to you... sigh.

But, It will all be worth it. To marvel... at something.

My rough itinerary begins with lana in Dublin, Ireland. From there I will be going down one coast and up the other of Spain. After Lana leaves me, I will continue on to Sicily. Italy will be next filled with days of walking Rome, Naples, Tuscany and Venice. Switzerland comes after that and that is where I hope to sky dive, bungee jump, paraglide and do all the crazy shit I just could never bring myself to do. Thank god for an old friend of mine from Cosmetology school who will be taking me in in southern Germany for a few nights. My Grandparents old Foreign exchange student Paulina will be my host in Northern Germany for a while. I hope to see many festivals with her and some live music. Prague will be a place I will see on my own, and then up to Sweden, Finland and back down to AMsterdam. In my youth I would have been more excited to see such a place, but Now- I'm just excited to rent a bike and pedal around a lot. Belgium is south of that which leads me to France before I take an underground highway to England which is my last stop before I meet up with my family in Ireland for 8 days.

Wish me luck. Send me thoughts. And .. I'll keep ya updated.

Miss Kate.

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