Departure

Ah, how quickly time passes. Hello again, my old cyber friends.

So, I'm pretty sure that yesterday I was planning out which countries I wanted to go to and such. Somehow I've entered a time warp that spit me out 6 months later...

Anyhow, I will be departing for London, England in approximately 41 hours. Oh my goodness. Goodbye America (for the next 2 months...). The following is my itinerary, very rough itinerary, for my soul-searching excursion:

-London, England
-Edinburgh, Scotland
-Glasgow, Scotland
-Dublin, Ireland
-Brussels, Belgium
-Paris, France
-Zurich, Switzerland
-Geneva, Switzerland
-Thonon-les-bains, France
-Nice, France
-Aix-en-Provence, France
-Barcelona, Spain
-Madrid, Spain
-Lisbon, Portugal
-Rome, Italy
-Florence, Italy
-Cinque Terre, Italy
-Venice, Italy
-Vienna, Austria
-Prague, Czech Republic
-Hamburg, Germany
-Berlin, Germany

Breathe in, and out. Next time you all hear from me I will be overseas by myself for two months. Will be posting pictures and updates for those back home, so you'll finally see me in my native element (or not so native element.)

Ciao,
-A

Travel Ideas?

Alright, well the Europe travel plans are coming along nicely. Here is what I've come across so far...

Reference Sites:

• lonelyplanet.com
• Thorn Tree Forem
• Travel on a Shoestring
• Thedromomaniac.com

Lodging Options:

• Couch Surfing (couchsurfing.com)
• Help Exchange (helpx.net)
• Anywork Anywhere (anyworkanywhere.com)
• WWOOF (different websites for each country)
• Au Pair/Babysitter (aupair.com)
• Workaway (workaway.com)
• Other things I'm forgetting...

Transportation:

• Rideshare (looks promising...)
• Bike (short distance)
• Train (long distance)
• Air (possible... but not so sure)

Country/City Wishlist:

• London, England
• Edinburgh, Scotland
• Glasgow, Scotland
• Torino, Italy
• Venice, Italy
• Florence, Italy
• Rome, Italy
• Milan, Italy
• Paris, France
• Thonon les Bains, France (I'll explain later...)
• Barcelona, Spain
• Madrid, Spain
• Andalucia, Spain
• Brussels, Belgium
• Lisbon, Portugal
• Berlin, Germany
• Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• Stockholm,Sweden
• Prague, Czech Republic

So, that's my current progress. Sorta. I'm exhausted from all my excitement and must rest. No work tomorrow -- yay.

Ciao.
-A

Living in an Ice Cube

        One place I really didn't plan on visiting on my 6 month vagabonding trip to Europe is Sweden, but after stumbling across this article, I may have changed my mind.

The World's Strangest Hotels

1. UFO Capsule Hotel -- Tokyo, Japan
2. ICEHOTEL -- Sweden
3. Hotel Fox -- Denmark
4. StayOrange Hotel -- Malaysia
5. Propeller Island City Lodge -- Berlin, Germany

Link: www.vagobond.com/worlds-strangest-hotels

Ice Room

        I wanted to focus on what I personally thought was the coolest hotel ever, The ICEHOTEL in Sweden. It is, literally, the first and largest hotel built entirely of ice, but it is much more than that. ICEHOTEL is a piece of art that artists from around the globe build once a year -- a constantly changing inspiration factory!

The Rooms:
        As well as warm lodging, the ICEHOTEL has its unique "cold accommodations" in the form of three different types of rooms -- the Art Suite, the Ice Room, and the Snow Room.

Snow Room

Art Suite

What do they offer?
        ICEHOTEL offers all sorts of activities for guests, both summer and winter activities, but for now I will only mention winter activities. All information can be found at the link to their website on the bottom of the page.

        Winter Activities (include but not limited to):

• Snowmobile Tours
• Dog Sledding
• Skiing and Snow Shoe-ing
• Arctic Trail Safari
• Ice Sculpting
• Northern Lights Tour

        What I have decided on is that at some point, I must visit this magnificent hotel, but I'm not sure if this visit will be the time to do it. Check out the other hotels on the Strangest Hotel list and if you have any strange hotels of your own, let me know!

Link: http://www.icehotel.com/

Wishing you all the best until I see you again,
-A

European Adventure

        I have neglected to mention that I am planning a very lengthy trip to Europe starting around January or February of 2013 and stretching to right before school (probably somewhere around August). Now that my man is alright with the plan, I would like to share with the rest of the world my travel plans.

        Firstly, I expect to bunk with my older sister in London, England for a little while before going off on my own adventures. There I will have friends, family, food and safety -- but what about everywhere else I go? I can't expect a life of luxury in hotels with room service, so I looked into a couple of volunteer programs.

Check out my sister/her husband's home improvement blog at: palisca.wordpress.com

1. WWOOF -- You may or may not have heard of the WWOOF program, which stands for Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms. It is a fantastic program that allows people to travel and work on organic farms all around to world in exchange for housing and food. The Plan: I am hoping to WWOOF somewhere on the west coast before I move overseas so that I can get a feel for the program. As you all know, I'm learning German and thought it would be appropriate for me to travel and WWOOF in Germany. I already have my eye on a few farms and will post about them in the near future.

Link: http://wwoofusa.org/

2. WorkAway -- This is another program to "work abroad, integrate in local cultures, learn a language, acquire new skills, make new friends" and more. Could this fill in the gap between London and Germany? This isn't just farming, you can work in fields such as animal care, cooking, and house sitting, tourism, art and more. (Need to do more research)

Link: http://workaway.info

3. Aupair -- Aupair is exactly what it sounds like it is -- a database that connects au pairs and nannys with families in need of one. Again, its a worldwide program that I have experience in and can give references for. Another possibility, the only problem is that I wouldn't be long term. (Need to do more research)

Link: http://aupair.com

Current Country Wishlist:

• England
• Germany
• France
• Italy
• Croatia?
• Iceland
• Morocco
• Ireland
• Switzerland
• Scotland

Any suggestions? Send me a message or comment. Have any hole-in-the-wall places you suggest? Let me know and I'll add it in!

Ah, and so life begins.

-A