Outline

Here is an outline of the places I plan on going, there are some places I want to see for sure, but the amount of time I spend in each place may change. I tend to plan everything, but I want to be able to go with the flow.

July 6-7 Flying from PDX to chicago to Ireland.
July 7-11 Galway, Ireland (already have a hostel reservation since it's the first place I'll be visiting)
July 11-16 maybe? Dublin, Ireland
July 16-22 maybe? London, UK
July 22-28 maybe? Paris, France
July 28-30 maybe? Belgium
July 30-August 4 Amsterdam (Pride 09!)
August 4-8 maybe? Berlin
August 8-14 Prague
August 14-18 Kosice, Slovakia (staying w/a best friends' family. Thank you Tina!)
August 18-21 maybe? Budapest
August 21-24 maybe? Vienna
August 24-26 maybe? Munich/Neuschwanstein
August 26-Sept 1 Venice (My 24th birthday is on August 27th and I for sure want to spend it in beautiful Venice!)
Sept 1-3 maybe? San Marino
Sept 3-4 maybe? Brindisi, Italy
Sept 4-6 maybe? Patra, Greece
Sept 6-10 maybe? Athens
Sept 10-16 maybe? Greek island hopping (Mykonos, Paros, maybe another?)
Sept 16-17 maybe? traveling back to Brindisi, Italy
Sept 17-20 maybe? Amalfi Coast
Sept 20-26 maybe? Rome
Sept 27-October 2 maybe? Florence/Tuscany
October 2-3 maybe? Pisa
October 3-10 maybe? Cinque Terra
October 10-13 maybe? Milan
October 13-17 maybe? Zurich, Switzerland
October 17-19 maybe? another place in Switzerland on the west side (definitely going to do some scenic train rides!)
October 19-22 maybe? Nice, France
October 22-26 maybe? Marseille
October 26-November 1 Barcelona, Spain
November 1-2 flying home Barcelona to Madrid to Dublin for one night, then Dublin to Chicago to Portland, Oregon.

Time and money depending, but I might add in Poland between Prague, and Kosice!

Getting Closer!

My flight leaves just before 8:30 am on July 6th, and even though it's a month and a half away I still feel like there isn't enough time to wrap up everything here. I have to finish school, move all my crap into storage, finish two side projects, switch banks, get a new driver license, buy some travel accessories, have my graduation party, my brothers' wedding & the 4th of July, friends birthdays, and tons of little things that there just isn't enough hours in a day for.

It will all be worth it though, if I bust my ass now then I can enjoy 4 months of fun and adventure. At first most people are amazed that I'm going to be gone that long, and that I will be by myself, but besides the language barriers the only thing I'm unsure about is the free time. Never in my life have I not been working, going to school, or fulfilling responsibilities at home. Growing up my holiday vacations were mostly spent working, and whenever we did go on vacation I had to bring homework with me! So for once in my life I will be able to just enjoy the freedom of no responsibilities...well...maybe just one—to have the most fun ever.

I know that everyone I've talked to has been excited for me and given some great travel tips, for which I am incredibly grateful, and in my gratitude I invite everyone to follow along here with me. Please feel free to subscribe to the RSS feed so that you can be notified whenever I post something new. This will be my online travel journal that I will update whenever possible. I also plan on posting pictures to Facebook and to my online gallery so that you can easily see where I've been. Due to amount restrictions I might not be able to post every picture, so what you will see with be the best of batch, and when I return you will have a chance to see even more.

Please feel free to leave comments, I will miss you all.
xoxo
~ Jamie