Passport… Check!

Happy Thursday everybody! Today went by relatively quick. I actually received an exciting phone call from my company that I’ll start working for in September, but more about that in a later post. Today was spent hanging out with my wonderful grandma! After my sister and I picked her up from the airport, we decided to grab a quick bite to eat. I was in the mood for something light and cool, so I decided on the BBQ southwestern chopped chicken salad. It was awesome.

After lunch I came back home to find a little surprise waiting for me in the mailbox. Look what came in today!

And just in time for the two week countdown to EUROPE Thank you all SO much for your suggestions/tips/etc. You were so helpful to my sister and I! We got so excited while putting together our own little European itinerary, especially considering that two weeks from today we’ll be on our way across the big blue see to London baby!

Because we are going with a tour group, some of the sights/attractions/etc. are already included, so we’ll definitely be visiting those sights regardless! Unfortunately our tour group doesn’t spend much time in London, but because of all your suggestions my sister, Kim, and I definitely know what we want to do and see while we’re there!

Here we go! (Attractions that are italicized are included on our tour!)

London, England

Sights/Attractions:

• Tower of London
• Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace
• Big Ben
• Westminister Abbey
• The London Eye
• A London Pub Crawl (so I can check something off my 101 things to do before I die booklet! )
• The London Eye
• Harrods
• Covent Garden
• Find Prince William (okay, okay this one was mine )

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Sights/Attractions:

• The Red Light District (I can’t help but think of Ludacris whenever I read this!)
• Countryside bike tour - I’m so excited for this!!

Berlin, Germany

Sights/Attractions:

• Tiergarten – one of the world’s biggest parks
• Russian War Memorial
• Bradenburg Gate
• Checkpoint Charlie - where people would sneak from West Berlin to East Berlin
  
• The Berlin Wall
• The Eye Spy Berlin Museum

Foods:

• Curry wurst
• Bierkeller (a German beer house)

Prague, Czech Republic

Sights/Attractions:

• Catedrawl of St. Vitus
• Guided walk over the Charles Bridge and through the Hradcany Castle
• Wenceslas Square
• Dachau concentration camp – I’m looking forward to seeing this piece of history from World War II

Munich, Germany

Sights/Attractions:

• A local beer hall
• City Bike tour

Foods:

• Hofbrauhaus
• Spatzle

Venice, Italy

Sights/Attractions:

• Bridge of Sighs
• Doges’ Palace
• St. Mark’s Square
• Take a gondola ride
• Private boat tour through the canals and islands of Venice – I cannot wait for this! I’m so excited to see the “floating city” !!

Rome, Italy

Sights/Attractions:

• Colosseum
• Pantheon
• The Vatican
• The Sistine Chapel
• St. Peter’s Basilica
• The Trevi Fountain – I want to make a wish!
• The Spanish Steps
• Hadrian’s Tomb

Foods:

• A slice of pizza
• Gelato

Florence, Italy

Sights/Attractions:

• Wine tasting in a Tuscan countryside winery – can you say AMAZING!? I can’t wait! My mom’s insanely jealous
• Statue of David
• Giotto’s Bell Tower
• The Leaning Tower of Pisa – on our way to Lucerne!
• Climb to the top of the Duomo
• Jersey Shore cast – I’m not kidding Apparently they’re in Florence and I would be SO excited if I saw them!! I know most people hate the show, but my sister, Kim, and I are obsessed!

Lucerne, Switzerland

Sights/Attractions:

• Mt. Pilatus
• Lake Lucerne Cruise
• The Wooden Chapel Bridge

Paris, France

Sights/Attractions:

• Tour of Illuminations - a night time tour of Paris
• Arc de Triomphe
• Notre Dame Cathedral
• Paris by Night: A Cruise on the Seine River – What a perfect way to spend our last couple days. I can’t wait to soak up Paris, the city of lights, at night!
• Eiffel Tower
• The Louvre

Foods:

• Crepes in the Latin Quarter
• Pastries
• A glass of champagne

Well there you have it, my complete European itinerary! I’m so excited to write about each and every one of these locations Now I just need these next two weeks to hurry on by! I’ve actually begun putting stuff together to start the packing process. I’m anxious, what can I say. Do you blame me?? Hope you all have a wonderful Friday, just think, it’s almost Memorial Day Weekend!

What are your memorial day weekend plans? I plan on relaxing by the pool and going out on the boat with my cousins!