And still a lot of money to save.
I keep getting asked what my travel plans are, so I figured I would explain all of our plans here. The truth is... we really don't have many plans! And we don't want to have them. We bought our plane and train tickets and booked some hostels for when we arrive, but that's about it!
The only problem we have run into so far is transportation. The Eurail train pass is purchased in month long periods, and our trip is a month and a half long (convenient, right?). Paying for the two month pass was too expensive so we decided we will take it slow the first two weeks of the trip, buying our train tickets individually (we will be biking and walking quite a bit!).
Our first couple weeks plan...
- Plane departs at 11am for Toronto on June 30th, where we will have an 8 hour layover.
- Departing at 9:10pm for Iceland.
- Arrive in Iceland at 6:25 a.m. (hello jet-lag!) on July 1st.
- Spending 2 nights in Iceland- seeing PUFFINS!
- Depart at 8am for Amsterdam on July 3rd, arrive in Amsterdam at 1pm.
- Spend 3 nights in Amsterdam
- Leave Amsterdam on July 6th, make a stop in Belgium (where we'll eat chocolate- yummmm).
- Head to Nancy, France and spend the night.
- Wake up at the crack of dawn and head to Tomblaine, France to catch a stage of Le Tour de France!
- Head to Paris, spend 4 nights.
- Validate Eurail Pass on July 11th.
- Head to wherever the train wants to take us!
- France: Nancy, Tomblaine, Paris, Nantes, Nice, Montpellier, Marseille
- Spain: Barcelona
- Switzerland: Geneve, Nontreux
- Italy: Cinque Terra, Levanto, Rome, Florence, Venice
- Slovenia: Bled, Ljubljana
- Croatia: Zagreb, Slunj
- Austria: Vienna, Salzberg
- Czech Republic: Prague
- Poland: ?
- Germany: Munich, Berlin
Chocolate in Belgium is really really good you'll see and you should also eat chips because I've already went there (in Brussel) and I can tell you that it's really delicious! :D
ReplyDeleteHey Allison - Based on the cities you mentioned above, I can say that you should definitely try and make it to Slovenia. The place is unreal, with not only Ljubljana and Lake Bled but towns such as Piran as well. The entire country is worth a look and luckily, it's small enough to see most of it in a relatively short period of time. Also, Ljubljana - stay at Vila Veselova Hostel...great place.
ReplyDeleteIn Zagreb, find the Museum of Broken Relationships in the old city. Very unique place.
In Vienna, head to the outskirts of the city and be sure to go to Heuriger Wieninger (look it up!) for a great local meal with local drinks and a must-experience atmosphere.
The town of Montepulciano in Tuscany, Italy - another unreal destination worth a visit.
If you're in the south of France, around Nice or Cannes, a day trip to St. Paul de Vence is very cool too.
And in the end, just don't try to cram too much into your trip. While it's tempting to try and see as much as possible, it is often far more rewarding to move at a slower pace, to see fewer places but to spend more time in each, something that allows you to connect with a destination and its people far more than quickly passing through!
Hope that helps!
Thank you so much for your advice!! I really appreciate it- I'm sure it will be very useful. Now I'm even more excited for Slovenia, that's a must see!
DeleteHey Alli! I hope you're having a great time so far :) As requested, here are a few tips for Italy.
ReplyDeleteFlorence:
Restaurants: Sant' Agustino: they have really good bruchetta, pasta and chocolate cake, Cafe Duomo is right by the Duomo and has a cheap dinner special. You can a glass of wine (or bottle of water), salad, bruschetta, and pasta for 10 euro! There are a few other specials including meat but they are a few more euros. It was a cute little place with a patio, nice waiters, and good wine.
Gusta Pizza: delicious pizza for 5 euro
Gusta Panino: around the corner from Gusta Pizza with DELICIOUS sandwiches for 3 euro. Tomato, Pesto and mozzarella was my favorite
O'Vesuvio Pizza: My favorite pizza in Italy for only 5 euro. This is also the place the jersey shore people went to and their underwear is hanging on the ceiling.
Places to see: The outside of the Duomo is beautiful, but going inside is not necessary unless the line is really short, Climbing to the top of the Duomo is really cool though! great view of Florence, just wear comfy shoes
The Baptistery right by the Duomo is gorgeous inside though! If you have a few extra euros I would recommend going inside. Pay attention to the ceiling!
Santo Spirito church: very beautiful inside (also very near the best pizza or sandwich place I have eaten at),
Santa Aposteli Church: one of the oldest in Florence and is free to enter.
Museo dell' Opera del Duomo: a museum of all the artwork that used to be inside of the Duomo. It has lots of statues and some pretty neat mosaics
Bargello: another museum with lots of old stuff. Not my favorite museum we went to but it's much smaller and less busy
Santa Croce Church: very large and historic church with many famous people's tombs (Galileo, Michelangelo, etc.)
Accademia: if you want to see the real David then go here but it's busy and full of other artwork
Piazza Signoria: very important plaza in history with lots of statues.
the Uffizi: I would highly recommend this museum if you only want to see one in Italy. It's large, beautiful, and has a lot of variety of artwork
Museo di Statoria della Scienza (Galileo Museum) a really awesome museum with old scientific instruments, maps, etc that I would highly recommend going to. It's also pretty cheap for students
Piazza del Michelangelo: you need to hike up there for sunset one night. It's the best view of Florence you will find, plus there is live music, and a great place to people watch
Pisa: Go to the leaning tower and climb to the top if you have time. Also, the cathedral in Pisa is gorgeous and I would recommend going inside. The Camposanto is also neat
Siena: see the cathedral in Siena because it's unique and very cool. Nice frescos and a beautiful alter. If you want a great view of Siena climb the Torre del Mangia (the bell tower in Siena)
San Gimignano: It's a tiny, adorable town that you can walk through in a few hours. They also have delicious gelato and great views of Tuscany
Rome: You need to see The Fountain of Four Rivers (it was in Angels and Demons), There Trevi Fountain, The Coliseum, The Pantheon (but it wasn't all the cool so if you don't have a lot of time I would skip it), Roman Forum and the other Roman Ruins