The mill is already working...

[miladycarol]

To squelch all rumors before they run off and make themselves large upon the fat of the land, yes, I will be going on my maiden voyage to Europe at the end of March. G bought tickets the other day. He has been before, but I am a virgin *wink*.

I’m very excited about it. We don’t really have an itinerary yet. G wants to hit a lot of places and see things he didn’t see the last time, but I, of course, really want to see some of the basic tourist things simply because I’ve been studying them my whole life and really need to experience them. How can I pass the little urinating boy by? It would be impossible for me to not see the coliseum or Versailles. They are simply “must do” sites. My preference it to actually spend some time in the country of someplace and soak up the actual reality of living in Europe. That may not happen on this trip, but hopefully there will be others. I’d really like to knock my Mom over the head with something heavy, throw her on a plane and spend a few weeks with her in the French countryside with occasional trips to Paris. It would be wonderful to take her back to her family roots.

I’m open to any suggestions and stories of great European experiences. I’m pleased to finally be shedding my label of being so uncultured that I never hopped the pond for the mother country. I am, after all, descended from good, solid, European peasant stock. The pull has always been there for me to experience this. Have I mentioned how much I love that man of mine?

Comments

[gwyd.livejournal.com]

When we went to Versailles there were two tours. Make sure you get the long tour and not the short one. It is definately worth it. There is an amazingly cool medieval museum in an old abbey in Paris. It is one of the coolest museums I've ever seen. When doing French castles, the privately owned ones are useually way cooler than the public ones. Frontenbleu and Chantille were worth the trip.

I'll ask my Mom if she can remember the names of some of the cool places we went in the countryside.

When in doubt, use the Michellin guide.

[winnett.livejournal.com]

Oh, I can't wait to hear about your trip! Don't forget to take notes and tell us all about it. I am planning a trip to Europe in about a year, so need ideas and tips on must sees. :)

[miladycarol.livejournal.com]

I will. I was hoping to gather tips and ideas from all my friends as well. I'll probably be taking travel log notes in my PDA and posting them when I return.

[winnett.livejournal.com]

I can send you a list of things that I intend on trying to check out when I am there, though I don't have first hand experience of it. Let me know if your interested.

[miladycarol.livejournal.com]

Definitely. I'm a bit overwhelmed at the moment. I'm an artist (indicating that I want to see every aspect of the art and architecture of Europe) and I am an ancient history enthusiast (which means that I want to see all the sites I can). I'm having trouble keeping it all in perspective. And, while I could just be happy sitting camping amidst some ancient standing stones in the countryside for a day and night watching the movement of the shadows and pondering their uses and meanings... G probably would rather go there, appreciate it, and move on in a timely fashion. I'm also going to have trouble in the Louvre... "ohhhhh look! It's a Raphael... oh wow, check out the Rodin... hey, that's a Van Eyck!"

[winnett.livejournal.com]

Well here you go. This is my ROUGH itinerary and things I want to see in the countries I want to go to. I also have some links on there.

Germany
Maybe stay in a castle for a night or two.
· Reine river.
· Frankfurt
o Palmengarten - rent a canoe, gardens, birds
o Altstadt - Mediaeval quarter
· Munich
o Neuschwanstein Castle
Czech republic
· Budapest
· Prague
o Prague Castle
· Cesky Krumlov
o Hostel Krumlov House, http://www.backpackingeurope.com/hosteldetail.asp?ID=191
Austria
· Vienna
o Kunsthistorische Museum
· Innsbruck
· Salzburg
· Salt mine tour
Italy
· Tucsony
o http://www.bassettoguesthouse.com/htm/about.htm
· Ruins (Colosseum, etc.)
· Almafi coast
· Rome
o Piazza di Spagna & Spanish Steps
o Capuchin Crypt (Santa Maria della Concezione)
o Trevi Fountain
· Vatican City
o St. Peter's Basilica (that there is a dress code for St. Peter's: no shorts, skirts above the knee, bare arms or bare shoulders.)
o Michelangelo's Pieta
o Sistine Chapel
· Pompeii Ruins
· Pisa
o Leaning Tower of Pisa
· Florence
o Michelangelo's David (Galleria dell'Accademia, Via Ricasoli)
o Uffizi Gallery - Botticelli's Birth of Venus
o Medici Chapel
Switzerland
· Alps
o http://www.gryon.com/
o http://www.mountainhostel.com/
Luxemburg
France
· Paris
o Eiffel tower
o Louvre
o Rodan Museum
o Notre-Dame de Paris
o Arc de Triomphe
· Versailles
o Chateau de Versailles (gardens)
· Lascaux?? Cave paintings?
England
· Stonehenge
· Kent
o Leeds Castle
· London
o Buckingham Palace
o Tower of London
o Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral
o Crown Jewels
o National Gallery
Ireland
· Blarney Castle, Cork, Ireland (location of Blarney Stone)
· Cliffs of Dingle
· http://www.msnbc.com/news/bt-ireland_front.asp?vts=060320031450
Scotland
· Comlongon Castle, Clarencefield (haunted castle)
· Kirkubright (my castle)

Resources:
http://www.backpackingeurope.com/
welcome traveler, travelhoo, stay4free and global freeloaders.
http://www.country-holidays.co.uk/ch_homepage.html
http://www.traveldata.com/
http://reservations.bookhostels.com/backpackeurope.com/
http://www.europeanhostels.com/
http://www.backpackeurope.com/hostels/hostelfaq.html
http://www.backpackeurope.com/tips/itinerary/scotland/