European Lemonade

Waiting until the last minute to make arrangements for each next leg of this trip has finally caught up with me. I arrived in Athens a few days ago planning to finalize my flights and hotels for a week exploring the treasure rich countries of Egypt and Jordan before meeting my parent’s in Rome in mid-April.

But, exorbitant airfares, thanks to may last minute approach, and complex travel requirements on the ground in those countries has forced me to opt for leaving them for another time. While a bit disappointed not to be able to wander among the treasure trove of antiquities to be found in Egypt and neighboring Jordan, I think I managed to figure out a suitable Plan B in fairly short order.

Trading in the pyramids, lost cities and immense deserts of Egypt & Jordan, I'll now make my way to see the monuments, museums and cafe-filled avenues of some of Europe's best cities. Leaving Athens tomorrow, I'll head to Amsterdam for three days to wander through the maze of canals and check out one of the continents more eccentric and open-minded cities.

From there, I'll make my way via high-speed train to Paris to spend a long weekend trying my best to take in as many of that city's renowned attractions as possible. Then it'll be on to the bustling city of Barcelona for a three-day siesta checking out the still evolving Gaudi masterpiece La Sagrada Familia and perhaps the famed Costa Brava.

I'll wrap up my Eurotrip with some family time, meeting my parents in Rome to spend two week's seeing Italy's finest cities with Florence, Bologna, and Venice to follow Rome. All in all, I can't complain about having to shift gears and replace Egypt & Jordan with a good chunk of Europe. As I always say, when life hands you lemons, make...wine, tapas and hash brownies!