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Hi Everyone!
I’m writing this as I look out of the window onto a rainy London tarmac. Yes, that means that I made it through the first leg of my journey and am about to embark on a flight to my other homeland….the one that I actually have a passport for, Ireland. Before I get too ahead of myself, let me back up a bit.
For those of you who don’t know, I am going on a 45 day backpacking trip around Europe. I am obviously in London right now, but am only here for 6 hours before I head to Dublin to meet family members that I honestly do not remember meeting ever before – I am so excited! I have always wanted to go to Ireland, see the land that the other 1/2 of my family came from, & really have an opportunity to learn a bit about my heritage. I know so much about my Italian half and I blame myself for not knowing more about my Irish half.
The only reason I am able to go to Dublin is because I was supposed to be on a Penn State Graduation Tour which was overbooked, so I was pushed onto a graduation tour with the same itinerary with Auburn University departing out of London three days later. I will be in Dublin until Monday afternoon, then fly back to London and have two days until my tour actually starts. I have also reached out to my family in London, Joan and David, and am going to try to meet up with them on Monday night.
Once I meet up with the Auburn University Gradation Tour, we will spend a few days in London, Paris, Rome, Sorrento (1 day), Pompeii (a morning), a few Greek Islands, and Athens. I will be in Rome exactly 365 days after I left. I find it quite appropriate. I have made arrangements to meet with a few of my teachers and friends from my time there, so I can’t wait!
After my tour wraps up in Athens, I will fly to Reggio di Calabria to visit a Penn State study abroad program. I know a few students that will be there as well as one of my favorite professors from Penn State. Then, I am going to shoot up to Naples and go to Capri since that was one of the places I did not make it to while I was studying abroad. Then, I’ll be off to Perugia for a night, Assisi, Florence (to visit one of my other favorite Penn State professors), Bologna, Verona, and Milano. Again, I am trying my best to go to the other cities that are a bit off the beaten path that I was unable to go to last spring.
From Milano I will take a plane to Berlin to hook up with a different tour around Eastern Europe. We will then travel to Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Krakow, Auschwitz, and Warsaw. From Warsaw, I will catch a flight back to London and then a flight back to New York.
I am beyond excited for this trip. I am not only seeing a few places that I was unable to travel to last spring, but I will have the opportunity to see a few people I know throughout my travels!
I will keep you updated as I progress through Europe!
Note: This post was originally published on May 10, 2012 in a blog entitled “Romeing Around Europe…Again” which chronicled my post-graduation trip across Europe.