Friday, January 7, 2011

I wanna go on an uh-venture, but I dont know where!

So, since I have some downtime before leaving and getting caught in the swarm of a new language, roommates (Krista Hord and MaryAnn Lander), a new apartment and NEW CITY and all of the other fun things that correlate with those subjects, I wanted to sit down and make an organized thought process of places I want to visit in Europe while I have the opportunity.

I know that I won't be able to travel to all of these places that I have in mind, so that's why I'm asking for help from you all! I need input so I can choose the best places to spend my time!

I have weekends and an 18 day spring break in April... then after my classes end on May 19, I'll be needing cool places to go until June 3. SOOOOO I'm going to list my ideas and then I would REALLY appreciate some input through emails, comments on here, etc. please... whatever you decide :) especially from those who have been over to Europe to travel a bit. And the thought process is as follows....

New places:
  • All over Spain (Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid)
  • Portugal
  • Morocco
  • Prague
  • Croatia (Dubrovnik, the Plitvice Lakes)
  • Ireland
  • Scotland
  • Greece (all over - Meteora, Athens, the Greek Islands)
  • France (Paris, Lafayette)
  • Belgium (Brussels, Lilla Nova)
  • Germany (Berlin, Trier, Munich, Cologne, Stuttgart, Wiesbaden)
  • Austria (Vienna, Salzburg, Hallstatt)
  • England (London, Cambridge, Newcastle, Cornwall)
  • The Netherlands (Amsterdam)
  • Italy (Venice, Florence, Milan, Rome, the Italian Riviera, Pompeii)
  • Switzerland (Aspen, St. Moritz, Lauterbrunnen)
  • Czech Republic
  • Norway (I want to see the Northern Lights)
  • Denmark (Copenhagen)

So there are some.. well a lot... of ideas. Any thoughts on where to go out of these places / what to see / where to stay in these cities?! help!?!?


Sincerely,
Excited and Confused

3 comments:

Scott Shuffield said...

Granada, Spain (you'll go there with USAC and it's an awesome trip).

Mallorca

You've already been in Brussels

Don't go to Morocco alone haha.

If you go to Pompeii in Italy, you may as well go to Naples although there isn't much to see in Naples (if you ask me). Might wanna check out Cinque Terre, I didn't go but I hear it's awesome.

Make sure you enjoy Alicante and aren't just traveling alllll the time!!

JulesOnTour said...

So I went to a few of these places and I can tell you a bit about the things I did there and the places I liked the best.So far this all really does sound adventurous and I wish I could company you.
Croatia seemed like a very poor country since there are huge landscapes with little stone walls everywhere as well as unfinished houses. Some of the beaches are full of stones either so you shouldn't expect a beach like the one at home. On the other hand Croatia has the clearest water I ever dived into which makes it perfect for tours by boat or even ship. Also, we went to a beach (with sand) with a row of clubs and bars. One night we even celebrated on a big boat which was a lot of fun. The greatest part for me were the national parks where you can swim beneath the waterfalls in the turquoise water or walk over little bridges through the muddy woods. I went to Greece once and it was so beautiful! It's perfect for windsurfing or sailing and I bet you can go on a banana boat as well ;)The people seemed very friendly and the houses are beautiful, too. We went there during the world cup of soccer and had a great time watching the games in the little restaurants.
France is so great. It's a shame I still haven't been to paris but all I hear are positive things about it. Straßbourg is very romantic as well, especially during the time before Christmas.
I think France is perfect if you like art.
GERMANY! Oh you should really come to Heidelberg and see this beautiful, old town. I could show you all the cute bars the college students go to, we could climb up the hill, onto the castle, we could rent a boat on the river, lay out in the grass beside it or go shopping since Heidelberg has the longest shopping street ever!Plus, you'd have a place to sleep only 10 minutes away.
Berlin is just awesome although I think you should take a little time so you don't just see all the usual tourist sights. Half an hour from our place is Mannheim with Germany's national theater. I've been to Cambridge for a week of exchange and I liked it very much. The people there are so nice and the town is too. Also I really like the fashion there.
You would like Amsterdam even more, though! I went there this summer and it's such an exciting town. There are canals everywhere and you can easily get lost. Amsterdan hast many museums and most of the people are young and a little different. By the way they have great sandwiches there :) From Amsterdam it only takes 20 minutes get to the coast. I think Italy is the best place you could ever go to. I've only been to Milan and at the border to Switzerland which is about an hour away from Milan. Milan has a huge, beautiful cathedral all in white and a lot of nice cafés. You can climb the cathedral and from there you have a great view all around. One side of the city is full of top designers and labels and on the other side there are the slums.
The best place in the world for me is The italian part of Switzerland like Lugano! MY grandparents own an apartment there, so we went there every summer of my life and I'm still not bored with it. You have the best of both countries: swiss cheese, chocolate and mountains and original italian pizza and pasta, the world's best icecream, the architecture, the beautiful language and so on. You can go hiking, waterskiing, wakeboarding, shopping, swimming, sight seeing or just taning. You'll never stop eating and you'll never wanna go home, I promise. If you come during our holidays you could maybe stay with us and I'd show you everything. Also, you can come and stay at our house whenever you want if you need a tour guide or a translator.
I'm so excited for you Annie! I hope I could help you a little bit.
Love, Julia
PS: I want to see the Northern Lights, too!!

Unknown said...

I´ll try to make your experience just amazing!
I´ll be waiting for you at the airport on Friday!
Good luck and welcome!!!