2 weeks away!

O my goodness! we are leaving in less then 2 weeks!

I am geeking out! I, Kait, have been booking Hostels all week.

So, faithful blog readers... Let me update you on how our trip is shaping up

Thursday august 18th we will wake up so early and board a Mega bus to Philly. Then take a subway to the airport. From Philly we will fly into Frankfurt Germany and transfer to Madrid, Spain. In Madrid during that weekend Catholic World Youth Day is happening! (I have attended World Youth day gatherings since 2002 when we went to Toronto.... Since then wed has taken me to Germany in 2005 and Australia in 2008...but I digress)

In Madrid we will be hopefully staying with a family on Friday, then hiking to the mass site on Saturday, camping out there, Big Big Mass with the Pope on Sunday. then we will be fighting out way to a train station. Our train leaves Madrid for Barcelona at 5pm. We are staying at a charming hostel called 'Pere Tarres' from august 21 -23.

On August 23 we hop on the train and head up the coast from Spain to the south of France. Our first stop is Montpellier for lunch, then back on the train for Avignon and we are 'couch surfing', a lovely young professional Adeline B has agreed to host us for the day. The next day we say goodbye and hop onto another train. Our tour de France then takes us to Marsielle for lunch and then to Nice (pronounced niece, not n-ice). For those of you keeping score that Is 9 cities in 6 days so far.

In Nice on the 24th we are staying in another hostel called ' Camellas' for the night. Then onward! On the 25th -27th we will be somewhere in Tuscany. I am still looking for b&bs for us to stay at. Our hopes are to go to one where they will either cook home made food for us or teach us how to prepare Tuscan cuisine. On the 27th we board out trains again and travel to Milan for lunch then off to the beautiful water city of Venice! In Venice we will be staying on an island at the Venizia hostel! I am excited about this one because that's my friend richie's last name , heheh, hi richie.

Life is too short to be tired.... So the next day we are on the road again. heading down through Italy. August 28 in Florence we are staying in a charming hostel called 'tavamelle'. Then we will do lunch in Sienna on our waybto Rome! Derek so excited for that big city. we will be based in Rome from August 29th until September 3rd, staying a their Downtown hostel. While in Rome we will be sampling as many local hidden eateries, taking day trips to Naples for pizza, and Pompeii just because it's so close and famous.

We leave Rome on September 3rd and head down the coast to Bari, a port city for lunch. Our ferry leaves Bari for a really longed named city which I have no idea how to pronounce, igoumenstitia. From there we train it over to Patras, Greece. Then by the grace of God we will wheel and deal our wau into Athens. While in Athens we are tentatively 'couch surfing' with another young professional named Artemis S. I love that name! Can I just say how exited I am to be meeting so many people. I need to remember to make business cards to give to people with this blog on it and my email.

Ok, so yes yes yes Alli and I are fully aware that Greece and turkey are less then chummy as of late. But the show must go on! On September 4th we board a bus in Athens and all night will travel over the roads of Greece up into Turkey. We will bridge that cultural gap, and wake up in Istanbul! A lot of people has expressed their concerns about this stop. If you, dear reader are one of those like minded people, watch Anthony Bourdains episode in Istanbul.... It inspired me and excited me about going! Like professor Trelarny says, 'Broaden your minds!'

From September 5th through 9th wenwill be at the faaaabulous Sultan Hostel in a private double room with a shower and toilet! Livin it up in Istanbul. On the 9th we head back to the airport early in the morning and catch a plane back to Madrid. Now or plans for that day are open.... Who know what will happen... But we don't really intend on sleeping!

September 10th is a long day...literally... Since we will be traveling through numerous time zones backwards. Flying from Madrid to Frankfurt transferring planes then from Frankfurt to Philly. then a subway to the Mega bus, hopefully catching the pus game vs Alabama (happy birthday daddy) and arriving back home just minutes before midnight. Whew!

We'll those a our plans for now.... Stay tuned for a Kait and Alli vlog post within the next week on the topic.... "it's so close" and Kait's vlog ....on..... We'll.... Whatever I feel like... It's my vlog!

Cheers!
Kait and Alli!