Thursday, April 30, 2009

France

Hugh and I plan on flying to Paris, prior to my travels with Pete and Joe. We must see Sacred Heart Basilica of Montmartre and l'Ossuaire Municipal - the Catacombs. Hugh is preparing by practicing French with Byki, and buying and a new camera. He is eyeing a Fugi film S1oofs. (I don't know what that is.)

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Couch surfing

I have not looked into it yet, but I plan on becoming a member of http://www.couchsurfing.com/. If we can surf some couches, it will help us save money and help me with my language skills.

Packing - Balenie

Since we will be traveling by foot, train, plane, car, and bus, we are going to pack lightly. (Not to mention that the airlines now charge an arm and a leg for each bag you take.)

I have a Go-lite backpack. It is an "internal frame" backpack, however it does not really have a frame. It is the most comfortable and strong backpack I have. It is also pretty roomy.

As for shoes, I plan on taking a pair of Keen sandals and a pair of leather flats. The sandals can double as hiking books for light hiking, and the flats can go with dresses, and are closed toe for touring churches where open toes shoes are not allowed.

I plan on 3 pairs of pants: jeans, shorts, and a pair on long black (polyester) slacks. I want to take 7 shirts, but we will see how much room they take. In China you can buy disposable underwear, but I never saw anything like than in Europe, so I guess I'll have to bring handwashable underwear. I am bringing one dress and a bathingsuit.

Now the fun stuff: camera, check. iPod, check. international adapter, check. Phone with international card, check. Other fun stuff: notebook and pen.

Essentials: sleep sheet, limited toiletries, medication, ATM card and credit card, identification and passport, and itinerary. Oh, and cash.

I need to remember to tell the boys to make sure they xerox a copy of their passports and flight information and leave the copies with loved ones, just in case someone looses something. I have traveled alone abroad before, but these two boys are greenhorns.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Eastern Europe Trip

This August me and two of my brothers (Pete and Joe) are going to travel Eastern Europe. We have been to Slovakia before; we have in-laws in Trencin, and our father is from Poland. However, I have never had the opportunity to really travel the land of our heritage. This trip is one of my lifetime goals.

My brother John has been all over Eastern Europe, and has recommended Crakow and Prague. These are two of his favorite cities. He knows beautiful cities; he lives in San Francisco now. 

To prepare for the trip I am trying to learn Slovak. Slovak, Czech and Polish are very similar, and those three countries will be our main focus. However we will also be traveling in the Ukraine, Croatia, Germany, France, Hungary, and maybe pass through a few other places.

The goal of this blog is to keep my husband and our mother up to date on the trip.