Planning for this trip actually started beginning of this year and the intention was to have it in June. However, due to some family related issues, I had to cancel it not knowing if I'll be doing it this year at all.
And after I realized the need for me to travel some time before end of the year and contemplating whether I should go east or west, I finally decided to go for a hard core, 2 weeks euro tour of places that I have been to and others that I haven't.
In my plan, I included my usual suspects and all time Mediterranean favorites, Barcelona, Paris and Rome. There will always be something about these cities that keep me coming back to them no matter how much time they consume from my life!
For the past 6 years I have more or less been exploring exclusively these 3 countries (Spain, France and Italy), finding it extremely difficult to take a different course and tread into new foreign lands. I was hooked! However, while planning for this trip, I felt it was about time I gave myself the chance to explore a new kind of beauty. And hence, I decided to include Amsterdam, Prague, and Vienna - which, to me, were a whole new world. Yet, it was ok as long as I knew that I am passing by my familiar territories!
Timing was a bit tricky while planning the trip. I wanted to avoid cold weather at all costs. Having suffered last October in Paris where all we wanted to do was stay warm, I didn't want to spend my next trip staying indoors to avoid the frost! In the meantime, I had constraints in traveling any time before mid October. I was stuck with the last 2 weeks of October, and with so much dread, I set the dates for upcoming my trip.
Let me tell you that the hoping and praying did work!
Once the costs were finalized, I shared the plan with friends and family, should there be some souls who were willing to join looking for a break, a chance to discover new lands, cultures and people! And indeed I was joined by some amazing bunch, ecstatic about our next adventure.
So, filled with anticipation, excitement and awe, we counted down the days to Oct 17 2013 where we set off to a new, enriching experience that started with the ever lovely Barcelona.
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