I'm finally flying!

My European Adventure is finally official! I have been booking hotels, hostels, farm stays and every other possible type of accommodation conceivable for the past several months. I was, however, missing the key component.... a flight that would take me there.

I am contributing to or managing two separate but conjoined holidays, and it's a bit crazy, to say the least.

My sister Carrie, my daughter Mykael, and I are taking my mom Diane to Scotland for her 70th birthday. Our original plan was to spend a week in a cool Scottish accommodation of some kind. We wanted to have a comfortable home base from which to see the Scottish countryside. Well, I came up with the brilliant idea that we should spend 09.09.09 in Scotland, or at least be on a plane headed for Scotland. Long story short, Loch Cottage, the cottage that we booked in Scotland only books Saturday to Saturday. Because 09.09.09 is a Wednesday, this forced us (ooo! can you see how my arm is twisted behind my back???) to extend our trip from 7 days to 10.

Well, you can't go all the way to Europe and only stay for 10 days. (it clearly states this in Hollie's Official Handbook of Travel Rules!) Carrie and I decided an extended stay in Great Britain was in order. We will spend an additional 8 days traveling in England and Wales.

This seemed like the perfect opportunity for Tom and I to take the European vacation that Tom suggested in the summer of 2007. (He had a light bulb moment as he read my travel adventures while I was in Greece. I think it went something like "Hey, traveling sounds much better than working!")

He will meet Carrie and I for our last two days in London. The three of us will endeavor to photograph every key London sight available. (yes, we will be sure to "mind the gap"!)

Tom and I will fly from London to Prague (gotta love those cheapie European airlines). On our itinerary are Czech Republic, Croatia, and Italy. There is a possibility of a whirlwind tour of Vienna thrown in. We will stay in hostels in Prague and Cesky Krumlov, then we are off to an apartment within the walls of an ancient palace in Split, Croatia. After Split we will spend time in an apartment (with a balcony view of the Adriatic Sea!) south of Dubrovnik. After Dubrovnik we will move on to the splurge of our holiday.... a private apartment in Venice, Italy. (Bellissimo!) Following Venice will be a B&B farm stay between Florence and Siena. After that we will move on to an Organic Farm located between Rome and Naples. (look close, you can almost see Pompeii from there!) We will probably spend our last night in Rome, as we have a flight out at 10am.

Speaking of flights, that's how this post started. I was so busy booking other people's flights, I had a hard time finding one for myself. Enter the "flight wizard" Carrie, and voila! (I wonder how you say voila in Italian???) I have a flight to Edinburgh with my sister and mom, and a flight home with my husband! (did I say "thank you" enough times Care??)

I have just added a 6 day visit in Florida to the beginning of my trip (Introduction to Jet Lag 101). If you are doing the math, I will be gone from home for 7 weeks (yes, that is 50 days). Is there such a thing as TOO MUCH vacation??? I think I am gonna find out!