Here’s my plan:

1.      Paris.  I want a real croissant.  I love those things and I plan to eat bunches.  And I’ll take some pics of old stuff, like the Eiffel tower, Arc de Triomphe, etc for mom.  I view Paris as a see-and-get-out project, much like Rome and Athens, and I will be there for a scant 2 days.

2.      Speaking of Rome and Athens, I plan to spend some time in both, but first I have 3 weeks of studying European Union economic policy, law, trade, and/or whatever else they have planned in the faculty-led study abroad program I am enrolled in with my MBA program.  The plan is: study-abroad for 3 weeks in Switzerland, at a university slightly outside of Lausanne.  For geographic reference, Lausanne is about a 40-50 minute-ish train ride from Geneva in the French area of Switzerland.  Switzerland is the eighth richest country in the world, according to the World Bank, behind Luxemburg and most of those countries that make Volkswagens.  I’ll be spending the bulk of my time here, but know little about the agenda.  I have heard we will be attending a Ben Harper concert and will be guests at various wineries.  I’ll post Alps pics and what-not.  Switzerland will be the only time I am around Americans I know.  After 3 weeks with watches, fondue, and school, I will head south on my own.

3.      Italy for about 9 days.  Riviera, Tuscany, Amalfi Coast are all on the menu (and a ton of tomatoes and olive oil).  After that, I head to Bari and take an overnight boat to Greece and end up on the…

4.      Peloponnese peninsula.  I’ll hang out in some quaint fishing villages for a few days and then plan to do something completely idiotic: island-hop in the Cyclades during the high-season.  For the uninitiated, all of mainland Greece and most of Europe, spend “holiday” in the Greek Islands (specifically, the Cyclades) and accommodations are packed, but I have read too much good stuff about Santorini, and heard too much about Crete to assuage my interest in seeing these places.  And a hotel in Santorini during the high season is more than 200 euro, so begging and pleading will be my way to a bed.  I imagine seafood and yet more olive oil here will be ingested.  Greece for 9 days.  Athens for 2 days and then back to the Bush Peso and 5 dollar gas.  Yay.

45 Days and 45 Nights out of a single backpack.  So get a burger and some freedom fries ready for my return.  But this summer, it’s cheese, tomatoes, and ridiculous amounts of bread.

Wish me luck!

 

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