With stops planned in Spain, Italy, France and Greece, you can rest assured that I will be using terms like, Arrivederci!, Cin Cin!, Si Vous Ples, Bonjour! and Opa! liberally and likely in situations that do not warrant such expressions. Yes, undoubtedly, I will be the annoying American tourist that Europeans loathe. As a lot of you seem to agree, I have been given a lot of “forewarnings” and “advice” to keep in mind for my travels that I thought would be fun to jot down and also to address how I plan to handle these situations should they arise. A few are as follows:
Italians will freak out over your blond hair. Prepare to be hissed at a lot
KG: Become a fan of hats / bandanas. When hissed at, hiss back.
Be sure to carry copies of your passport in case yours is lost or stolen.
KG: 10 copies of my passport are currently concealed in various backpack compartments, taped to hats, hidden in clothing pockets, shoes, etc.
Spanish and Italian men are VERY aggressive, beware.
KG: Following four years of college soccer and growing up on a street of boys, it is unanimous that my elbows are unusually pointy and when used forcefully, they can inflict painful bodily injury.
You will meet a lot of Australians while traveling, they love to PARTY.
KG: Meet as many Australians as possible.
Cab drivers will try to take advantage of you.
KG: As soon as the cab door is shut, make an imaginary phone call to boyfriend about how even though I’ve been to [insert country name here] a hundred times, it still never seems to get old!
Pack less than you think you need.
KG: ummmmm … still working on that one …
On the other side of the coin, I have also been given loads of recommendations, sites to see, places to go, things to do and can’t-miss experiences. Thank you to everyone who took the time to chat with me and email over all of these great things. I am leaving with my own little insider’s guide thanks to you guys. And to hopefully add a little fun, I plan to photo blog on here with pictures of me doing all the things on this special insider’s list, as well a few of my own additions to the list for all you future travelers out there. Expect personal shout outs to accompany those pics that were a direct result from you! A few of these that subsequent posts will hopefully have a photo to accompany are as follows:
Jonny: (On Ibiza) "Go to Cafe Del Mar about an hour before sunset and drink a lot of sangria until an hour after sunset and let all your cares melt away."
Heather: "Quilombo Pub in Barcelona. It's very small, and there's a guy who sits in the corner and plays the guitar. On every table are maracas so you can play along to the beat."
Laura: Paris: "Eat a Nutella Crepe from a street vendor in Paris."
Jeff: (On Ios) "Stay at Francesco’s, it’s the best hostel in Ios. Right by “the square” and all the main bars and nightlife. It’s a great place to meet people, really fun, the best location on the island."
Amy: (On Santorini) "Buy a bottle of “Atlantis” red wine and take in 4-wheeler to Oia at the furthest tip of the island and watch the sunset."
Cooper: (On Mykonos) "Must go to the beach Agios Sostis for a tranquil lounging beach day – north part of island. Just above Agios Sostis is one of the island’s best-known secrets. A restaurant with no sign (Kiki’s). You will find it by the smoke coming out of the chimney. (Coop, if I find this, it will be a miracle)"
EVERYONE who has been to Italy: Cinque Terre, nuff said. (Thanks guys, it’s on my list)
The list goes on!! If you have any additions, please add in the comments below!! For a reference of the cities I plan to visit, here is my tentative schedule below:
May 28 - May 31: Ibiza, Spain
June 1 – June 3: Barcelona, Spain
June 4 – June 5: Alicante, Spain
June 6 – June 7: Madrid, Spain
June 8 – June 19: Rome, Tuscany, Florence, Cinque Terra, Venice, Italy
June 20 – June 22: South France (Cannes, Monaco, St. Tropez)
June 23 – June 28: North France (Paris, Champagne region, Burgundy) Potential weekend in London
June 29 – July 8: Athens, Myconos, Ios, Santorini, Greece
Here we go kids!! I plan to update this blog fairly regularly. (Ideally every day), but I am not sure what Internet access is going to be like, so you may get some backlogs all at once. What to expect from my posts? My goal is to provide an entertaining insight into this experience, both on personally introspective level and on a broader, more basic level cataloguing the adventures, people, places and hiccups along the way. Plenty of self indulgence, a dose of sarcasm and an open forum for full disclosure … should make for a good read to accompany your cup of coffee in the morning.Stay tuned, first stop, Ibiza!!!!
