The Gift of Travel (I'm off to Europe with Contiki!)

Happy Holidays, everyone.

I've been truly blessed this year with an incredible opportunity to go on a trip with Contiki Holidays, a travel-vacation company for 18-35 year-olds with tours to Europe (Greek Island Hopping included!), Australia, New Zealand, Bali, Russia, Egypt, Mexico, and Asia. Phew!

As I'm taking a break from helping my family with Christmas feast preparations, I wanted to update and let ya'll know where I'll be from 12/26-1/7 with Contiki.

I depart from LAX for Munich on 12/26 on a 6am flight (mmm, what an hour).

Sat 12/27 - Arrive Munich. Explore & check out the Hofbrauhaus beerhall for dinner. Yo ho.

Sun 12/28 - Munich to Innsbruck via Hopfgarten (Austria). We'll visit the ski village of Hopfgarten for lunch and then a trip to the top of the ALPS! Then we'll go to Innsbruck and wander this adorable town & soak in the snow-capped Alps that will surround us. I hope it'll be just like "The Holiday" - cute & quaint & warm (ya, I know. "Aww!").

Mon 12/29 - Munich to Venice. Gondola rides, St. Mark's square, delicious pizza & even better wine, and a little Italian romance, perhaps? Hah.

Tues 12/30 - Venice to Florence. Ah, Tuscany. Good thing my friends and I just watched "Under the Tuscan Sun"! Although it'll be a bit colder, we'll enjoy our cobble-stone strolls and reminiscings of the Renaissance.

Wed 12/31 - Florence. A full day! With my fellow Contiki go-ers, we will have a tour of this beautiful city, including the Piazza della Signoria. I'll have to watch my wallet as we'll have tons of free time to shop. Oh, and did I mention...

NEW YEAR'S IN FLORENCE, ITALY! It's pretty sweet, no? I'll be counting down 2009 in a very...bella..city...oh man do I need to start learning some Italian.

Thurs 1/1 - Florence to Lucerne, Switzerland - an absolutely BREATHTAKING place. Serene, medieval, LOVELY. I can't use any other words to describe it. I've been to Lucerne before, but never during the winter, and I'm tantilized by the opportunity to warm myself up with some Swiss hot chocolate. Mmm =)

Fri 1/2 - Lucern to Paris. We'll drive past vineyards and arrive to a sparkling Eiffel Tower. Sigh :)

Sat 1/3 - Paris. Another free day to explore! Perhaps I'll visit the Louvre, Notre Dame, or maybe stroll down the Champs Elysees? Dinner in the Montmarter district with my fellow Contiki go-ers.

Sun 1/4 - Au revoir a Contiki. But...

1/4 - 1/7 - Family time with my cousins in Paris!



Contact Info:
-I will not have a phone, but will use phone cards.
-I will be mostly communicating via email from the many Internet cafes available in Europe
-Email me at kristinaxlee@gmail.com!

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On the preparation note, my 44 lb. suitcase is packed with lots of layerable clothes to keep me *hopefully* warm and toasty in the foggy/rainy/snowy streets of Europe. Not sure if I'm prepared for this kind of cold, as the "California cold" is to be scoffed at by others, but hey - gotta live it up and experience new things, right?

The next time you'll hear from me, I'll be across the world. Look forward to new posts!

Merry Christmas.

Ciao,
Kristina