Gearing Up for Act II

Final countdown to European Adventure, Part II: 3 days! I spent a good deal of time yesterday carefully planning my 2 week adventure through Italy, Switzerland, and Germany before my semester in Prague begins. After buying an unlimited Eurail Global Pass, I will be taking more than 15 train rides during my little vacation for under $40 each. Not a bad deal, and I will be stationed at my cousin's apartment in downtown Florence for the most of my stay. Here is the itinerary so far: Florence, Rome/Vatican City (overnight), Venice, Milan, Zurich (overnight), Munich (overnight), Pisa, Siena, Cinque Terre, Naples/Pompei (overnight), and Bologna. WHEW!

I will be traveling on my own for the first time, but it will be a different adventure with the amount of day trips and long train rides. It's going to be a whirlwind 15 days, and I will be on a pretty strict budget to save for my semester in Prague. The study abroad organization at Charles University, where I will be studying in the fall, finally sent us our final details for the program. We spend our first night, August 30, in a hotel in Prague before moving into our assigned housing the next day. There are over 100 American college students on the roster, with 18 from Georgetown (and I don't know any of them). Next time I update will be from my cousin's apartment in Florence after heavy airline travel via New Orleans-Philadelphia-Munich-Florence. Buon viaggio to me!