From Beignets to the Balkans – It’s Time to Hit the Road!

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Eiffel Tower Paris France

My business trip to New Orleans is all done and tonight it’s time to fly off to Europe to start my big summer travel extravaganza around the Balkans!

I’m so ready to focus solely on travel and my dear readers (big hugs to you all) for the next several weeks. My first stop is Chamonix, France for the Mont Blanc Marathon this Sunday and it will take some doing to get there.

Thanks to absurdly high summer airfares, I had to get creative in my flight routings.

Tonight I’ll be flying overnight to Paris and then connecting tomorrow to Barcelona (the cheapest destination from Atlanta when I booked). Then another connection to Geneva reaching Chamonix – with a little luck – by nightfall.

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to book through these links, I receive a small commission, which I will undoubtedly blow on more flights (it’s a vicious cycle).  All of this internet voodoo takes place at no additional cost to you. 

After a day of recovery, race day is Sunday morning and I should mention that I’m probably more under-trained than I’ve ever been for a marathon – so this should be interesting.

Wish me luck!

After the race, strenuous activities for the rest of the month will be kept to an absolute minimum.

Here’s the itinerary break-down for the remainder of the trip:

Stop 1Chamonix, France

Stop 2 – Barcelona

Stops 3-7A week at sea in the Mediterranean (Marseilles, Genoa, Naples, Sicily, Mallorca)

Stop 8Mykonos, Greece

Stop 9Kotor, Montenegro

Stop 10Dubrovnik, Croatia

Stop 11Ljubljana, Slovenia

Stop 12 Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina

Stop 13 Belgrade, Serbia

Stop 14 Skopje, Macedonia

Stop 15 Sofia, Bulgaria

Stop 16 Corfu, Greece

Stop 17 Bucharest, Romania

Stop 18 Amsterdam, the Netherlands

As usual, it’s a blisteringly-ambitious itinerary for 5 weeks (would you expect anything less from me??). But, of course, I do like to make the most of every trip! 

I’m especially excited about my two weeks in the Balkans as it’s an area of the world I haven’t seen much of before.

My friend Shannon – who you may remember from the past two summer trips – will again be joining me this summer.  We’ll meet up in Barcelona after the race and travel together through the Med, Greece, Montenegro and Croatia before she heads home from Ljubljana. 

Then, I’ll set off for the rest of the Balkans on my own.  

With less than 24 hours to pack between trips, today is going to be a whirlwind – after all, I have been on the road for business for most of the past month. 

Today’s agenda includes: Pre-marathon massage, mani/pedi, laundry, haircut, packing, hold the mail – so much to do. Next update from France tomorrow!

2 Comments

  1. Oh, I’m so behind! Finally getting a chance to start reading and catch up with you! 🙂 What a great itinerary.

  2. Woo Hoo! My vicarious summer vacation! Looking forward to following you!

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