From Beignets to the Balkans – It’s Time to Hit the Road!
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 1 – Chamonix, France
Stop 2 – Barcelona
Stops 3-7 – A week at sea in the Mediterranean (Marseilles, Genoa, Naples, Sicily, Mallorca)
Stop 8 – Mykonos, Greece
Stop 9 – Kotor, Montenegro
Stop 10 – Dubrovnik, Croatia
Stop 11 – Ljubljana, 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!
Oh, I’m so behind! Finally getting a chance to start reading and catch up with you! 🙂 What a great itinerary.
Woo Hoo! My vicarious summer vacation! Looking forward to following you!