Excuse Me, Life!

It's hard to believe I've been back in the states for a little more than two weeks now. I've had a lot of people ask me how I made this trip happen. So here it is: 17 days... 4 countries... 5 cities... $3,000... with no help from a travel agency or booking tours. DESTINATIONS First came the destination planning. With Sarah living across the world in Prague we went back in forth for a while on ideas and looking up costs. We had a list of places we would like to visit and the flight costs are what made the choices for us. Prague, Czech Republic Venice, Italy Malta - tiny island country amidst the Mediterannean Sea  Madrid, Spain Pamplona, Spain We actually added Pamplona pretty last minute. We knew we wanted to experience the world's Mardi Gras AKA San Fermin Festival Running of the Bulls, but the flights were outrageous. Originally we would be in Madrid for about four days. Then we realized it was only a five hour bus ride away from Pamplona and went for it....

Oh, Spain. You leave me exhausted with all the excitement and long travels. It's been quite the adventure spending time in Madrid and Pamplona... Where to begin. The warm evening of Madrid welcomed us with a rain shower that quickly cooled things down from a day of the sun beating down. The condensation of an ice cold beer tap through the glass enticed us to dodge getting drenched. It was nice to sit down and relax over a beer and some pizza. We stayed in the most adorable flat in the heart of the city. It was very tiny but everything we needed. Our host was so helpful to give us maps and the inside scoop. With really only one day to spare before our next destination we planned to visit some museums.  As we walked the streets every window had signs reading "Rebajas" and we quickly translated that to SALE! The museums would have to wait because these girls were in shopping mode. ZARA got the best of me. It would be a challenge fitting everything in my bag ...

After three flights, 10 hours of flying and lapping people in security lines I made it! Oh and of course the long preparation for the trip which took lots of planning, booking things and figuring out the whole electricity converter, plug adapter and currency exchange. Not to mention packing your life for 17 days into a backpack.  I've spent the last three days in Prague. Everything seems so surreal considering a trip like this has been a dream of mine for so long. I highly recommend actually doing the things you so often talk and dream about. Where there's a will there's a way so forget saying "someday." When it comes to beer gardens, Prague is where it's at.  While at a beer garden by the river feeding ducks some French boys asked me how I get my teeth so white. Between that and the breeze from the river I was able to bust out some of my French, "Je ne sais pas. Il fait froid."  Sarah and I got lost around the castle and found a scenic route for nat...