20 Countries in Nine Months
07. May, 2008 
5 Comments
Today, Boston became officially lickable (yes, I will lick a city if I want to). The apple blossoms are out, the sun is shining, everyone is taking their lunch outside on the grass and I am deeply in love with this city again. I want to eat it up. So, it’s no small irony, that I would be sitting here in JP Licks, the ice cream parlor/cafe du jour, that allows me to down large quantities of iced mochas, while connecting however feebly to the internet.
I’m online, but not entirely connected. You see, I’m doing the very hard part of my travel planning– picking where to go. I will be in Madrid for 3 months, which isn’t very long, so I have to make choices: hard ones. Is it Paris or London? Switzerland or Prague? Greece or Malta? So many cities to lick, so little time.
Apart from my personal desire to see or revisit certain places, I have to also consider what I can write about. Well scratch that. What people will pay me to write about. I need an angle. Europe has been dry humped by enough backpacker/travel writer/guidebooks it’s starting to feel bad about itself (Don’t worry Europe, I don’t care if you give it up for every frat boy with eurorail card, I still want to be inapproprate with you). So I’m a busy little bee, writing query letters galore, trying to land some work in advance. So I’ve put together this tenative itinerary, subject to change, certain trips may not be available in your location, you do not need to purchase to win.
MADRID: Home base 6/30/08 – 9/20/08
Side trips:
07/07/2008 Paris
07/21/2008 Rome
08/04/2008 Amsterdam
08/18/2008 San Sebastian
08/25/2008 Greece
09/08/2008 Prague
VERMONT: 9/20/08-9/29/08
MEXICO CITY: Home base 9/30/08-3/30/08
Side trips:
10/20/2008 Belize
11/24/2008 Peru
12/08/2008 Costa Rica
12/22/2008 Brazil
01/05/2009 Colombia
01/19/2009 Ecuador
02/09/2009 Argentina
02/23/2009 Nicaragua
03/09/2009 Chile
03/23/2009 Panama
VERMONT: 4/1/08
If you are a travel writer, do you always have your assignment sorted before you go, or do you just hope for the best?
It’s nice to meet another Bostonian traveler! I’ll be in Europe this summer too….small world…
Hey Matt! It’s like the week of the Bostonians… I’m running to people online who are A. From Boston and B. Going to Europe- left and right…
We should start a club. It most certainly would include beer and a strong proclivity towards saying ‘wicked’ and dropping our ‘r’s.
Hey Christine,
Just thought I would leave a little tip. I was fortunate to study abroad in Eastern Europe last summer. If you are looking for cheap, but amazing places to go you should really check out more in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland. I saw that you are going to Prague (sunrise on Charles Bridge is amazing!), but there is a little known city called Olomouc that is about a 3 hour ride away. It is a little hole in the wall town, but has amazing history and beauty. Just thought I would give a little tip! I truly admire what you are doing and I wish you the best of luck!
Lauren
@Lauren: Thanks for the tip! That’s a great idea, and I’m always open to suggestions. I’m actually hoping that my itnerary becomes better formed once I get there and learn more, because right now it’s so broad…
Good choice, I hope you had an amazing experience in Peru like me. Last year I made a tour to this country and I was delighted with its food, its people and all the tourist attraction it has. I could know so many places like Cusco, Puno, Arequipa, Lima and Trujillo that have history and important archaeological sites. For me this trip it wouldn´t be the same without Libertador Hotels, one of the most important hotel chains in Peru. If you have the opportunity to travel to this amazing country you must stay in this hotel. For more information you can visit its website http://www.libertador.com.pe