Tim & Monique recently took a backpacking trip to Europe which lasted 3 weeks and spanned 20 cities, towns and villages in 4 countries.
The cities, towns and villages were London, Paris, Bern, Thun, Lauterbrunnen, Murren, Allmendhubel, Stechelberg, Gimmewald, Spiez, Milan, Pisa, Florence, La Spezia, Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, Monterosso and Genova. They each had a 40 liter backpack stuffed with clothes and supplies. Travel was fast and light. They flew to London through San Francisco, but once across the pond, relied on trains, buses and hiking to make their way through western Europe. The trip started off with a 4 hour layover in San Francisco, then a long flight to London (Tim still hates flying). Most of the rest of the traveling was by train or by foot. This included England, France, Switzerland and Italy. At the end of their time in Italy they took a small flight from Genova to London where they explored by foot along the Thames river seeing sights throughout the city. After a couple of days in London, they made the long return flight back to San Francisco with a short layover and then the short flight back home to the Pacific Northwest. The trip took about 2 years to plan with the help of friends and, of course, Aunt Mary. All travel arrangements were made by Tim and they never veered from the itinerary except for one flight delay out of Genova, which fell within the time allotted for travel back to London. All other arrangements were comfortable and allowed for a brisk pace to visit many places while spending quality time in the locations targeted. Longer travel such as this is a privilege for sure, but It's always nice to return after such an outing and appreciate your home base again. Tim encourages everyone to make your own adventure. It is very rewarding to plan, experience and complete your own trip while interacting with local culture and population. Tim is happy to discuss with you on subjects such as lodging, transportation, languages, cultures and more. He hopes you enjoy these blog entries and that you may be inspired to visit a faraway place yourself. There are many ways to spend this lifetime. Including travel will only enrich your sense of purpose and expand your views on many subjects.
