That Time Again

It’s that time again, time to plan our R&R trip.

We have several ideas tossing around our collective heads. The one we’ve considered the longest is heading to Italy, though now we’ve also begun considering Norway, Finland, or Scotland. We’re planning to head out early June and travel for about 3 weeks. What we want is a relatively family-friendly itinerary.



Since every place has Pros&Cons, the only way to decide is to make a list.
Italy:
Pros: Rome! Pompeii! Venice! No matter where you start or which direction you go, there are amazing things to see, do and most importantly eat.
Cons: The summers are getting worse in Europe, and we’re really going to need someplace with a different temperature than Togo. The cost of staying in Italy is fear-inspiring. Starting in Rome means heading North or South, not both. There’s that language thing too.
Norway:
Pros: Definitely cooler than Togo with average June temperatures about 17C. Fjords!
Cons: Again with the language. Same concerns with the cost.
Finland:
Pros: See Norway. But also, we don’t know anyone who’s been to Finland, and it’s somewhere, well, not everyone goes. Which would be great! There’s a cool castle outside Helsinki that looks like fun.
Cons: See Norway.
Ireland:
Pros: I’ve never been. No language problem, well, not really. Not too bad… right? We might even find a leprechaun in the Emerald Isle.
Cons: There are cons to visiting Ireland?
Scotland:
Pros: It’s gorgeous, and who wouldn’t want to tool around Scotland?
Cons: I’ve been to Scotland already. Haggas.
But those are all just fun ideas at this point. What we’ve really been considering and thinking about and hammering through is this:
Fly to Helsinki, Finland
Ferry to Tallinn, Estonia
Train through (stops along the way) Latvia and Lithuania
End up in Poland
See Warsaw and Krakow
Fly home
There’s a chance we’ll meet up with my parents. We might be able to convince Jeff to meet up with us. Maybe folks we know will be in the area. And even if all those things don’t pan out, sounds like a blast of a trip to me!
Whadja think?