Final countdown...

So I'm going to give this blog thing a shot. I may quit after this first post, I may go the distance. I make no promises. Either way, I hope I can use this to keep everyone up to date on my trip without having to copy/paste the same story into 20 different emails. Those stories by the way, will be semi-filtered. I want to share all the absurd crap I do, but I may want to keep this blog as a personal record to read again some day, so I'll try to keep it all to vague references that will make for great stories later and hope I can drink away the gory details by next 4th of July. Let's just say expect a NC-17 rating.

I've got a lot of crap packed.

After 7 months of planning, 10,000 airline points, 125 emails, the time in here. In 7.5 hours we'll be gear-up on our way to Europe. It definitely has a much different feel than my last two international trips (maybe it's the whole NOT getting dumped on a plane with 3 days notice to work on cellphones in a 3rd world country). This one is pure excitement. We definitely set an ambitious itinerary (see below). We sort of go from fast-paced to low-key all along the way, so in the end I think we can pull it off (have the new livers on standby just to be sure). The Prague - Vienna - Venice stretch is currently not booked for the sake of being flexible.

Speaking of "we", my buddy Greg from UCSB has signed up to take on my 4th continent with me. You may remember him from such adventures as Shasta Slam 2006 or as the guy who moved out on me, bringing Jordt - along with the Superbowl song, moonshine, rockets, stolen keg shells, pasty white ass hanging off the balcony and a couch thrown off the second story - into our lives (anyone who says NOT to take that 5th year of college is a damn fool).

Anyway, the 'planned' itinerary:
Amsterdam (~7/10) - We may never leave, rendering the rest of the list pointless
Munich (~7/13) - Hofbrahuas!!!
Prague (~7/16) - Home of the original Budweiser
Vienna (~7/18) - Totally need to rock a Governator shirt
Venice (~7/19) - Hopefully I break my record of destruction within a year to cities below sea-level I've visited (Sorry New Orleans!)
Cinque Terre (~7/23) - Ocean view apt on the Italian Riviera? Yeah, that won't be awesome
Paris (~7/31) - Wedding the 28th, Tour de France ends on the 29th. I hope their medical care is socialized too...

Time to try to get some sleep...Catch ya in Amsterdam.