Saturday, January 24, 2015

european cities we're visiting!


On March 10th, my boyfriend and I will be traveling to London to begin our European backpacking trip. We've been saving and planning for years and are super excited to say the least. 

One thing that I LOVE about blogging/social media is the availability to chat with people all over the world. So that's where you come in! It would be so helpful if I could get any tips, tricks, advance from any of you. Whether you've traveled to any of the cities below, or if you live there! The likelihood of us traveling to cities other than the ones listed below is high, so if you have any other suggestions of places to visit, please share. I really appreciate your feedback!

London 
Manchester 
Dublin 
London 
Hampshire 
Brighton 
Bruges 
Amsterdam 
Copenhagen 
Berlin 
Krakow 
Prague 
Vienna 
Salzburg 
Munich 
Neuschwanstein 
Venice 
Naples 
Rome 
Siena 
Florence 
Milan 
Cinque Terra 
Nice 
Cote du Rhone 
Barcelona 
Seville 
Lisbon 
Madrid 
Paris 
Bath 
London 
Liverpool 
Edinburgh  
Paris

THANK YOU!

- Christina

36 comments:

  1. So many places! I'm so jealous. I definitely want to do a back-packing trip at some point or another in the next five years!

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  2. pickpockets are everywhere! they can even smile and talk to you while they are taking your money out of your backpack! I know from experience.
    get a money/passport belt to wear under your clothing and in the front.
    make an extra copy of each others passports/plane tickets and each of you wear them in case one set gets lost.
    get a brita water filter bottle for drinking...it's a good precaution.
    take stomach med. incase you get the runs...
    More to come later.
    love you...
    Aunt Sharon

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  3. Oh yes, you will see the most beautiful churches in the world! Rome, Sienna, Paris,
    actually, all this in 3 months sounds insane ....I hope you have time to really visit some of these place and not just run through...to get to the next!!! Ireland is lovely! Vienna has delicious pastry and coffee!
    Krakow is where your great grandmother is from...bring me something from Poland...a beautiful photo you take! Venice...the museum and the gondola is a must! Are you sure you have enough money????

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  4. Hey look you're gonna have a LONG LONG trip, I wish to you to have an amazing trip that I'm sure you're not gonna forgive, enjoy the most you can, and good trip. :)

    Check my blog & don't miss my latest post because I talk about some BAGS that are really great!

    https://thegarconnestyle.wordpress.com/

    Aldo

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  5. I hope that happens for you! I will definitely be documenting my trip on this blog, so you can travel vicariously through me ;)

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  6. I'm sorry you were pickpocketed, Aunt Sharon! But it happens... These are all great tips! Thank you!

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  7. Yeah, you're right. We might not get to every city on the list. I knew I am Polish because of the Richards' side of the family, but that really great to know that my great grandmother is from Krakow! Keith and I have been saving for years and he budgeted it all with the help of guidebooks so we will be good money-wise :) & we'll be smart with our money!

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  8. Yup that's the idea! A LONG LONG trip. :) I can't wait!

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  9. What an awesme thing! You're coming to Barcelona! You are going to Love this city so much! I'd recommend you visit the Plaça del Rei, I have always thinked that is a perfect square to have a nice afternoon. And if you get some good weather, go to the beach!

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  10. Your trip sounds like such a dream! I lived in Spain for a year and have also studied there a few times as well as gone on vacation...there are lots of beautiful places to visit in Spain. I think there are quite a few day trips you could take using Madrid and/or Sevilla as your base. Fo example, from Madrid you could take a train to Segovia (north) or Toldeo (south). Of the two, I prefer Segovia..it's the cutest little old town. It seems as if they are stuck in time there---you'd want to check out the aqueduct and the castle there. In the Andalucia region of Spain, Granada is cool, I also like Ronda.
    I see your visiting Lisbon, too! I LOVE Lisbon and Portugal in general. It is such a charming country. If I were you I'd try to see more of Portugal than just Lisbon. My husband and I took a road trip from Malaga, Spain (where we lived at the time) to Lagos, Portugal. The beaches along the Southern coast are beeaaauuuutiful. Even better than Lagos, was Sagres, which is the most Western point on the Southern coast. You look out and you feel like you are at the end of the world. It's honestly breathtaking. What's cool about Sagres a lot of it is like untouched countryside, and then out of nowhere it just opens up to the ocean. There are several nice beaches there. Back to Lisbon, there's a great day trip you could take to Sintra from there, and check out all of the old castles. Up north is Porto, which I also LOVED. I honestly don't know how to describe it, but there is something so magical about Portugal. It's funny because I never thought about visiting there, but when I lived in Spain, I went there twice and each time I had a distinct, magical experience. Do I sound cheesy? It's true, though! Ok I'm rambling on too much, but if I remember any specifics that I want to share with you, I'm sure I'll be commenting again soon!

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  11. I used to do a series on my blog called "Thursday Travel Shot", and I had quite a few photos from Spain and Portugal... Here are some of the links so you can get an idea what some of these places are like:

    Granada, Spain: http://amateandarottweiler.blogspot.com.ar/2013/09/thursday-travel-shot-of-past.html
    Sintra, Portugal: http://amateandarottweiler.blogspot.com.ar/2013/10/thursday-travel-shot-of-past_17.html
    Guimaraes, Portugal: http://amateandarottweiler.blogspot.com.ar/2013/11/thursday-travel-shot.html
    Sagres, Portugal: http://amateandarottweiler.blogspot.com.ar/2013/12/thursday-travel-shot_19.html
    Malaga, Spain(my home for a year! god, i miss that place): http://amateandarottweiler.blogspot.com.ar/2013/12/thursday-travel-shot.html
    Ronda, Spain: http://amateandarottweiler.blogspot.com.ar/2014/02/travel-shot-thursday.html
    Porto, Portugal: http://amateandarottweiler.blogspot.com.ar/2014/04/thursday-travel-shot.html

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  12. WOW this is so exciting. I've never been to any of these cities so I really hope you blog about it :)



    Jessica
    the.pyreflies.org

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  13. Yah, I'm really excited for Barcelona! What is there to do at Plaça del Rei? Thanks for suggestion!

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  14. I always enjoy your comments on my blog :) You're so thoughtful leaving so much detail. I'm super excited for Spain. I will be going there pretty early on in my trip. We do plan making cities our homebase and taking day trips, so that tip is helpful! I really want to see the beaches in Portugal. Castles are something else that I really want to see, too! Thank you for such a great comment, Chrystin!

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  15. OMG Sagres, Portugal. So beautiful! I love your photos. Ronda looks beautiful, too! & I love how a lot of the buildings are multiple colors.

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  16. Oh my gosh I am SO jealous! What an amazing adventure. You are going to have such an awesome time. I have been to Rome, Paris, Florence & Munich. Munich was my FAVORITE! I've never really been able to explain why, but I just loved it.


    I definitely recommend visiting a concentration camp. We went to Dachau. It's truly a life changing experience.


    And just hit up every museum you can! You can get into lots of them for free.


    Have a BLAST! I just started following you on Instagram so I can stalk your adventure hahaha

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  17. Ahh you are going to have the best best time!! I can't believe how many different cities you two are visiting. I'm already looking forward to the blog posts :) Dublin is wonderful! Hit up all of the national museums. They are all fantastic. The Book of Kells and Trinity College Library are also must-sees. Prague is the most beautiful city--it's also extraordinarily cheap, so save any major drinking/splurging for that stop. Congratulations once again on the major trip!! It's going to be such an incredible experience!


    The What's In Between

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  18. WOOO HOOO SOOO excited for you! The Dingle Peninsula was our favorite place in Ireland and is SOOO amazing!

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  19. Oh my goodness! That sounds like the trip of a lifetime! Hope you have a blast :)

    Circus & Bloom

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  20. Good to know about Naples. I definitely want to visit Capri! It was a setting for one of the films I studied in college. Truly breathtaking on film, so I can only imagine what it looks like in real life.


    Yeah, the amount of time I'll be in Europe, it's highly likely I'll be stolen from. But yah, you're right. Just budget it in ;)


    I've been doing a lot of research on veganism in Europe & I know it will challenging but I've found a lot of vegan restaurants throughout so I'm actually excited.


    Thanks for all of your tips, Elizabeth!

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  21. While watching Rick Steves' episodes, I'm always fascinated with the cities in Germany. I'm sure I'll loved Munich, too. & Germany is really vegan friendly, too! We will visit a concentration camp. Maybe we'll go to Dachau. We haven't decided on that. Thanks for the follow on Insta! I followed back. :)

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  22. Yah, we may not get to all of the cities because this is mostly a wish list. We may get comfortable in one city and not leave for a while, which will limit our cities. I will definitely blog about it! Thank you for all of your tips!

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  23. Yes! I'm excited! Thanks for visiting, Hanna.

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  24. It definitely will be. Thanks for visiting, Natalie!

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  25. You're welcome! I am glad you already have some vegan options found!

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  26. it's really awesome! I've been to most of the cities and they are amazing! brighton is a little gem near the beach, London is the most beautiful city on earth but let's talk about my Italy!! I'm sure you'll love it. Venice is stunning, and prepare to get lost because it has got super tiny streets and even we locals have lots of problems about it(: then Florence is probably the most beautiful one, I suggest you to go to il Giardino di Boboli, it's a huge old park there. Siena and all Tuscany is breathtaking. Rome is full of history, anywhere is great. Naples is more chaotic then Rome, but you have Capri which is pretty touristic so for something more quiet I suggest the islands next to it which are Ischia e Procida. Milan is completely different, I lived there but I didn't like it, Brera is the only worth seeing district. then Le Cinque Terre are really nice.

    Wish you a good trip, can't wait to see some pictures and if you need some suggestions on Italy let me know<3

    Cate // kate/idoscope

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  27. We're going to Brighton because that have this HUGE vegan festival. I'm super excited for it. Also, Zoella from YouTube is from there, so I've seen a lot of videos of the city and it's super adorable! Can't wait.


    That's awesome that even the locals get confused in Venice! That's very comforting ;) il Giardino di Boboli looks so pretty! All of these suggestions are so helpful! Thank you! I will definitely use you as a resource if need be. I appreciate the offer. Thank you, Cate!

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  28. I have! I have a whole pinboard dedicated to it ;) and there are some Barcelona posts in there, too. http://www.pinterest.com/city_loveee/vegan-europe/

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  29. I can imagine. maybe you'll bump into zoella by accident(;
    haha you're welcome!

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  30. I am so excited you and Keith! I can't wait to follow along via Insta and your blog!

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  31. It's really exciting! I love planning trips and travelling with notebooks full of tips :)
    I'm from Florence and I've also lived in Paris and Milan. I agree with another commenter on Milan, it's definitely not as pretty as most Italian cities and yes, the only area with a certain charm is Brera.
    As for Florence, my favourite neighbourhood for everything - restaurants, cafés, shops or just walking around - is San Frediano. It's downtown (on the same bank as Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli garden) but it's less touristy and crowded. Piazza Santo Spirito - the main square - is really nice at night, lots of music and people hanging out.
    Tuscan food is mainly meat-based...but there are a couple of good vegetarian restaurant in Florence. My favourite is Il Vegetariano, Via delle Ruote 30r . It's delicious and always offers a few vegan dishes and desserts. Also, try the vegetarian/vegan stand inside the Central Market!
    Oh, and gelateria "Perché no", Via dei Tavolini 19r, it's one of the best in Florence and they also have vegan ice cream.
    Have a great trip and let me know if need more tips :)!

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  32. Sounds amazing! I live in Dublin and I Can give some tips om Edinburgh, Paris, London, Naples and a few otherS. Will e-mail You.

    Trish
    www.reservedforruby.com

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  33. YAY! Thanks, Trish! Excited for the e-mail!

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