How to Travel Europe

Got my Visa and ticket today and we proceeded with our orientation which was handled by the travel agency.

The speaker gave us useful tips for our travel in Europe. She briefed us with our itinerary, mentioning activities as a group and the allotted free time for ourselves to spend on whatever we want to do or wherever nearby places we can visit in a short while.

We fly to Amsterdam as entry, then to "Lisbon, Fatima in Portugal", then to "Salamanca, Burgos in Spain", then to "Loyola, Lourdes, Nice in France" and finally to "Assisi, Cascia, the Vatican City and Rome in Italy" then via Amsterdam going back to Manila.

Money used is exclusively Euro, American dollars are not accepted, though such can be exchanged for Euro there. She also mentioned that we can bring some biscuits and noodles for snack but definitely no large amount of liquid in our hand-carried luggage. All containers with liquid must be placed in a transparent resealable (zip-lock) plastic bag, total quantity not to exceed 1 liter.

Now, we are ready to see Europe in autumn.

I went to hear mass at Paco Park Church in Manila, Philippines before flying to Europe, to ask for a safe trip, what with typhoons coming and going.

Europe Vacation Travel

Whew! My visa is for claiming two days from now, that's a Tuesday. Then we have an orientation by the travel agency on Thursday.

My friend, who will also be going with his spouse, sent me a reminder of the scheduled orientation. I will be seeing them soon.

It's becoming more real as the days go by. Europe here I come. However, I am also thinking of the things I will be leaving unattended for half a month. On top of these, I have just started preparing for the trip, just the very basic. I wanted to complete the orientation first so I can get the whole picture of all the things needed.

The anticipation with a dash of anxiety before a trip, maybe these are only for those like me who really do not travel by themselves a lot.

Europe Travel Trips, Travel Preparation

I promise to pack light, though it's going to be cold there.

I selected appropriate clothing. Got no good long-sleeved shirts available so I picked-out a light sweater, a vest, one heavy long jacket and a muffler. Mittens and a cap are suggested but I don't want to buy for now. I decided to use a pair of comfortable, black shoes, semi-formal but good and study for long walks. I'll bringing an extra pair of informal shoes and slippers as well.

Bought the adapters that are used for electrical outlets in Europe, the ones with rounded pins. I also checked my battery chargers, my cellphones, one of which I use as a camera, and my video recorder. Got myself a SIM card with roaming services to be able to contact people at home as I visit four countries (Portugal, Spain, France and Italy).

Got my suitcase out of the closet plus a big bag for me to use as a hand carry luggage then attached distinguishing ribbons and name tags (with my address and contact numbers). I bought a small carry-all/ expanded-organizer thingy shoulder bag from "Seen-On-TV" Shopping, convenient in keeping my passport, airline ticket, wallet, keys, hairbrush, reading glasses, sun glasses, tissue, hand sanitizer, pen, small notebook, make-up and other ladies' necessities (which are little things but kinda numerous). I did not forget toiletries and my contact-lenses case and solutions.

I am really getting mixed emotions right now. Half a month of not seeing my family (and my dogs) sounds alien to me.