Preparing for Europe Trip

For a small town boy, who's never been outside of North America, a 3 week trek to Europe is pretty intimidating. Don't get me wrong, I'm super excited, but I'm so nervous.

I'm flying direct from Ottawa to London this Saturday night, where I'll stay until Wednesday. Wednesday afternoon I'm flying to Istanbul and staying until next Monday. However, there's the possibility of a quick trip to Kazmir on Monday before leaving. Then it's off to Brussels where I'll be until Friday. On Tuesday, we're off to Gent for the afternoon. On Wednesday, we're training to Frankfurt and back. Details of this 'business portion' of the trip are being left sparse intentionally.

Then I'm off on my own, training to Amsterdam until Sunday morning. I found a 4-star hotel for $120 CDN a night, which is a kilometer from city center. On Sunday morning, I'm off to Paris where I'll stay in another 4-star hotel, less than a kilometer from the Arc de Triomphe, which was again $120/night. I might be visiting one last company on Monday in Paris, but will generally be enjoying what the city has to offer. Then I'm flying back to Ottawa next Wednesday afternoon (arriving next Wednesday morning).

All my travel arrangements are in place, and I'm just picking up a few last things for the trip...including my biggest splurge in a long time. I'll keep that a secret until tomorrow.

My plan is to update this blog with details from my trip (minus the business stuff) over the next few weeks. All of the hotels I'm in have wireless. Look forward to telling you all about the travels of this small town boy...