My European Vacation
My company rolled out a sabbatical plan in November of 2013, in which any employee with at least eight years tenure in the company is eligible for 4 contiguous weeks of extra vacation. As I hit my 13 year anniversary in May, I am more than eligible.
I have been giving careful consideration to what I should do with my sabbatical basically since the concept was announced. I knew I definitely wanted to travel, preferably for a once in a lifetime type trip. Of particular interest was the idea of hiking in the Alps, which first crossed my radar back in 2012 courtesy of the Wall Street Journal of all places.
It's all coming together this year. I just bought my plane tickets, sealing an itinerary that looks something like this:
August 8 - Depart Cleveland.
August 9 - Arrive in Geneva, Switzerland.
August 12 - Begin the Tour du Mt. Blanc, via REI. This will take me from Chamonix in France through Italy, and Switzerland and back to Chamonix.
August 24 - The Tour du Mt. Blanc ends.
From here things get fluid. I'm definitely going to bart_calendar in Montpellier for a day or two. I've been told that Lyon is excellent, so I may spend a few days there first.
From there, I take the train west to Barcelona, Spain. I've wanted to go there for years, and can spend anywhere from days to a week there. Beyond that, I very much want to go to the Alhambra.
Really, the only truly scheduled thing for the second half of this trip is my flight out. I depart from Lisbon, Portugal on September 9, and I'd like to spend a few days in that city prior to departure.
Clearly, a lot of planning needs to happen. I'm looking forward to it. Feel free to pitch in with suggestions, especially for the cities I've outlined above or ones near them.
I have been giving careful consideration to what I should do with my sabbatical basically since the concept was announced. I knew I definitely wanted to travel, preferably for a once in a lifetime type trip. Of particular interest was the idea of hiking in the Alps, which first crossed my radar back in 2012 courtesy of the Wall Street Journal of all places.
It's all coming together this year. I just bought my plane tickets, sealing an itinerary that looks something like this:
August 8 - Depart Cleveland.
August 9 - Arrive in Geneva, Switzerland.
August 12 - Begin the Tour du Mt. Blanc, via REI. This will take me from Chamonix in France through Italy, and Switzerland and back to Chamonix.
August 24 - The Tour du Mt. Blanc ends.
From here things get fluid. I'm definitely going to bart_calendar in Montpellier for a day or two. I've been told that Lyon is excellent, so I may spend a few days there first.
From there, I take the train west to Barcelona, Spain. I've wanted to go there for years, and can spend anywhere from days to a week there. Beyond that, I very much want to go to the Alhambra.
Really, the only truly scheduled thing for the second half of this trip is my flight out. I depart from Lisbon, Portugal on September 9, and I'd like to spend a few days in that city prior to departure.
Clearly, a lot of planning needs to happen. I'm looking forward to it. Feel free to pitch in with suggestions, especially for the cities I've outlined above or ones near them.