THE tour of 2011

Hello blog world!  First off I need to apologize for lagging in my posts lately.  As you all know, my time in Paris is nearing it's end (6 days!), so as you can imagine, I have been trying to finish my bucket list of things to see and do before it's too late.  Plus, my mom was just here for a wonderful 2 week visit and we spent 1 week up in Holland.  It was so great having her here and getting to experience La Vie Parisienne with her, instead of running around being tourists the whole time.  The weather wasn't in our favor much in Paris or in Holland, but we made do with what we had!  I will post more later about her visit because I am short on time now.  This blog is intended to let you all know my plans for the next 5 months!

As most of you know, while I am leaving Paris this Sunday, I don't actually return to California for quite some time.  I am taking 4 months to myself to explore and see the world.  Before that, however, I will be spending 3 weeks on the island of Corsica working as a nanny for another family with my friend Ally.  She and I leave Paris this Sunday to fly to Corsica, where we will stay in an amazing villa on the beach near the town of Ajaccio.  Together, we will be looking after 5 young kids and truly living up our last days as French citizens.  We return to Paris on August 19, where Jaimie will meet us to enjoy our last 4 days of being together, in Paris, where our friendship began (but DEFINITELY not where it will end)!  It is from Paris that Jaimie and I depart for 4 months of backpacking across the world.  Armed with 2 pairs of pants, 2 shorts, 8 shirts, 2 bikinis, 3 shoes, and not enough underwear, the two of us and our big backpacks set off.  Below is our itinerary.  All transportation has been booked, but no accommodations have been made yet.  If any of you know of anyone living in any of our destinations, it would be immensely helpful to have contacts where we are going, as well as maybe a couch to sleep on?!  We are so excited for our journey, and are even more excited to keep you all updated on it, so this blog will continue as our form of communication throughout the trip, so stay tuned!!

Aug 24-Aug 27                  Munich, GERMANY
Aug 27-Aug 30                  Salzburg, AUSTRIA
Aug 30-Sept 1                   Budapest, HUNGARY
Sept 1-Sept 6                    Split, CROATIA
Sept 6-Sept 19                  Rome, Cinque Terre, Portofino, Bologna, Milan, ITALY
Sept 19-Sept 30               Mykonos, Santorini, Athens, GREECE
Sept 30-Oct 6                    Hong Kong
Oct 6-Oct 11                      Taipei, Taichung, TAIWAN
Oct 11-Oct 27                   Bangkok, Chiang Mai, THAILAND
Oct 27-Oct 31                   LAOS
Oct 31-Nov 4                     Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM
Nov 4-Nov 9                       Siem Riep, Phnom Penh, CAMBODIA
Nov 9-Nov 16                    Bali, INDONESIA
Nov 16-Dec 1                    Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Dec 1-Dec 14                   Christchurch, Auckland, NEW ZEALAND

December 14 I arrive at San Francisco International Airport at 10:30am (after leaving New Zealand at 7:30pm that same day...weirddd!)