The plans are set!

 

Well tomorrow is the day it all begins. We head off on our epic 4 month adventure! I woke up this morning bright and early with final plans on my mind and I was finally able to book our last train reservation in Europe! It was a big relief to realize that all of our major reservations are set! After years of dreaming and imagining what a semester abroad with our family could look like we are actually doing it. We decided to do it for sure a couple years ago, started really planning summer of 2022, booked our first plane ticket (Rome to Fresno 😊) on August 15th 2022, and probably booked at least one thing almost every week since then. Now here we are February 1st the day before we leave and we actually have the vast majority of it planned. Booking that final train reservation felt like a huge accomplishment. If any of you are interested in the whole itinerary you can see that here. 

For the next 4 months we will go from Fresno to many Islands in the Caribbean, Ecuador, the Galápagos Islands, the Amazon rain forest, Edinburgh Scotland, the Isle of Skye, London, Paris, Milan, Lake Como, Switzerland, Cinque Terre, and finally Rome. 

We will go to 12 countries, 12 flights, an 8 day cruise in the Caribbean, boat rides between Galápagos Islands, 7 train trips, many buses, Ubers, taxis, rental cars, and subways. We will stay with friends in Puerto Rico (the Lausch’s), be hosted by Nazarene Missionaries in Quito (the Sigui’s), hang with great friends in Quito (the Passmore’s), celebrate Soren’s and Monique’s birthdays in the Highlands of Scotland, meet Monique’s parents in London for 4 nights there then go with them to Paris for another 4 nights, stay at a former student now colleague’s (Thanks Sophie!) house in lake Como, meet friends from Belgium in Lake Como, and finally meet Monique’s sister and family in Rome (The Bergstrom’s). It’s going to be a journey! 

If you like to follow along here we will have posts from all family members. 

Brandon