I am so excited to begin planning a trip overseas. I have been dying to travel extensively ever since I got back from my Morocco, Rome, and Paris trip in 2009 (the whole reason I started this blog). A number of months ago, my mom mentioned that she and my dad were planning a trip to Europe for their 30th anniversary and asked for my two-cents on locations to visit. We batted around ideas like Prague, Northern Italy, Germany and France, among others, and then didn’t talk about it for a while. My mom and dad settled on taking a two-week road trip in Paris, Belgium, and England and invited us to join them for at least part of the trip. Naturally we were delighted at the prospect and immediately began saving a few hundred dollars a month (not easy, especially since we’re still making car payments!). We are going this summer so we still have several months to continue saving.
So far, we have a general itenerary for the trip, and here it is:
Day 1: Arrive in Paris (hopefully get an arrival flight at the same time as my parents) and get in a rental car to drive to Trier, Germany. Along the way, stop and see a few sights in Reims and Luxembourg. Stay the night in Trier, the oldest city in Germany, founded in 16 BC!!
Day 2: See a German castle, drive towards Belgium, spend part of the day in Brussels. Check in to Vacation home in Bruges. Stay night in Bruges.
Day 3: Sightsee in Bruges, including canal tour, among other things. Stay night in Bruges.
Day 4: Spend the day relaxing on the beach on Oostende. Every vacation needs at least one relaxing day on the beach, weather permitting. Stay night in Bruges.
Day 5: Part ways with my parents (they will be taking a ferry across to England and staying there a few days). Take a train from Bruges or Dunkirk back to Paris. This day should be a Monday: get to Paris in time to visit Les Puces (Paris’s famous flea market!) Stay the night in Paris.
Day 6: Sightsee in Paris, climb the Eiffel tower, shopping, etc.
Day 7: More Paris. There is no such thing as too many days in Paris.
Day 8: Get to the airport on time to sadly bring our Eurotrip to a close.
Originally we had decided to go to Brussels, Bruges, and Amsterdam, but in a moment of clarity decided that just because I’ve been to Paris was an unfair reason to rule it out, especially since that’s where we really wanted to go. This will have been my third time in Paris–I can’t believe what a lucky girl I am. I am determined to see/do/eat new things for me, while at the same time show Doug all the best Paris has to offer–playing tour guide is going to be so exciting!
My Friend Staci 
Caaaaan’t wait! Especially for Paris!!
That sounds super fun! I’ll be studying abroad in Paris for three months and I will be blogging about it once I decide on a user name xD After reading this, I want to check out that flea market!
Vera, I can’t wait to follow your blog!!!
I still want to do our “travel across” Europe trip with you sometime in this lifetime, where we start our way in Spain, cross up to France, Germany and then down to Switzerland and Italy. Between the two of us, I’m sure we can manage the mishmash of languages.
Oh gosh, I’m so jealous. Hubby & I went to France and Portugal in 2010 but because I had to go to Hungary (alone) for a month for my studies, we didn’t have the funds to travel anywhere together. Hopefully next fall/winter because I will be back in Hungary for 4 months and that’s too long to be apart. We’re trying to save so he can come visit, at least for a couple months.
But I am super jealous of your plans. Can’t wait to see photos!!
Looks like an awesome trip. I love Paris (we went this year and the puces were my favourite).