the 5 W's (why, when, where, who, what)...and how :)

Hello all! First, thanks for reading my blog. This summer will be a pretty big undertaking and it helps knowing that people care about where I am and what I'll be doing. I'll be updating my blog as often as possible (meaning as often as I have internet access) so that anyone who wants to will be able to follow my travels through Europe. When possible I'll upload photos, other times I may just post a text-only tidbit from my ipod touch (useful little gadget has the internet, as long as I'm within range of a wifi connection.)

So what am I doing this summer exactly you may be wondering? I am traveling to Europe where I will do an almost 3-week backpacking trip through 10 countries, ending in Rome, Italy, where I will be living for the months of June and July. I'll head back stateside at the end of July with a few stops to see friends on the east coast before landing back in Iowa at the end of the first week in August. The backpacking trip is so that I can do a TON of observational research for my thesis, which concerns wayfinding differences among cultures in a common retail environment. I'll be studying wayfinding in grocery stores for this. Living in Rome is more for the experience itself and not my thesis, I'll admit, but I'll be working on pumping out some serious writing for my thesis during that time as well as probably taking a few more trips around Europe. Plus I think my mom and little sister may be visiting me there at the end of June. I'm looking forward to playing tour guide and hoping my Italian is up to the challenge by then!

Any suggestions and advice prior to my leaving would be welcome. Also, I hope that you'll leave comments on my blog...I won't have a phone there, and unless you have Skype, I probably won't be communicating much while I'm gone through methods other than the internet. It'd be nice to hear from you all!!

For now, I'll leave you with my detailed itinerary complete with everything except my actual train times and hostel locations, which yes, I've already chosen and booked. I'll be traveling alone from May 14 - June 3 and while in Rome I'll be living with other ISU students in apartments that are part of the College of Design's study abroad program in Rome. Don't worry though - I've got this so planned out there is not much to worry about! Promise!

May 14 - fly from Minneapolis to Barcelona, Spain
May 15 - arrive in Barcelona
May 16 - in Barcelona
May 17 - in Barcelona; take overnight train to Paris, France
May 18 - arrive in Paris
May 19 - in Paris
May 20 - take train to Brussels, Belgium
May 21 - in Brussels
May 22 - take train to Berlin, Germany
May 23 - in Berlin
May 24 - take train to Prague, Czech Republic
May 25 - in Prague
May 26 - take train to Vienna, Austria
May 27 - in Vienna; take overnight train to Belgrade, Serbia
May 28 - arrive Belgrade; take train to Sofia, Bulgaria; take overnight train to Thessaloniki, Greece
May 29 - arrive Thessaloniki; take train to Athens, Greece
May 30 - in Athens
May 31 - take train to Patras, Greece
June 1 - take overnight ferry to Ancona, Italy
June 2 - in Ancona
June 3 - take train to Rome, Italy

July 30 - fly from Rome to Orlando, Florida, USA
July 31 - in Orlando
August 1 - in Orlando
August 2 - in Orlando
August 3 - in Orlando
August 4 - fly from Orlando to New York, NY
August 5 - in New York
August 6 - fly from New York to Minneapolis, MN; drive to Iowa
August 7 - sleeeeeeeeeeeep