10, 9, 8, 7 Days to Go!

So much for writing regularly until I left... but at least now hopefully there will be something interesting to say. Well, one can hope.
The past week was slow. I don't know if its because I am trying to savor the fun and good times with my kids, but it has just been a slow week. Romeo was in Jeju for about 10 days, so my evenings were blissfully boring. It's nice to relax and have lots of "me" time, but then again, it was a bit boring. Meanwhile, he was biking the entire circumference of Jeju, over 250 miles. o.O

So, what happened of note:
I sold most of my things I've been wanting to sell. Sold my humidifier to an interesting Aussie, my heater to Davi, my heating blanket to Meghan B, and a blender to Meghan F (all teachers at my school, living in my building). I still need to list my bike on Craigslist (available AFTER Chuseok holiday), but after that, I think I'll be done! Only 2 more weeks in my apartment. I can't believe it's already so close. Time literally flies.

I have been downloading a lot of ebooks to read in Europe. Right now I am about 1/3 through Gone Girl, which has been really good so far. I have about 20 more books in reserve. I feel a reading-frenzy coming on...

Speaking of Europe, though, I've been meaning to share the "plans". I intend to keep blogging while on the road. I am taking my iPad and bought a keyboard to use with it (thank you, Yongsan Electronics Market!), but I might have to write when possible and post several at a time when I get internet access. And photos might have to come later. We'll see.

So here are the details:

> Fly out of Seoul on Monday, September 30. Layover in Shanghai for 14 hours. See the city, take the fastest train in the world, go to the 80th story of the Shanghai World Financial Center, and see the Bund. Also, of course, get my photo taken at the coolest Asian Apple Store ;)

> Arrive in Frankfurt, Germany 6am Tuesday, October 1. Head to Erin's place for some rest and recovery. Then subsequently put our jetlagged bodies through the worst possible idea: Oktoberfest. Repeat on October 2 for Erin's birthday.

> Leave Frankfurt 8pm Wednesday, October 2. Arrive in Pisa, Italy, take a bus to Florence, Italy.

> Thursday, October 3. Spend the day with Romeo's brother and sister-in-law who are going to be finishing up their Italian vacation. We are booked for a city bike tour of Florence.

> Friday, October 4. Tour the city ourselves, maybe go to some museums, etc. Take a bus back to Pisa in the evening.

>Saturday, October 5. Tour Pisa and immediate surroundings.

>Sunday, October 6. Take a carshare ride down to Rome leaving in the evening. Arrive in Rome in the early hours of Monday, October 7.

>Spend around 3 days in Rome sightseeing and couchsurfing (still in the process of finding a host!)

> From Rome, begin a 30-day Eurolines Bus Pass. We haven't exactly figured out our route, but that's part of the fun of it, right!? It can take us to 51 cities in Europe with only a few restrictions (must travel internationally, can't go between cities in the same country. But that's fine.)

> At the moment we are thinking of these cities: Nice, Zurich, Munich, Bratislava, Budapest, Prague, Krakow, Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, and ending in Frankfurt. We were going to include Barcelona but it is pretty far out of the way and there are SO MANY places we want to see. It's going to depend a lot on bus schedules and availability. But, fingers crossed we can make it to around 12 cities.

> Leave Frankfurt, Germany on Monday, November 11.

> Arrive in Reykjavik, Iceland on Monday, November 11. Spend 3.5 days seeing Iceland (my goal: witness the Aurora Borealis)

> Leave Reykjavik in the evening on Friday, November 15.

> Arrive in New York City in the evening on Friday, November 15.

>Here we will part ways as Romeo will go on to Austin and I will spend the weekend with my wonderful friend Kristen.

>Leave New York City in the morning on Monday, November 18.

>Arrive in Austin noon Monday, November 18. Spend 4 days with Romeo and his family. Also, if any of my friends want to head to Austin that week, I would love to see some familiar faces!

> Leave Austin for Lubbock on Friday, November 22. Fingers crossed, I will be greeted by my family at the arrivals gate :) Maybe with some big poster of welcome, or even just Chick-fil-a. ;)

Some of these bullet points are set in stone (flights, mostly). But in between, especially on the busses, our plan is up in the air. I welcome any and all suggestions!

In the mean time, I am trying to enjoy the last few days with my kiddos. Coming soon: an ode to the little stinkers!