Let's Go Europe, part 2

It seems like forever (but was only five years) ago, that six second-semester seniors decided to take three weeks of January and backpack through Europe.

It was my first backpacking/hostelling experience, and although we had some minor mishaps (two cases of food poisoning, one stolen backpack, one hostel with very cold outdoor shower stalls, an overly zealous customs agent, and many many train-chasing episodes) overall it was a good one. We saw parts of England, France, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain, and got a pretty decent idea of what we'd want to do when we went back.

Last year, I went on a week-long whirlwind trip through Scandinavia (Denmark, Finland, and Sweden), but somewhere in the back of my head I was still sorting out the logistics of a second major European backpacking vacation. Finally, last week, four of us sealed the deal by buying plane tickets for this September. We'll be flying into Paris and out of Lisbon, and we plan to see as much of France, Spain, and Portugal as we can, in two and a half weeks. I'm already counting the days.