Anchors and other planning devices
The Mister gave up Spain.
I gave up Italy.
We both gave up Scandinavia.
We picked some places we've been before ... and some countries we have never set foot in.
And so it went as we selected what would become our Grand Tour.
For some reason, from the start we knew we wanted The Grand Tour to be three months. We chose to include three "Anchors" in our trip, places we would stay put for 2-3 weeks, in order to become a part of the local area as much as a traveler can. From that Anchor location -- a house or a condo -- we will take day trips to see more of the surrounding area. When going from one Anchor to another, we will travel, travel, travel.
After a lot of planning -- and a lot of fun -- here's the journey we decided on, starting in Dublin and ending in Amsterdam:
I gave up Italy.
We both gave up Scandinavia.
We picked some places we've been before ... and some countries we have never set foot in.
And so it went as we selected what would become our Grand Tour.
For some reason, from the start we knew we wanted The Grand Tour to be three months. We chose to include three "Anchors" in our trip, places we would stay put for 2-3 weeks, in order to become a part of the local area as much as a traveler can. From that Anchor location -- a house or a condo -- we will take day trips to see more of the surrounding area. When going from one Anchor to another, we will travel, travel, travel.
After a lot of planning -- and a lot of fun -- here's the journey we decided on, starting in Dublin and ending in Amsterdam:
- arrive in Dublin, 2 nights there
- ANCHOR: staying 3 weeks in apartment in the Cotswolds (England)
- 8 days in Paris
- 4 days at a chateau, France
- 4 days in Lucerne, Switzerland
- ANCHOR: staying 2 weeks at house in Bavaria
- 3 days in Vienna, Austria
- 4 days in Prague, Czechia
- ANCHOR: staying 2 weeks in condo in Brugge, Belgium
- 3 days in Amsterdam, then home
