Change of Plans

The trip hasn't even started, and there has already been a change of plans:

• The flight got pushed back a week because of the bad weather, but it just gave me more time to spend with everyone here =)
• While Massive Attack tickets were within price range- plane tickets to London for 3 days were not.... which leads me to my next point
• Cheap plane tickets may be '8.99 Euros' but when you add on taxes and surcharges- the cheapest flight is still going to be around 60 Euros for a round trip
• Similarly, tickets to Morocco are much cheaper and more convenient than tickets to Egypt, so I will most likely be going to Morocco... Tangier? We'll see.
• Not so much a change, but is related to our travels- I will attach a brief itinerary that was made on a glorious spreadsheet soon =)
  

In packing land there are also a couple of interesting things:

• Reduce, reduce, reduce! It seems like common sense, but even my attempts at reducing have resulted in 2 check-in pieces and 1 carry-on piece
• *Wants to pull hair out*

Tomorrow I will be going to Houston and staying with a couple of my awesome friends- Tian and Duke! Thanks again for letting Lena and I crash before we head off to Italy. It also makes leaving Baton Rouge a little bit easier knowing that I will be going somewhere with friends.

Preparing for Italy

For anyone keeping up with this- a quick summary. I will be

• Studying abroad in Milan, Italy from January to June at Bocconi University
  
• Turning 21 while I'm over there, so I hope I get to do something AMAZING
• Leaving Jan 11, 2010
  
• Having an experience of a lifetime!
  

Also, I really love lists. I believe it's one of the best ways to get things across in a succinct manner. It is a lot quicker to type out as well, which I am sure I will appreciate once I get over there.

Things to Buy:

• Electric blanket
• Fast drying towel
• Space bags (maybe?)
• More allergy medicine!
• Other things that I'm forgetting because it's late at night

Places to Go:

• Greece- must go, I have had dreams of going for a very, VERY long time
  
• Egypt- aside from the fact that I will have been on the continent of Africa for once, I hear that Cairo is amazing
  
• Spain- friend studying in Barcelona
  
• U.K.- 2 friends studying, 1 in London and the other in a town near Manchester. Also, Massive Attack concert thanks to my AMAZING roommate. =) YAY!
  
• France-friend studying in Paris
  
• Austria- friend studying in Vienna
  
• Cyprus- I've been told it's gorgeous!
  
• Germany- a friend who studied there a couple of semesters ago loved it!
  
• Switzerland- it's right next to Italy, how can I NOT go?
  
• Belgium- waffles and fries... and chocolate.. ohh yeah
  
• Netherlands- Amsterdam, the amazing once a year city wide garage sale? It is calling my name.
  
• Scotland- friend studying in Edinburgh
  
• Sweden- my brother's best friend lives in Stockholm
  
• Czech Republic?- maybe?
• Poland- my roommate has a friend who lives there, and I have a friend who may or may not be there

That is 15 countries, which may add up to 30+ cities. And even though I'm only taking classes 3 days a week, I doubt I have enough money to travel every single week. Plus, I really want to get to know Milan and LIVE there like a local. My goal is to be able to speak semi-fluently in Italian. It would be amazing! It's getting late, and tomorrow begins another packing day. Wish me luck!