Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Upcoming trip

Just one week until my vacation! My lovely two sisters and I are headed off for a month of backpacking, train hopping, friend visiting and cheese and pastry tasting in the land of western Europe. I know, such a cliche! But it's so beautiful!
The bad news is that Laurel's (youngest sister) passport still has not arrived. She applied for it March 7th. Yikes.

The trip's budget has grown since we first had the idea to go. Originally, it was $2250. (That's including everything...airfare, food, train pass and tickets...) Now it's up to $3745. Oh boy. That's a lot of money for a girl getting ready to become a full time student and a part time employee.

But it IS a memory that none of us will soon forget. When I was living in London, I dreamed about doing this with the girls...now they are old enough (16 and 14) and both working so it's a dream that is coming true!

So, here are the numbers!

Getting Around

* Flight (Seattle to London) $880
* Flight (London to Amsterdam) $170
* Eurail Pass $400
* Misc. Tickets $395

Lodging

* Staying with friends 12 nights $0
* Apartment in Rome (4 nts) $200
* Apartment in Cinque Terre (3 nts) $90
* Hostel in Paris (8 nts) $200
* Hostel in Tuscany (3 nts) $95

Food (Hopefully we can cut costs here. We'll see!)

* 12 days @ $15 day when with friends $180
* 21 days @ $25 day when not $525

Sights (museum fees etc.) 25 days @ $15 (a very rough estimate) $375

Spending Money $200

Misc. (gas for ride to and from airport, phone cards) $35

I'm going to try and keep good records and compare actual costs at the end of the trip to my budget. I'm not sure how far I'm off in different areas.

What an adventure!











2 comments:

Phil said...

Hey Melina, the Chinese government finally decided to allow me to access blogs--apparently you are not considered violent enough to be censored.
Hope you guys have a blast in Europe, just try not to be too hard on the country, they aren't used to hardcore partying like you Aberdeen folks are. God bless

The Amber Canary said...

That is great Phil! I've really enjoyed reading about your adventures. But you'll be coming home soon, right? Well...more adventures await you here....liiiiike, helping your cousin move. :)

Did you hear I'm renting the mother in law above your family's garage?

Oh ya!