Welcome!

After years of dreaming and a few months of more serious discussions, Dave and I are fully committed to our six-month trip around the world! We have booked our outbound and return flights, put together a hit list of places to visit, and most importantly, we will be commitment-free from our jobs from May 27th to December 16th!

We hope to document our journey along the way. This blog is for family and friends, for anyone with a curiosity in the food/culture/scenery around the world, and for us, so that we have a lasting story of this adventure.

The plan

We will be departing just a few days after our wedding. First stop: Nice, France! We plan on going eastwards around the world, making stops in: 

• Europe (France, Scandinavia, etc)
• Africa (safari somewhere)
• Asia (Nepal, Shanghai to visit my family)
• Australia (anywhere fun)
• New Zealand (anywhere fun)
• South America (Patagonia)
• Anywhere else???

Tentatively, we will be returning from Buenos Aires on December 13th.

The logistics

Dave and I both requested leaves from our jobs, and luckily, neither of us had to quit. We plan on renting out our apartment during the six months that we’re away (ugh, moving...).

I looked into Around the World tickets on major airline alliances, which allow travelers to buy one ticket to fly in one direction around the world. Pricing would depend on the number of flight segments, overall number of miles, starting location, etc. While they seemed like a good deal at first, I couldn't figure out a satisfying itinerary on any one airline alliance. Plus, it's likely that we will need to backtrack throughout the trip and add other domestic flights. So instead, I booked our outbound and return flights using miles, and am hoping to find reasonably-priced routes for the remaining flights. I will write in a future post about lessons learned while booking airline reward tickets.

We're looking forward to a mix of camping and hotel stays, and of car rentals and public transit as we visit cities and natural wonders. Stay tuned!

The not-so-fun parts

Passports, visas, vaccines! I had to apply for a new passport; Dave added pages to his. I got vaccines for Kenya and Nepal; Dave decided to risk it (he has been to India a bunch of times and got a bunch of relevant vaccines). So far, we need to apply for at least two visas ahead of time (China and Russia). I hope we didn't forget anything!

I'll admit it - these really aren’t so bad in relation to the fun we will be having. I am psyched! I already have a stack of Lonely Planet travel guides waiting for me on my bookshelf! Follow us on this blog and on Google+ to join the adventure. In the meantime, send any travel recommendations (as well as places to avoid) our way.