Questions, Questions, Questions

When I started telling people that I was going to Europe after graduation, everyone always seemed to ask three questions: Where are you going? Are you going with a group and/or travel agency? How are you getting around Europe? I wanted to answer all of these questions, so that y'all will know whats going on.

In my last post, I explained where we are going: London, Paris, Interlaken, Cinque Terre, and Rome. We will be gone May 2nd-May 20th.

We are not going with a specific group. We have decided to wonder around Europe on our own! We have heavily depended on Rick Steves for all of our advice. I bought the books Best of Europe 2011, and Europe Through the Back Door 2011. Both of these books have been invaluable. Out of the three of us going, I am more of a "planner." I love to plan trips, and I have had a ball tackling this huge responsibility. I have tried to become familiar with the maps of the cities so that I will somewhat know my way around. I have also contacted people who have either lived in Europe or backpacked themselves. I love seeking advice from others because it helps so much!

We are staying in a few hostels, a few hotels, and in Rome we have our own studio apartment. I searched high and low for the best deals, and feel confident that I got the best deals in our lodging. Overall (without the cost of currency exchange) we will only be paying about $670 for lodging.

To buy cheap plane tickets, I looked on the website www.sta.com. They have great rate for students and people under 26. I looked for deals on their website and also on well known airline websites. We ended up buying our tickets through Delta for only about $700. We are leaving on a Monday and coming back home on a Friday. By booking flights that left before and/or after a weekend, we were able to say hundreds of dollars. We decided to fly out of Jackson because it is much easier to get to. We thought about flying out of Memphis or New Orleans, but the price difference was not that much and we wanted it to be easy! From London, we are taking the underground train (the Chunnel) to Paris. Instead of buying a EuroRail pass that is about $700, we decided to get one that was around $300. Our pass is a little more restricting because it only lets us ride a train through three countries. Since we knew ahead of time which countries we wanted to go to, we thought this would be the best route to take.

One thing that I am worried about is the whole money issue. I am horrible with math, and I really have no idea how to figure out the British pound, Euro, or Swiss Franc! I am hoping that Rebekah and Martha will know what they are doing. :)

Another aspect that I am anxious about is my back. My back has been hurting since last July, but it was never hurting enough that I had to go to the doctor. Well the week before spring break, the pain became really bad. I started taking Advil and Tylenol around the clock, but it still was not helping the pain. The week after spring break was a really bad week. On a Wednesday my back started extremely hurting in the afternoon. I went to school Thursday and Friday, but I was in a lot of pain and was distracted all day. I started icing my back every hour and doing back stretches (thanks to Dr. Mom!). I laid in bed all weekend just resting my back. It was still hurting that Sunday night, so I called in sick on Monday and scheduled a doctors appointment. The doctor referred me to a physical therapist (PT) and gave me a prescription for a pain pill and muscle relaxer. I had been going to PT for a couple of weeks, and my back seemed to be getting better. I started to not take the prescriptions at all. I drove to Starkville last weekend, and my back started acting up after that. Sitting for long periods of time aggravates my back the most and makes it hurt. I started taking my pain medication again last week, and I told the PT that it was hurting again. It has not stopped hurting this weekend. Due to the fact that sitting for long periods of time hurts my back, I have decided to not walk at graduation. Driving to Starkville, sitting through the ceremony, and then driving back would just be too much considering that I have to be on a VERY long plane ride two days later. So basically I am really worried about the long plane rides and train rides in Europe. I honestly cannot imagine traveling with being in this much pain. I know that our God is a God of miracles, and I am praying for one! I pray that my back is a) completely healed, or b) healed enough that I don't feel it on the trip! That is my main concern right now! I would greatly appreciate it if you would join me in prayer as well. :)