Member-only story
The Trip of a Lifetime
Europe on a shoestring
January 1 2011
After almost 3 weeks in Nantes with my daughter Stacey, I was returning home to Australia. I had already booked my flight to Heathrow to start my 4-and-a-half-month adventure in Europe, flying to Heathrow and then straight on to Dublin on September 17, 2011. Carl, Keeley, my sister and my niece, my friend and me. Six of us. Three doubles or two triples if they were available. Carl dropped out and lost his money.
My sister (mostly my sister) and I had been planning this trip since January 2010. We purchased two groups of three-month Eurail passes, and Lorelle planned the route. I researched and booked accommodation. The aim was to find budget accommodation within walking distance of the station.
While this trip was being planned, I travelled to Nantes to visit Stacey, who was suffering from depression. Now we know it’s SAD. We didn’t know that then.
Since everything has been paid for, Stacey decided she’d take Carl’s place and join us in Paris. But first, Keeley and I were travelling with my sister Lorelle’s family, including her husband, son and daughter, for a two-week road trip around Ireland. Best memories!
