When friends share their experiences and their adventures throughout Europe it’s hard not to be wide-eyed, hands under chin, listening intently to every word. Because it’s one of those places, right? Mystical and magical in every way, like a children’s story only to be brought to life when you enter the gates of Disneyland.

Doug and I had finally taken the plunge and bought our round-trip air fare. We’re going to Europe!!! No turning back now! It was time to plan, plan, plan. And we must say… conversations at the dinner table have been filled with a lot more child-like excitement lately. We’re ready for the Disneyland of all Disneyland’s! And who knows? Maybe we’ll stop by an actual one in Paris?

The Itinerary

We’ve met with several friends, our former bride’s and groom’s, and some family members who have been on their own European adventures. We’ve picked their brains and did some of our own research and came to a solid agreement for our itinerary. So here it is!!

 

Brooke & Doug Travels to Europe

Ireland > Germany > France > Italy

 

Ireland

We fly into Ireland from the US because it was one of the cheapest destinations in Europe to fly into, (other than London surprisingly) and we arrive pretty early in the morning. As long as we prepare ourselves accordingly for jet-lag, we plan to combat the sleepiness with a full day of exploring Dublin, including a full irish breakfast, sight seeing and (of course) the Guinness Storehouse. After that, we’re taking a full day tour to the Cliffs of Moher, stopping at little irish towns along the way. Doug’s pretty excited about using his new drone so be sure to follow us on Instagram to see it in action.

IRELAND CHECKLIST

⬜ Try Full Irish Breakfast

⬜ Tour Guinness Storehouse

⬜ Tour Jameson Distillery

⬜ See Cliffs of Moher

⬜ Go to a pub in Temple Bar District

⬜ See Trinity College & The Book of Kells

⬜ “Try” fish and chips (we’re not big fish people)

⬜ Drink an Irish Coffee in a local coffee shop

 

Germany

We are flying in from to Germany next, for a very special visit. Brooke’s God Mother lives in Frankfurt Germany and works on base as a teacher. We only get to see her once a year when she flies home with her daughter, but never have we visited them in Germany. We’re so excited to let her be our travel guide for a couple days, exploring the castles and seeing the beauty of Frankfurt.

GERMANY CHECKLIST

⬜ Tour a castle

⬜ Have lunch at a castle

⬜ Order a drink at a local coffee shop

⬜ Spend time with family :)

⬜ Shop around town

⬜ Try a German beer (in a stein (and then maybe buy the stein))

 

France

From Germany, we take a two hour train ride to Paris where we will begin to devour all the carbs in sight. Most of our check list will consist of eating baked goods, and we’re not really sorry about that. But one thing that we can’t wait for?… Doug and I will be practicing our skills in front of the camera for a change. We’ve booked our very own anniversary photo session. “Stoked” is hardly the word for it.

PARIS CHECKLIST

⬜ Tour the Eiffel Tower

⬜ Eat a chocolate Croissant

⬜ Order a Crepe from a street vendor

⬜ Buy a box of Macarons

⬜ Have a picnic of meats, cheeses and baguette beneath the Eiffel Tower

⬜ Tour Versailles

⬜ Selfie in front of the Moulin Rouge (a must)

⬜ Explore the Louvre

⬜ Try the French Onion Soup

⬜ Get professional photos taken (of us) in front of the Eiffel Tower

⬜ Order a drink at a local coffee shop

 

Italy

We are spending most of our trip in Florence and my goodness do we have quite a bit to be excited for. We have day trips to nearby cities, two excursions, plenty of tours, and many bottles of wine to look forward to. As I’m writing this, we’re thinking this is what we are looking forward to most, so we’ll see! :)

FLORENCE CHECKLIST

⬜ Take a Vespa Tour through Tuscany

⬜ Take a cooking class

⬜ See Michelangelo’s Statue of David

⬜ Eat all the pasta

⬜ Drink all the wine

⬜ Order a cappuccino in a local coffee shop

⬜ Drink a Spritz Con Aperol

⬜ Try the Gelato

⬜ Get lost in Venice for a day

⬜ See the Duomo

⬜ Stay 1 night in Cinque Terre

⬜ See the Leaning Tower of Pisa

 

 

 

Words cannot express our excitement. Our dream of traveling to Europe is finally happening! Be sure to follow along with us on Instagram (@brookeanddoug) for our posts and stories for the next few weeks! And expect a solid blog post when we return. ;)

Cheers from the other side of the pond!

Brooke & Doug

 

HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS?

Are we missing something here? Have you been to any of these cities and have some tips! Let us know your suggestions in a comment below. We’d love all the info we can get!