Vacation Joel Vacation Joel

Ultimate Europe Trip 2016 Day 1: Business Class

We've made it. The wait is over. The countdown on the chalkboard in our kitchen that started in the mid 100's has reached zero. The trip we booked almost eight months ago and have been refining up until today is here and it couldn't have begun better. We spent Thursday morning working from home and getting ready for the big trip. An hour after an incredible lunch at our favorite Indian take-out, Masalacraft, we called for an Uber and had a Turkish gentlemen drive us from our apartment to LAX. 

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Vacation Joel Vacation Joel

Coming Up on the #UltimateEurope2016 Trip

It's been a long road leading up to this years trip. We "officially" booked the trip in February but the plan was been brewing since sailing through the Suez Canal on our "Royal Voyage." Since booking the trip we have finessed the trip while keeping the overarching trip exactly what we booked. We've changed some hotels, moved around some tours, but for the most part our trip at the time of this writing is 95-98% set. 

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Vacation Joel Vacation Joel

The Big 30 in Paris: A Recap

I don’t always write-up a final recap of a trip. A lot of times we take three-week trips so writing a post on three weeks without making it the length of a Game of Thrones novel can be difficult. I also worry about making it derivative of what I’ve already wrote in my daily recaps. But I feel so compelled to write one final post on what was an incredible trip to Paris, that I’ve decided to give it a go. It all began almost a week ago when Jenn handed me a cup of coffee in a Starbucks Paris mug that then proclaimed a surprise that Jenn has been working on for most of the year. And even if I may have spilled a lot of that coffee on the couch seconds after it was handed to me it’s a moment I’ll never forget. 

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Vacation Joel Vacation Joel

The Big 30 in Paris Day 5: Mumm's the Word

How did we get here already? It feels like just yesterday I was sitting aboard a plane writing about the start of this magical surprise trip to Paris. Well now five days later I’m sitting on an airplane flying back to Los Angeles at the end of what has been a dream week. But before we get to the end, lets talk about our last full day in Paris. 

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Vacation Joel Vacation Joel

The Big 30 in Paris Day 3: A Spring in Our Step

It's hard to describe, but there are days like today that don't come all that often, and when you see them all you want to do is grab ahold of them and never let go. We woke up a little after 6AM after a full nights rest. Combined we got over 24 hours worth of sleep and we woke up energized for the day. I went down to the hotels newly refurbished gym and ran while Jenn got ready. We left our hotel a little after 9AM and got a cup of coffee and a hot chocolate a Starbucks around the corner and hit the metro towards the Notre Dame. 

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