Streets of Lisbon, Portugal, Europe

Off to Europe Again: Portugal, Czechia, Hungary, and Ireland!

Another #jasongetsaroundwithjackie European adventure is taking flight! From Portland to New York to Lisbon to Prague, with more of Europe to come.

Streets of Lisbon, Portugal, Europe
This picture was taken on my first trip to Lisbon for my birthday in April 2013.

This afternoon, Jackie and I are heading over to New York for a couple of long days before we depart on another adventure together in Europe. We’re both super excited about making this trip that I had planted the seed for way back on January 9th when I bought two tickets from New York to Lisbon, Portugal in Europe. It’s now grown to include a few days in Lisbon, attending a wedding in Prague, exploring other villages in Czechia, and if all goes well, some time in Ireland or Greece before we head back to Portland. We’ve left the end of the trip open to allow us some flexibility, but things are beginning to fall into place as the trip unfolds.

There’s a lot to consider when traveling during this time outside of just booking flights and hotels. COVID is still very real and though we’re both fully vaccinated, we are still being cautious and following local guidelines around COVID as we all have learned that vaccinations aren’t always enough.

I will continue to update this post as the days go on over the trip, so please bookmark this page and stay tuned!

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Catania Trip Postponed

Postponing Our Trip To Catania, Italy

With everything going on with regards to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), we have decided on postponing our trip to Catania, Italy.  It’s worth saying that I am not afraid of traveling to Italy, in fact, I think it would be a wonderful time of year to go and probably much less crowded than normal (bonus!), however, I am afraid of it spreading further do to my want, not need, to visit a place that has been set to Category 3 by the CDC (Avoid Nonessential Travel).  I really wanted to go to Catania and see Sicily, but it just isn’t worth possibly spreading this to my friends and family after I return.

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Netherlands To Switzerland

[mappress mapid=”12″]

If you haven’t heard, the day after Christmas I’m headed off to Europe.  This will be my fourth Eurotrip (one, two, and three) and I can’t wait to go explore this amazing part of the world again.  This time I’m starting on a direct flight from Portland to Amsterdam that I scored for cheap and reining in the New Year with Melissa, Tomas, Ayleen and more.  After the New Year, I’m eventually making my way down to visit my friend Laurent in Lausanne, Switzerland before flying home.  My plans are pretty loose, as is the way I usually travel, so I’m excited to see how the trip comes together.  With the help of the travel hacking work I’ve done in the past and my friends in Europe, I’m hoping to keep my trip quite low on cost.  I’m going to be updating this post with my trip details as best as I can, so bookmark this page and stay updated. Belgium(I ended up splitting off and Switzerland into their own posts.)

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How I Saved Over $3,000 On A Flight!

KLM Airbus 330-200 Foto:KLMThis Christmas, I decided that I’m going to go to The Netherlands for New Years.  I’m not totally sure on my plans, but I knew that I needed to get my flight soon to avoid it getting too expensive.  I’m not sure if I’ll be returning from Amsterdam, so rather than booking a round trip (RT) ticket, I just wanted a one way.  In doing so, I realized that I saved my self over $3,000 on that one-way direct flight from Portland to Amsterdam.  Here’s how I did it. (more…)

Mývatn Nature Baths

Blue Lagoon Alternatives: Iceland’s Other Hot Springs

There are well over a million visitors heading to Iceland every year these days and the number one tourist attraction is the Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa.  Known for it’s pearl blue water and beauty, it is also known to be quite packed with people (a reservation is recommend), and also comes at a hefty price tag (starts at around $60!).  During my visit to Iceland, I was doing it on a budget, so I didn’t make an appearance at the Blue Lagoon, and instead partook in the numerous other hot springs around the country of Iceland.  Here are a number of the ones I went to soak – avoid the crowds and save some cash. (more…)

Iceland: Viewing The Northern Lights

northern lightsMany people don’t realize that this incredible phenomenon (Northern Lights) is elusive and unpredictable. Yes, even in a place like Iceland…

I just recently spent eight days in Iceland attempting to see the Northern Lights, and though it never happened, it was still an incredible trip.  If you end up going to Iceland and planning to see the lights, then follow these tips from Expert Vagabond. (more…)

Barcelona, Lisbon, Madrid, and Morocco

Barcelona [embed-google-photos-album link=”https://photos.app.goo.gl/fxaPsmNFufWbMv8D6″ mode=”carousel”] Lisbon [embed-google-photos-album link=”https://photos.app.goo.gl/TUL3U6K9rn4UjwGz6″ mode=”carousel”] Madrid [embed-google-photos-album link=”https://photos.app.goo.gl/h3bq4GGAET4LTX5q8″ mode=”carousel”] Morocco [embed-google-photos-album link=”https://photos.app.goo.gl/BpstUicht5yyPHaT8″ mode=”carousel”]

Eurotrip 2011

eurotrip 2011

I got home Monday night (October 10th) from a nice 14 hours of flying back from my first Eurotrip (actually it was cramped and tiring, but that’s part of traveling) where I spent two weeks traveling with a good friend from high school, Janel, and had an amazing adventure.

Rather than splitting up my trip into three parts; one for Munich, one for Paris, and one for South Ireland, or writing a bunch of daily posts on how it all went, I’ve decided to just give a summary of my trip and allow for people to ask questions.  The pictures included in the post will be more useful than anything else.  Hopefully, you can find the info if not enjoyable, perhaps useful!

Now to start talking about my trip…

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