Where to next?

I'm sure to many that it may seem that BK and I are off on another trip before we've even recovered from the one we just returned from. One of the biggest reasons we moved abroad was so we could travel abroad more, and few things (barring FaceTime with the nieces and nephews) brighten my day more than planning our next adventure.

What my planning looks like

Up next on the travel plan is a visit from BK's sister and brother-in-law. We'll hang around Basel for a few days, make a day trip to Interlaken, then head to Venice, Vienna and Salzburg for the rest of their trip. It should be really fun. As many of you know, I like to call myself an amateur travel agent, and I've done lots of planning for the trip to make the most out of our time. After that BK and I will head to Lake Como (Italy) and Lugano (Switzerland) for a long weekend, then are back in the US for a couple of weeks.

The trip I am working on today is our "long trip" in September. BK has already requested two full weeks off, but we haven't quite decided where we will go. And yes, I am totally that person who uses my travel books, online guides and many other tools. We are so not "fly by the seat of our pants" people, and fully intend to get the most out of any destination we visit. We are not up at the crack of dawn, and do make sure we relax, but I don't want to be kicking myself because we can't get restaurant reservations or make it to an attraction we really wanted to see.

Initially, we really wanted to do some sort of volunteer trip where we spent the majority of our time doing some sort of service, then had some time on the end to do a little bit of exploring. Unfortunately it seems that I have started my planning a little bit too late. To arrange visas, projects, and other aspects of a trip like that I need more than 2 to 3 months. I'll start working on this type of trip for 2014 in the fall of this year.

So now the question is: where to this year? Today I put together a couple of different ideas for BK and I to discuss and decide on. They're all over the map (literally and figuratively). Here are my thoughts so far:

• Portugal/Spain/Morocco
• South Africa
• Monaco/Sardinia/Rome
• Athens/Grecian Isles/Southern Coast of Turkey

Ok, so most are in Europe, but we obviously have plenty of places to go. Regardless of where we go, the trip will have some adventure (outdoorsy activity), seeing large cities and going off the beaten path a little bit. We have a lot planned between now and then, but I'm really excited about this one. I'll let you know what the verdict is soon!

On an unrelated note, Happy 4th of July to everyone in the US! I hope you have a great day of relaxation, great fireworks, and lots of time with family and friends :)