Bournemouth, Budapest, and Beyond

Today at 12:30pm, all the little kiddies went home to their parents for a two week Christmas Vacation, and all the teachers jumped for joy (some silently) that they had survived the holiday lead-up, the Christmas play, classroom parties, and the general insanity that comes along with children and the holidays.

Tomorrow morning I am leaving to go to Bournemouth, England to spend Christmas with a co-worker who kindly offered me a warm home to stay in since I wasn't going home to Toronto. It will be my first Christmas away from home. Ever. In my WHOLE life!!! It will be weird to be away from home and not see all my family and friends, but I am looking forward to experiencing Christmas in England. I will let you know if there are any different traditions.

After my time in England (6 days), I will be flying to Budapest for New Year's Eve. It should be fun. I have heard many good things about Budapest so I am really looking forward to going there. One thing Budapest is apparently known for is its cheap, luxurious day spas, so I will definitely be checking those out while I am there. Maybe spend New Year's Day relaxing at the spa. Sounds like a great way to start out the year to me!

Then I will probably take a train to Vienna, Austria, depending on my boredom level with Budapest, finances, and my overall tiredness level of course. I would like to spend two days in Vienna touring the sights, and spend a third day on a day trip to Mauthausen to visit the concentration camp there.

Next I will train it back to Budapest for one final night before catching my flight back to Venice/Padova the next day.

So those are my big Holiday plans. I will update when I can and promise to take lots of pictures. Happy Holidays everyone!

A presto!