On top of planning our move abroad and clearing out our apartment, we had the brilliant idea of planning a 2-month trip to Europe over the summer before flying to Taiwan 🙄. I’m excited that we could go on this trip but planning so many things at once is a bit chaotic to say the least.

We thought it would be a good idea to spend time in Europe since we’ll be in Asia for the next few years. And because Spain was our second choice after Taiwan, we definitely wanted to visit it during the trip.

Our full itinerary:

Spain (26 days)

• Barcelona
• Valencia
• Madrid

Portugal (14 days)

• Porto
• Lisbon

I’m really intrigued by Portugal. While I’ve been to Spain and Italy (over 15 years ago!), Baba and I have never been to Portugal. For the past few years, there has also been a huge influx of Americans moving to Portugal because of its easy visa requirements, laid back lifestyle and mild climate. I’m curious to see what the hype is all about.

Italy (15 days)

• Venice
• Florence
• Rome

It will be HOT in Europe during the summer, but I guess that will prepare us for the inferno that awaits us in Taiwan? Ahh! I’m not sure my heat-sensitive body can handle.

We are mostly staying in the major cities but plan on doing a few day trips to smaller towns (e.g., Montserrat in Spain and Pisa in Italy). This time, we also have the luxury of staying in each place for an extended period. Our shortest visit is in Porto, where we’re staying for 4 nights. With two kids in tow and 4 suitcases to lug around, we thought it’d be best to take things slow. This is totally different than our previous trips, where we’re zooming to the next place every 2-3 days!

What’s also different this time around is that we’re not planning everything to a tee. We do have our airfare, train tickets and Airbnbs booked (we’re not that crazy!) but we don’t have a set itinerary where we have to see a certain museum on a specific date, or have dinner reservations at a certain restaurant. This is probably due to us having a lot more time to dabble around. But it’s more likely that we’re just being lazy.