European Travel, Baskets Life Travel Like a Local

Travel like a local!

Our tips and tricks for getting around Europe like a local, trains, planes, automobiles and even by boat!! Our super tips on how to cruise Europe, getting in and out of port cities and making the most of your time in Europe without breaking the bank! Here is a list of the upcoming Blogs on the Countries & Cities we have visited and will give your our first hand knowledge! And not to worry when we get through these blogs we will have many more to come!

Austria - Vienna; UK - London, Stonehenge, UK Coast; France - Paris, Toulon; Germany - Bonn, Munich, Berlin, Dresden, Kiel, Achen; Italy - Florence, Pisa, Rome, Naples, Sorrento, Positano, Pompeii, Triste, Venice; Spain - Barcelona; Greece - Athens, Mykonos; Turkey - Istanbul, Izmir, Ephesus; Egypt - Cairo, Luxor, Hurghada & the Red Sea; Czech Republic - Prague, Olomouc, Bruno; Croatia - Opatija; Poland - Warsaw, Auschwitz; Lithuania - Vilnius, Kalepida, Nida & Palanga, Kaunas; Lativa - Riga, Jurmala; Russia - Moscow, Sergiyev Posad - Oblast; Netherlands - Amsterdam, Maastricht; Belgium - Brussles, Ostende, Brugges, Mexico - Puerto Vallarta, Cancun

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July 31, 2012

Traveling the Mediterranean without breaking the bank!

So I just returned from the most amazing Vacation (or Holiday as they say in Europe) and WOW I have to say it was the vacation of a life time - We took 3 weeks and traveled a lot of the Mediterranean Sea - on a Cruise Ship - what a great way to travel! We booked a trip on Cruise line out of Barcelona Spain, we spent 4 days in Barcelona- and from there we traveled to Toulon France, Florence & Pisa Italy, Rome, Naples, Athens and Mykonos Greece and then on Turkey stopping in both Izmir and Istanbul, we finished this amazing trip with 4 days in Venice! WOW I have to tell you it was like a dream!!

Now I am a planner - I love to have everything planned and plotted out so I feel like we didn't miss anything - and not only do we get to see the sights - but we actually know what it is we are looking out - and hopefully learned something along the way - I started planning this trip in January 2012 - and we left on July 6th 2012! So I literally spent 6 months planning every inch of this trip! I started researching all the tours and side trips - because that is why we are cruising to see all the ports and cities each day!

After looking up the trips on the cruise ship website for excursions .... I started to get a little stressed out about the prices - HOLY COW - I could not believe the prices of the tours and the buses just to get into the cities from the ports - Now we are traveling with 4 - My husband and kids - and at $300.00 a person per excursion - * 4 people in 10 different ports - Whew that really adds up - Now as a professional Basketball family we have a pretty nice life - but we are by no means millionaires, with money to burn - and my husband is what some would call ....ummm Extremely Frugal ... so the thought of me having to tell him that after he paid for this awesome trip - that the tours and trips into each port - well, would add up to more than the trip itself - having this conversation with him did not excite me in the least - I decided, I had to find another way!!! ! So I spent hours and hours researching how to travel each city, how to get from the port to the city, how to see the most important sights in each city, and how to do it for 1/4 of the cost of the prices from the Cruise Tours or Travel Agents and Huge tour busses - ect! Now if you are a gazilionaire ( I like this word) and have no problem paying this kind of money in all 10 Ports - then Go For it - I am definitely not knocking the guided tours - For us the cost was just too much!

After compiling all this research - we went our cruise - and I am proud to say it went off without a hitch - ok almost without a hitch (for my European readers Hitch is a slang word for problem)- one funny issue in Venice but that is in another blog! So, I decided whew ....maybe I should share this with some people - because maybe others would be able to take this trip, if they just knew how to get around all these amazing cities! I really think sometimes fear of the unknown limits people from traveling! So I have a series of 11 Blogs, 1 intro (this one) -and 1 for each city that I have complied for all of you - to walk you through each and every city - from Airport, about the trains, taking taxis, walking the City, getting in and out of the ports (if you are on the boat) and visiting the most important sites (in 1 (for cruisers) or 2 or 3 days) - How to get your kids involved and how to NOT break the bank while doing so! Here is my account of each city and how to get around - from start to finish - how much fun we had while doing it and things we learned along the way! If you have any comments or questions please feel free to ask or send them to me -

The Next Blog - will be all about Barcelona Spain - and how to get there, get around and see the sights! Booking things in advance - train travel, airport, cruise terminal - walking the city, the beach and the sites .... It will all be here ! There will be a series of Blogs- all numbered in sequence - example Blog 2 of 11 - so you can track them and not miss a thing!

My website - www.basketslife.com will have these blogs with photos on the page tagged "Travel like a local", Our Facebook Page, Baskets Life will have all of our photos - I hope you will follow our journey - and hit Like on our Facebook page Baskets Life, Please follow us BlogHer.com and most of all Enjoy our Amazing Baskets Life!

Till Next Time

Stacey