Europe Tour: How it started

 In November 2016, there was a buzz on Facebook about really cheap flights to and from Europe. We’re talking under $500 round trip for us Hawaiians! Pua has always dreamed of doing a vacay in Venice. We looked on skyscanner.com and lo and behold, there it was, round trip tickets to Venice from Honolulu! We were stoked! We agreed that the next day, we would go and make arrangements with our jobs and prepare for a great adventure.

The next day came, we went through our daily morning routines, and off to work we went with hope in our hearts that a dream will become a reality. It was so close, we could feel the European air and the taste of Italian pasta. I get settled at work and ready to get those tickets. I pulled up the site right where I left off…. and the prices to Venice skyrocketed to twice, even three times the amount we saw the night before… We were in shock and almost a feeling of horror! We soon received word from a friend that those low fare prices only lasted for one day. That was it. Dreams shattered all because we were too late. What else more can we do?

We needed something. We were hungry to get back out on the road, to take to the skies, to travel new countries, and fulfill that dream of going to Venice! I was determined to find something, even if it was going to take the whole day. I searched, re-searched, and visited all the sites I could. Before the close of the day, we found a deal to London. It’s not the place we originally wanted to visit but it was at least a destination that seemed doable. 

At long last, seemed about 8-9 hours of looking and worrying, we finally found $488 flights to Barcelona! Skyscanner.com is definitely a favorite site of ours. We arrived home from work that night so much lighter than a few hours before. Sighs of relief filled the air. We were going!

So here we are, looking at the many things to do in Barcelona. Museums, Parks, and Cathedrals seemed to be everywhere. We also wanted to have true local experiences. Eat the best food, visit the best places, and even stay in a local community. For the week that we were given, 2017 Spring Break, there seemed to be a lot of things to do and see, but we discussed about our time in Tokyo. We spent the 2016 Fall Break there (a week). It was definitely fun and we did and saw a lot but truth be told, we assimilated to our surroundings as we saw the same things day in and day out. This time around, however, we wanted to change things. 

Pua looked at the world map and saw the distances from Barcelona to France and Venice. She saw that we could take trains there. The prices were okay but she kept looking. Because of the distances to each country, she asked me, “Can we go to all three?”

Who am I to say No?? Actually my reply was, “Why Not??” 3 different countries in the span of 7 days? Sounds like a true adventure to me!