Maggie’s awesome mid-life up and quit her job went to Europe for two months road trip
Last summer I up and quit my job, probably not the brightest thing I’ve ever done considering the current economic climate, but I really needed a break, so I’m taking the rest of ’08 off.
The first thing I did was take a solo two month road trip through Europe, something I’d wanted to do for a long time and I figured this is the time.
I flew into Paris, where I picked up my car and visited the places listed below. 
Staying mostly in hostels, I shared wonderful times with people I had just met, had some neat adventures, explored beautiful places, got exercise, and rejuvenated my soul.
Scroll down to see the links to each day’s post. I hope you enjoy, please feel free to leave comments or questions.
July 21, 2009 – I’ve just released the book version of this trip in hard copy or PDF formats:
Cheers, Maggie
My stops along the way:
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Daily Journal entries and pictures:
July 29 – Just getting here – Lynden, WA USA to Paris, France
July 30 – My walk through Paris – Paris, France
July 31 – Ah Versailles – Paris France
Aug 1 – Picked up my car – Paris to Dinan, France
Aug 2 – Kicking myself – Dinan to Mont Saint Michel to Sainte-Mère-Eglise, to Cherbourg, France
Aug 3 – A sea of 9,387 white crosses – Cherbourg to Normandy to Vernon, France
Aug 4 – It sounds like this – Vernon, France
Aug 5 – It’s hard not to hit them – Giverny, France to Brugge, België
Aug 6 – As luck would have it, today is Wednesday – Brugge, België
Aug 7 – Well, that’s no dog – Brugge to Bruxelles to Malmedy, België
Aug 8 – $9.25 USD per gallon – Malmedy, België to Bacharach, Deutschland
Aug 9 – An easy evening at the castle – Bacharach, St. Goar, the Mosul River, Deutschland
Aug 11 – Invisible cows – Rothenburg to Schwangau, Deutschland
Aug 12 – The hills are alive – Schwangau to The Zugzpitze, Deutschland to Salzburg, Österreich
Aug 13 – I guess I’m not going to town tonight – Salzburg, Österreich
Aug 14 – Anticipation – Salzburg to Hallstatt, Österreich
Aug 15 – Overdosed – Hallstatt, Österreich
Aug 16 – Time to say goodbye – Hallstatt to Zell Am See, Österreich to Appenzell, Schweiz
Aug 17 – Fell down an Alp today – Appenzell to Gimmelwald, Schweiz
Aug 18 – Avalanche – Gimmelwald, Schweiz
Aug 20 – That horse must have mad cow – Gimmelwald to Ballenberg, Schweiz to Chamonix, France
Aug 21 – Blue skies & Hell’s Angels – Chamonix to Aix-en-Provence, France
Aug 22 – Culture – Aix-en-Provence, France
Aug 23 – 36° C – Avignon, Pont du Gard, France
Aug 24 – I kicked their ass – Aix-en-Provence to Cannes, France to Monaco, to Lago di Como, Italia
Aug 25 – I’m the one with mad cow – Menaggio and Bellagio, Italia
Aug 26 – No bad smell – Lago di Como to Venezia, Italia
Aug 27 – Bella – Venezia, Italia
Aug 28 – As if it were an afterthought – Venizia to the Dolomite Mountains, Italia
Aug 29, 30 – Up my nose – Agordo in the Dolomite Mountains to Roma, Italia
Aug 31 – I gotsta get outa this place – Roma, Italia
Sep 2 – Don’t these people know what I just did? – Manarola, Cinque Terre, Italia
Sep 3, 4 – Somebody has to do it – Manarola to Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Italia
Sep 5 – …three seconds flat, she was still screaming – Vernazza, Italia
Sep 8 – The Black Forest isn’t really black – Colmar, France to Baden Baden, Deutschland
Sep 9 – Lady Day – Baden Baden, Deutschland
Sep 10 – A really happy frog face – Baden Baden, Deutschland
Sep 12 – It was my honor – Baden Baden, Deutschland to Verdun, France to Magney-le-Hongre, France
Sep 13, 14, 15 – That damn song – Magne-le-Hongre, France
Sep 16, 17 – Ought to be a real page turner – Magne-le-Hongre, France
Sep 18 – Going home – Paris, France to Lynden, Washington, USA
Some places I stayed, some things I did, some places I saw:
Berggasthaus Äescher, the cliff house on Eben Alp near Appenzell Switzerland
Champ du Renard B & B in Vernon, France
Esther’s Guest House in Gimmelwald, Switzerland
Gasthof Simony in Hallstatt, Austria
Gästehaus Raidel (hotel) in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany
Hotel Marina Piccola in Manarola, Italy (Cinque Terre)
The Nightwatchman of Rothenburg
Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe
Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial
Claude Monet’s House and gardens in Giverny, France
Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria
Berggasthaus Aescher in the Swiss Alps
The Zugspitze in Bavaria
Ballenberg, a Swiss open air museum
The Shilthorn, above Mürren, Switzerland
Pont du Gard, the ancient Roman aqueduct in southern France
Hiking The Cinque Terre
American Cemetery at St. Mihiel, France
