sharing the excitement

i asked two friends of mine today about traveling through europe. i thought that they'd be the right people to ask since they did their european tour last year. at first, they were kidding me because they said i am too old to join the world youth day and would just like to travel. of course, i would like to travel, the reason being i am already there, so why waste time and money when the chance is staring at you right in the face, right? anyway, when we all calmed down after quite a laugh, one of them asked me to sit beside him so he could show me what i can do for an itinerary. i'm fortunate to have him take the time to talk to me since he is one of the most traveled people i know. he asked me if i have a destination in mind and i said that i do have some but i would want to know his suggestion because he's done it already. i just told him that i have to be in madrid on the third week. at this comment, both of them exclaimed that spain will be enough because it's beautiful, especially in barcelona. however, that isn't an option for me because i would want to see as much places as i can with my free two weeks, and i wouldn't know when i'd be getting this chance again.

that being said, he then encouraged me to buy a Eurail Pass, which is so expensive by the way, because it is really convenient. he then showed me online that i could buy this ticket covering two to three countries. when asked for the price, he said that it might be around Php25k this time. my other friend then said that it's a good way to travel because traveling on it, especially at night, can save me a night's stay at a hotel, and i can just take a bath at the train stations for a fee (he doesn't suggest taking a bath on the trains because it's communal). i also learned from this other friend of mine that his trip from cologne, germany to rome, italy took about 12 hours, with an hour stop at Florence. and speaking of Florence, my first friend also suggested that i see a bit of Florence, too. finally, this is his suggested itinerary:

i must thank map.google.com first for making it easy for us to view our possible itinerary.

one thing i wouldn't also forget is my friend's "insistent" suggestion that i go to the beach. that said, he added either nice or cannes for my itinerary. he said that for him, the best view he had ever experienced was when he was on a train coming from nice to milan. i sure hope that i could enjoy that experience soon, too!