An 8-Week, 18k mile trip across the Atlantic and up to Ireland, across to Scotland and down to England, over to Netherlands and down to France, with a stop-over in Iceland, then back to France and up to Denmark!
PHASE I: Starting with two weeks at sea, I will again cross the Atlantic by Ship, solo, on-board Oasis of the Seas. This cruise stops in Cadiz, Malaga, Alicante, Valencia, and finally Barcelona. My goal for this portion is to finally reach the Rock of Gibraltar… by land.
PHASE II: After meeting my friends, Marsey & Martha, in Ireland; we will start at Blarney Castle, just outside of Cork, then drive west to round the Ring of Kerry, heading north to King John’s Castle and the Cliffs of Moher. Then we head East to Dublin, taking a train to Belfast, and visiting the Giant’s Causeway and several Game of Thrones Film Locations, as well as the GOT Studio, and the birthplace of CS Lewis. We will end this bit with the Castle of Winterfell before jumping a plane to Isle of Man.
Phase III: We will spend a full day roaming Isle of Man, one of the oldest micro-nations, the ruins here date into the Mesolithic Era.
Phase IV: Our trio will hop another plane to Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland, dropping into the covens of witches…. then head to Stirling Castle before driving north to the Loch Ness to look for monsters. Continuing our journey north, we will reach the Ord of Caithness and the Castle of Mae in the far northern wilds of Britain. After a quick “Happy Birthday Andy” song and dance, we will head to the south-western Isles of Skye and Dunvegan Castle to see some Seals and Arctic Sea Eagles not found anywhere else on earth! Following a pop-in at Armadale Castle while waiting for the Auto-Ferry, we head to Glasgow, then south to Sherwood Forrest and the Castles of Nottingham., where Andy’s maternal ancestors originate from. The Ancient Site of Stonehenge will end that day, before we move east to London. We end this segment, first at the Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio, then with all of the classic/popular Royal City Sites; the Eye of London, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and the Tower Bridge!
PHASE V: We start by jumping another plane to Amsterdam, the capital of The Netherlands; then take a bullet train to Belgium to see Brussels and the storybook cities of Ghent, and Bruges. After getting our Dutch on and seeing the ancestral home of Vader von Marsey (“Father of Marsey”… in Dutch, lol), we head to Paris for a Dinner overlooking the city from atop the Eiffel Tower. After hitting the Jewish Quarter, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Basilica of Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre… we drive south to the Guedelon Project, an original 13th century castle built entirely by hand using period-accurate techniques and mostly volunteer educational labor over the last 27 years! Following a short stay in the French Countryside, we head back to Paris and grab a flight to the far, far north!
PHASE VI: After arriving on Iceland, we will soak in the Lava Hot Springs of the Sky Lagoon for a traditional Spa Ritual, then meetup with a Geologist and a Volcanologist to explore the Little Hrut Magma Fields (assuming the recent eruptions just to the south do not ruin our plans). While in Iceland, we will get to experience 21-hour daylight and may have a chance to drive along the northern coast, some of the furthest land on earth you can reasonably reach. We say goodbye to Marsey as she heads home and our trio becomes a duo…
PHASE VII: …A Disney Duo! Martha and I fly back to Paris for two days in Disneyland, before we grab another quick flight to the micro-nation of Luxembourg! After this, we make our way into Germany, to the extremely blind-friendly college town, Marburg. This is where Martha’s ancestors ruled prior to WWII, and after we visit a few of the old digs, we head up north for Hamburgers… in Hamburg :)
PHASE VIII: With a quick stop in Odense, Denmark to learn about Hans Christian Anderson, and a trip down to Egeskov Castle, we end this trip in Copenhagen with a Pow! and a Bang!, seeing Metallica on their M72 Tour. Maybe a short nap and a few cool sites around the Danish Islands of Zealand and Amager later, we hop that final flight back home on Day #60!
