I'm going to Europe!

It's been a long time since I was in Europe - 16 years! I always promised myself I'd go back - I just never thought it'd take me this long!

I'm a huge Harry Potter fan and the final book is coming out this summer, so I want to be where it all started - the UK. I plan on being in London for 4-5 days and catching the public release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Then I will travel to Edinburgh, Scotland for the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. While JKR has yet to release any info on any type of release celebration, I am hopeful that I have picked the right place to be! She does live in Edinburgh and this is where it all started, so it seems fitting that this is where it would end. I am so excited, but sad at the same time. As JKR said herself, it is bittersweet. It's an incredible time to be a fan - the parties, the forums, the podcasts! But soon we'll know what happens and I really think that this anticipation is almost as exciting and fun as the book will be (almost, but really not quite). I am trying to just enjoy all of it. And JKR did say that there will be plenty to ponder after this book, so I certainly don't think that after the book is "THE END". It's so exciting!

Anyway, I am trying to decide how long to stay in Europe. I am taking my step-daughter with me (she is not an HP fan), so I need to make sure to plan plenty of non-HP stuff to do. Since I have never been to the UK, that won't be hard. But after the book release, do we come home or travel more? My practical side says "come home - you don't have enough money", but my wanderlust keeps pushing me for more. I could push it out for nearly another week and we could do a quick trip throught the continent with a EurRail pass. My thoughts - take the EuroStar to Paris, overnight train to Rome, do the highlights in Rome and Vatican City, overnight train to Venice, one night in Venice, then either Fuessen and Neuschwanstein in Germany or Carcasonne in France before hitting Paris for a few days. The last time I was in Rome was Easter 1991 and the Vatican Museum was closed, so I didn't get to see the Sistine Chapel. And if I'm that close, why not go? I'll keep thinking.