In March I found out my parents were going to Switzerland - my (second to Canada) favourite country in the world - and I decided it was time I returned to Europe as well.  Next thing we all knew I had a month booked off work, flights purchased, and pull-out-couches lined up.  The goal was simple: see as many friends as possible, spend time with my parents, and end up back to Spain.  I chose to pack only a backpack so I could carry on and save ridiculous fees on my dirt cheap airfare, and since my beloved DSLR weighs a ton and took up half my bag, I brought my Sony RX 100 III along for the ride.  It's small enough to fit in my purse and wouldn't leave me in pain each evening from carrying it around all day - plus I can still trust it to take awesome quality photos.

To give you an idea of what all I had planned, here's an overview of my itinerary:

• Tuesday, August 29 - Fly to London via Ottawa and visit friends in Ottawa during 5 hour layover.

• Wednesday, August 30 - Land in London, bus to Oxford, stay with Sheridan for 2 nights and visit with Kate, Katherine, and Carla.

• Friday, September 2 - Tour London and stay overnight with Katherine.

• Saturday, September 3 - Fly to Zurich, meet up with mom and dad, stay and reconnect with distant Swiss relatives, tour the German-speaking region of Switzerland for 4 days.

• Tuesday, September 6 - Fly to Rome with mom and dad, tour Rome for 3 days.

• Saturday, September 10 - Drive with mom and dad to villa in central Tuscany, explore Tuscany for 6 days.

• Saturday, September 17 - Drive back to Rome, stay at airport hotel.

• Sunday, September 18 - Fly to Malaga, visit Theresa, stay and AirBnB for 1 night, lay on the beach.

• Monday, September 19 - Fly to Valencia, stay with John and Kelsey for 4 nights, explore the city.

• Friday, September 23 - Train to Madrid, surprise the kids I used to nanny, stay with them for 3 nights, and other friends for 3 nights. Do and see and eat all of my favourite things in Madrid while visiting friends from my year living there.

• Thursday, September 29 - Fly to Toronto, stay with parents for the night (surprise addition, visit friends at Wasaga Beach).

• Friday, September 30 - Fly to Saskatoon

Other than this, the only things I had booked were musical tickets in London and a couple of tours in Rome.  And things turned out just perfect.  It was a great mix of sight-seeing, visiting with friends and relatives, meeting new people, relaxing with a novel, taking hundreds of photos, enjoying the glorious sun, and just getting away from the craziness that was my summer.  There will be pictures and details of each stop to come, but for now I'll leave you with this video of my trip as a whole.