Just when Kyle and I thought we had everything well-thought out for this adventure, we think of something else that has completely changed our plans! Kyle recently wondered about the legality of our planned lengthy stay on the Continent (Italy for a month, Camino for 2 months, and Germany for a month), and he discovered that as Canadian citizens, we are only entitled 90 days of visa-free travel in the countries of the Schengen agreement.  Since Kyle is already in Venice, his 90 days run out the first week of September, which is when we planned on starting our Camino. Had we thought of it before he left, we could have applied for visas to stay longer, but since Kyle is already there, it is too late.

So, the new plan is this: we stay in Italy until the first week of September, taking weekend trips to places like Rome, Florence, the Cinque Terre, etc.  We will then head to the UK, and find somewhere to settle and places to work.  Before settling somewhere, however, we would like to get some hiking in, since our Camino is being postponed. We are considering the West Highland Way, a 12-day hike from Milngavie to Fort William, Scotland.

We will hopefully still be able to visit my aunt Angie and her family in Germany (in a small, rural town in the state of Rheinland-Pfalz) for Christmas, since we expect any work we find will allow some time off for the holidays. We thought Paris and Vienna might make a nice summer trip next year, and the Camino might have to wait until the spring of 2011, before we return to Canada.  We will do it, though, we have promised each other that much!

In other news, I am a new aunt to a beautiful baby boy named Silas Aleksander Turner, born 2 weeks ago. My mum is visiting and will stay with us until we go back to Halifax at the end of July. I am thoroughly enjoying warm evenings with nothing more to do than spend time with my family!