The Countdown Begins.

I fly to Dulles and then head to Heathrow in exactly 18 days. And in 21 days, I embark on my western European cruise. We have two nights in London prior to the cruise, during which time we'll do touristy, sight-seeing-type activities... Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Parliament, etc. I also plan on eating some pub food... you know, bangers and mash and items of that ilk.

While cruising, we will have excursions in Paris (via Le Havre), Lisbon, Vigo, Malaga, Barcelona, Cannes, Tuscany, and ending in Rome.

My dad and his wife are extremely excited to be taking this trip; they email me every day. Sometimes they just send a message with the exact number of hours until the trip; other times they send handy little reminders ("Weigh your luggage at home to make sure it's under the 50-pound limit." "Bring a stapler in your suitcase to attach your luggage tags from the cruise line, because they aren't self-adhesive.")

I have never been overseas, so this will be a huge event for me.