Summer vacation!!

It's finally summer vacation again! :) The school year always seems to go by so slowly, then suddenly, the next thing you know, it's time for final exams and cleaning out classrooms.
This summer, I may have got just a bit carried away with my summer vacation plans. Just maybe... We're going to all of the places marked on the map on the left. :)

I'd originally planned to spend some time visiting my friend Tanya in Italy this summer, then invited my friend Heather to come along. She has a friend who lives in Istanbul and... the next thing you know, we planned a trip all over the place. We invited another friend from work, Elaina, and her roommate, Jenn, to join us. They are meeting us in Rome, going on the cruise and through Italy with us, then going home through Switzerland when Heather and I head toward the Balkan countries. We've met quite a few times to figure out our travel plans and are getting more and more excited as things are getting closer. We've got our plans for Italy all figured out. Now Heather and I just need to figure out if we'd rather go the more adventurous route through the Balkans or stick with the scenic route and go mostly through the beaches in Croatia. Either way, this summer is going to be amazing! July 7th simply can't come soon enough. :)