Michael S. LibermanAlps and Med Day 0: IAD to BOS
From Boston …
Alps and Med? This tour is to Lucerne, Switzerland, Northern Italy, the South of France, and Barcelona. Simple one or word titles work best for the blog posts, so I’ve settled on the shorthand Alps and Med. And why Day 0? Because technically this trip starts tomorrow. But I flew to Boston today to make sure I’m in Boston and ready to go!
This morning I took United flight 641 from Dulles to Boston Logan. It was clear day with great views coming up the east coast.
Once in Boston I took an Uber to North Station. Dropped off my luggage at the Courtyard Boston Downtown. I had lunch in the North End, the did a walking tour of the neighborhood … including a stop at Mike’s Bakery. I meet Greg and Sophie for happy hour at Green Dragon Tavern, one of the oldest bars in the country, followed by a great dining experience at Assaggio. We will meet up tomorrow at Logan for the beginning of the trip.
Here is the itinerary …
| April 23, Day 0 IAD to BOS | Fly to Boston Logan, tour Boston’s North End. |
| April 24, Day 1 BOS to Zurich | Tour New England Aquarium. Overnight flight to Zurich. |
| April 25, Day 2 Zurich | Arrive in Zurich. Transfer to Lucerne. |
| April 26, Day 3 Lucerne | Tour Lucerne. Chapel Bridge, Lion Monument, Jesuit Church, Weinmarkt and Kornmarkt Squares, Mount Titlis. |
| April 27, Day 4 Lucerne to the Italian Riviera | Transfer to Italy. Explore Como. Travel to the Italian Riviera. |
| April 28, Day 5 Cinque Terre | Tour Cinque Terre. |
| April 29, Day 6 Monaco and Nice | Transfer to Côte d’Azur. Tour Monaco, Nice Vieux Nice, Promenade des Anglais. |
| April 30, Day 7 Côte d’Azur to Provence | Transfer to Provence. Hike the Ochre Trail. |
| May 1, Day 8 Provence | Tour Provence. Pont du Gard, Nîmes Amphitheater, Les Baux-de-Provence. |
| May 2, Day 9 Provence to Barcelona | Transfer to Spain. Las Ramblas scavenger hunt. |
| May 3, Day 10 Barcelona | Tour Barcelona. Plaza de España, Sagrada Família, Montjuïc Hill, Park Güell. |
| May 4, Day 11 BCN to ZRH to BOS | Fly to Zurich. Fly to Boston. |
| May 5, Day 12 BOS to IAD | Fly to Dulles. |
And here is what I’m packing …
As expected, international travel requires careful consideration of what to pack to capture the best photos and video of a bucket list trip! Instead of the Nikon Z8 I decided to go a little smaller and lighter on this trip so I’m bringing the Nikon Z6ii mirrorless camera with the Nikkor Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR zoom lens. For a wider option I’m bringing the Nikkor Z 14-30mm f4 S zoom lens for landscapes and mountain peaks. I’ll be taking a graduation photo on this trip, so I’m bringing a Nikon SB-800 flash. Also in the bag is the DJI OSMO Pocket 3 for timelapse video and the DJI Mic for recording ambient audio tracks. I’ve got the Apple iPhone 16 with the SnapBridge and JetPack Mobile apps for updates to this blog while I’m on the go. For backup I’m bringing the Clouzen Tainer with 2TB of M.2 SSD capacity. In Italy and Greece I carried the Gura Gear Kiboko City Commuter 18L+ and for Iceland I brought the Shimoda Designs Urban Explore 25, but for this trip I’ve switched camera bags once again and this time I’m bringing the Think Tank Photo FocusPoint 30L. For Italy and Greece in the middle of summer I packed an assortment of shorts and t-shirts For the cool spring temps and wet weather conditions of Iceland I packed lightweight base layers, a fleece assortment for mid-layers, and a waterproof/windproof jacket and pants for the outer layer. From the peak of Mount Titlis to the oceansides of Cinque Terre and Monaco the average temps on this trip will range from 37°F (2.7°C) to 69°F (20.5°C). So I’ve packed warmer layers for the Swiss mountains and cooler layers for the warmer seaside days.
While I’m traveling I will post daily updates here on the blog. If you want to get an email when I post an update subscribe by entering your email address in the subscription box. I’m looking forward to sharing these updates with you!
