The great train adventure starts in Paris. From there I overnight it to Vienna and stop over for a night to see the local sights. From Vienna it's on to Budapest and from Budapest to Istanbul. Once in Turkey I'll hang out for a bit, see the Hagia Sophia and visit my first Turkish bath. Then it's off on the Toros Express to Damascus, Syria where I will study Arabic at the University for seven weeks while living with a local family. From Damascus I'll visit Aleppo and Lebanon and then, after my visa is up I'm training it down to Jordan.

In Jordan I'll take in the local culture and visit, of course, Petra, Wadi Rum and hopefully spend the night in a Bedouin tent in the desert. After two weeks there I'm off to Egypt via ferry from Aqaba. I don't have a ton of plans for Egypt. I'm sure I'll fit the Pyramids in there somewhere but I'll mostly soak in the culture and get a feel for the different cities.

From Egypt I fly (alas, no train) to Tunis, Tunisia. I will see Jerba, the Star Wars sights, hang out with the Tureg and Berber in the Sahara and then ferry it up to Genoa, Italy. From there is all a guess. If I have extra time I might train it through Northern Italy, or I might go back to Paris where my flight departs for the good ol' US on June 28th.

After the trip I'm sure I will either savor my memories, have an intense hate for trains, or both. All plans are subject to change and I might add in Morocco just so I can say I've "rocked a Kasbah". I suppose only time will tell. Until then...