Tickets have been purchased today, so I am officially headed to Eastern Europe after all of this bar exam rigamarole is over. We're (4 of us total) flying into Prague on August 4th (leaving JFK on the 3rd) and flying out of Istanbul on the 22nd. The rest is, for the most part, TBD. Obviously, we're definitely spending a few days each in Prague and Istanbul. In between, Eastern Europe is our oyster--most likely we'll go from Prague to Budapest, and then we're still deciding whether to go down Croatia way or head to Romania and Bulgaria. Croatia is supposed to be awesome, but it's a tad out of the way unless we want to head over the Balkans through areas where there are unexploded land mines and people who haven't been told the war is over. Romania has Dracula tourism, Bulgaria has Black Sea beaches, and both are sure to have lots of ugly looking Warsaw Pact-Era buildings. Either way, it promises to be a memorable 2.5 weeks.

It's becoming cliche to say so, but I strongly subscribe to the New Year's Eve haters club. I've tried doing lots, doing a little, and doing nothing, and it's almost always a disappointing night. But this year, I think the plans are pretty good. In addition to the concert tickets, I also have the Rose Bowl tickets. Now I just need the plane tickets. Either way, though, I'll be arriving in L.A. on the 31st in the afternoon, and staying through the 3rd or 4th. At least one day will be partly devoted to apartment-browsing in Venice, which I'm looking forward to almost as much as the two big events.

Also, I'm taking suggestions for neutralish garb I can wear to the game that won't be Laura Quinn crazy.