Location for a prospect story?

I'm writing about a fictional story of myself leaving my old country (Venezuela) for Europe. My last destination is an island in Greece, but in the journey i will be making layovers around Europe, knowing people and learning from them. I somehow want to appreciate better my country and the life i have here (in the story), thing i don't do when i left. I want just a couple of countries (I'm getting to Europe via Portugal) to visit before arriving in Greece. Any ideas?