The End

Sunday I awoke to another warm sunny day in Madrid. After checking out and leaving my stuff in storage, I went out to kill some time before I headed to the airport. I grabbed a sandwich from a small shop and wandered around until I found somewhere decent to sit.

I walked past the Prado museum to stumble upon the botanical gardens next door. I paid €2 to walk around the beautifully manicured gardens and found a stone bench in the shade. With beams of light breaking threw the foilage, I sat under a yellowing tree and reminisced about my trip. The wind would gently blow and the leaves would softly swirl to the ground like golden snow. By coming to Spain I had avaided autumn a little longer, but now the fall had caught up with me. The trees were finally letting go, as I would need to.

I sat, for how long, I wasn't sure. I replayed everyday, every destination, and every adventure I had experienced in the exact order. On highspeed I replayed the last four months of my life with startling accuracy.

On any given day, a backpacker usually doesn't know the date, or even the day of the week. I was no exception. But looking back, I suddenly could remember everyday, and exactly what day it was.

I remembered the morning I said goodbye to my parents, the day I stood on the tallest cliffs, saw the Effiel tower for the first time, had a Belgium waffle in Belgium, and the crazyness of Amsterdam. I relived the simple coincidental moments that brought me together with my new friends in Berlin and the instant connection we shared. I was glad to have made the long journey to visit a friends family, and the spontanious trip to Croatia. The long journey to Greece made me question myself, but reconnecting with my friends gave me all the strength I needed.

The Greek islands proved to be the best time, but I knew it was only good because of who I was with. I remembered the wild nights, the inside stories, and the quick change of itineraries. With Walter & Rachael Europe became our playground. We took stupid photos of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, hiked Cinque Terra in flip-flops, and bent (okay, maybe broke) a few laws. I sadly replayed the days when we said our final goodbyes, and how lonely I felt. Even more then before.

But even in sadness, I had to push on. I returned to Italy, to get lost in Venice, walk the ancient streets of Rome, to have Pizza in Naples, the birthplace of pizza, and return to Florence once more.

I recalled my gorgeous days in Nice, and winning in Monte-Carlo. The rainy days of Marseille were not forgotten, although I would have liked to. I imagined seeing Sagrada Familia in Barcelona once more, the recent memory still fresh in my mind. The wonder of Valencia was just a few days ago, and in Madrid I had begun counting down the hours.

I sat counting the mistakes I made, and noted that they were very few and far between. I had been blessed somewhere along the way, and was fortunate enough not to experience any catastrophes.

The good times flooded my mind. Did I really do all that? Did I visit all those places? It felt like a year ago I arrived in Ireland. At times it felt like a week was a month, and then suddenly I was headed home. My final day had arrived.

I sat in a daze.

It wasn't until the sun came around the trees and started to heat up my skin that I finally broke out of my trance. With a long reminisce taken care of I spent a couple more hours reading until it was finally time to head to the airport.

I had been ready to go home for a while, but it wasn't until I got through the Madrid airport security check that it all clicked—I'm finally going home.

In Dublin I had to stay a night, but the hotel was included. After months in hostels, the hotel room felt like a luxurious mansion. Plenty of room, my own double bed, a wall of windows, a TV, a coffee pot, and my own sparkling clean bathroom. I kind of wished I could had stayed a bit longer, but the next morning I had to catch another flight.

I had arrived in Europe four months ago via Dublin, and now I was leaving the same way. The flight went without any turbulence, and thanks to on-demand movies, the eight hours went by relatively quickly. Unlike last time, I knew all too well the layout of the Chicago airport, and I was able to easily navigate through. Already tired, I grabbed a coffee and settled in for my five hour layover.

Finally the time came to board my flight back to Portland. The Rose City had been calling me back, and she was only four hours away. On arrival I had been awake for a solid twenty-four hours, and for me it was the morning after, but none of that mattered. I was finally home.

It truely was the trip of a life time. With these entries, my travel journal, and stories from friends, my adventure was well documented. I know it has changed me. How much I'm not quite sure yet, but I know it has.

I had hoped that somewhere along my journey I would figure out what I wanted to do next. If anything, I feel even more confused. I had some ideas before, a couple different forks-in-the-road to choose from, but now I feel like I'm standing in the desert with a million paths around me. Which one do I take?

I can only hope that what I have gone through has prepared me for what's next. No matter what I decide to do, the end is still the same. I want to see more of the world. After a long, and much needed break of course. But going to so many places has given me a thirst, and a greater sense of confidence. With so much to see, it will be a challenge in and of itself.

Now I'm home. And all I can pray for, is that when I wake up, it won't all have been a miraculous dream.

c'est la vie

Okay, so I spent graduation sick, every waking moment I'm working my butt off, and now it's raining on my graduation party weekend; FML.

While homework seems like a distant memory, the stress level is still lingering around me. I keep my spirits high, however, by reminding myself that it will all be over soon. Two weeks from today I quit my job, three weeks from today I will be on a train to Dublin, and a month from now I will be in London. While I spend my time daydreaming and researching, I still have several things I have to do before I leave.

I've been planning this trip for 2 & 1/2 years, and as cliché as it sounds, I feel like I've been preparing for it my whole life. Something about Europe has been calling me. Like any other person who has been stuck in the same area, I fantasize about the adventures I'll have when I finally get away. Of course fantasies aren't based in reality, so they usually fall short, but I'm still optimistic that this will be the closest opportunity I'll get to make them come true. If all i do on this trip is see the tourist sites, take pictures, eat by myself, read books in parks, never meet anyone, and come home without any wild stories, it will still be the best time of my life.

Outline

Here is an outline of the places I plan on going, there are some places I want to see for sure, but the amount of time I spend in each place may change. I tend to plan everything, but I want to be able to go with the flow.

July 6-7 Flying from PDX to chicago to Ireland.
July 7-11 Galway, Ireland (already have a hostel reservation since it's the first place I'll be visiting)
July 11-16 maybe? Dublin, Ireland
July 16-22 maybe? London, UK
July 22-28 maybe? Paris, France
July 28-30 maybe? Belgium
July 30-August 4 Amsterdam (Pride 09!)
August 4-8 maybe? Berlin
August 8-14 Prague
August 14-18 Kosice, Slovakia (staying w/a best friends' family. Thank you Tina!)
August 18-21 maybe? Budapest
August 21-24 maybe? Vienna
August 24-26 maybe? Munich/Neuschwanstein
August 26-Sept 1 Venice (My 24th birthday is on August 27th and I for sure want to spend it in beautiful Venice!)
Sept 1-3 maybe? San Marino
Sept 3-4 maybe? Brindisi, Italy
Sept 4-6 maybe? Patra, Greece
Sept 6-10 maybe? Athens
Sept 10-16 maybe? Greek island hopping (Mykonos, Paros, maybe another?)
Sept 16-17 maybe? traveling back to Brindisi, Italy
Sept 17-20 maybe? Amalfi Coast
Sept 20-26 maybe? Rome
Sept 27-October 2 maybe? Florence/Tuscany
October 2-3 maybe? Pisa
October 3-10 maybe? Cinque Terra
October 10-13 maybe? Milan
October 13-17 maybe? Zurich, Switzerland
October 17-19 maybe? another place in Switzerland on the west side (definitely going to do some scenic train rides!)
October 19-22 maybe? Nice, France
October 22-26 maybe? Marseille
October 26-November 1 Barcelona, Spain
November 1-2 flying home Barcelona to Madrid to Dublin for one night, then Dublin to Chicago to Portland, Oregon.

Time and money depending, but I might add in Poland between Prague, and Kosice!

Getting Closer!

My flight leaves just before 8:30 am on July 6th, and even though it's a month and a half away I still feel like there isn't enough time to wrap up everything here. I have to finish school, move all my crap into storage, finish two side projects, switch banks, get a new driver license, buy some travel accessories, have my graduation party, my brothers' wedding & the 4th of July, friends birthdays, and tons of little things that there just isn't enough hours in a day for.

It will all be worth it though, if I bust my ass now then I can enjoy 4 months of fun and adventure. At first most people are amazed that I'm going to be gone that long, and that I will be by myself, but besides the language barriers the only thing I'm unsure about is the free time. Never in my life have I not been working, going to school, or fulfilling responsibilities at home. Growing up my holiday vacations were mostly spent working, and whenever we did go on vacation I had to bring homework with me! So for once in my life I will be able to just enjoy the freedom of no responsibilities...well...maybe just one—to have the most fun ever.

I know that everyone I've talked to has been excited for me and given some great travel tips, for which I am incredibly grateful, and in my gratitude I invite everyone to follow along here with me. Please feel free to subscribe to the RSS feed so that you can be notified whenever I post something new. This will be my online travel journal that I will update whenever possible. I also plan on posting pictures to Facebook and to my online gallery so that you can easily see where I've been. Due to amount restrictions I might not be able to post every picture, so what you will see with be the best of batch, and when I return you will have a chance to see even more.

Please feel free to leave comments, I will miss you all.
xoxo
~ Jamie