Well, maybe I will write another conclusion at another time, a 'what I've learned,' feelings-y type entry. First, let me blabber about what I did on the end of my trip.
So, I landed in Barcelona early in the morning and ventured into the city without a map, hoping to find my couchsurfing host by directions alone. Six months of traveling did not teach me enough about my sense of direction, but it made asking for directions common enough that I stopped caring that I looked like an idiot, and hey...I finally spoke the language and didn't have to rely on other's English. I enjoyed the tapas, the wine, and the famous gothic architecture of the city. I met some really lovely people at a happy hour in the city, and overall enjoyed my (third) trip to Barcelona. I then got on the bus to revisit Valladolid where I spent a semester studying abroad. It was nice to see the city again, and an old friend from when I was there. Unfortunately the city was a lot smaller than I remembered, and friend might be a bit more familiar than the relationship actually was. The first night there was truly enjoyable. The second night was a little bit awkward, but we still had fun. On my third day things were getting a little slow, and by the evening it was clear that I should have made earlier travel plans for leaving Valladolid. In my defense for overstaying my welcome, the third night was a Saturday night, and I thought being in a city with a friend on a Saturday would be a bit adventurous, and it would be rude to leave before the most exciting night of the week. I was wrong. Oops!
After Valladolid I made my way to Madrid where I would spend a few nights before flying to Baltimore to visit my loveliest friends! So, I was really excited about going to Baltimore, and I thought I would lay low in Madrid. There were really fun people that I hung out with and the time passed quickly. Before I knew it it was my last night abroad. I decided it couldn't hurt to go out for a few drinks to help me sleep on the plane the next day, my flight wasn't until 10:30. But...it could hurt. One drink turned into many drinks, midnight turned to 2 then 4 in the morning. I very carefully set my alarm. I still had the wherewithal to know I needed to get up in a few hours to go to the airport. I did not however turn the volume up on my alarm, and as I was holding it close to make sure I would wake up, I in fact rolled on top of my alarm to muffle the sound. At 9:15 I woke up. Cursed. A lot. Grabbed my mercifully pre-packed bag and sprinted to the metro. I had to switch to 3 different lines to make it to the damn airport and while I arrived before the plane took off, I was unable to find any representative for my airline as they had long since closed the ticket counter. So I traveled around the entire world, but missed my flight to the United States. There are so many different things that I have thought about this whole thing, such as incredulity, hilarity, anger, disbelief, shame. In the end, it was the world's worst, most expensive hangover, but in the grand scheme of things not soooooo bad.
I arrived to Baltimore in the same clothes I had gone out in two nights before in Madrid and felt positively disgusting, but received the best welcome I could ever have hoped for. because I was visiting two of my very best friends, Baltimore may have been my favorite stop on the whole trip. You may say 'are you serious!?' but I am absolutely telling the truth. I cannot believe everything I saw in the last six months, or that I really did it...I really traveled around the entire world (by my self!), but what I learned is that the company with which you travel can affect the entire experience. Also...I had never been to Baltimore. It was still a foreign land to me.
After Baltimore I spent a couple nights in NYC. Many people have been there, so I will simply say that I was proud to be a giant tourist wearing myself out visiting the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, Times Square, etc. I found it all enormous, sparkly, glamorous and magical!
And one more stop before Denver. Wisconsin of course. Even though Denver is home now, it was nice to have a couple weeks at home with Mom and Dad, family and friends.
I think I may be the luckiest person in the world to have done everything I just did, seen so much in the world, and still have such wonderful people in the world to come home to. I must have been a saint or something in a previous life to deserve such luck!
No comments:
Post a Comment