So Long (Europe), and Thanks for All the Fish

Pretty sure I mentioned Anna (next to me) and Louise were awesome

Well, time flew, as did I.  I am back in the US after a great flight from London Heathrow.  I love being in the USA. What we have to offer the world in terms of culture, geography, atmosphere, and activities is often fantastic; however, we are such a small part of the world that it is important to never forget there is a whole lot more out there.  Trips like this one help remind me of that.  I gain a bit of insight into somewhere else, and come away better for it.  I did have a few more nuggets of wisdom to share, so I thought I would put out a wrap-up post:

• There is no escaping Hipsters.  They are unfortunately everywhere.  I'm sure this trend won't stick around too long, but for everyone I spoke with, we all decided it has gone on long enough.
• Pub-style/ meat pies in London were awesome.  I didn't get out of London, so I imagine they are equally good all over England.  I pretty much could eat them all of the time.  That would be a problem, since I did a lot of walking everywhere the past ten days and managed to lose absolutely no weight while I was gone.
• Mind the Gap
• There were some very pretty girls in London.  There were also some girls that looked like dudes.  They appeared to equal each other out and provide some balance of attractiveness in this town.  Without having done an in-depth study, I suspect this sort of balance exists in many large towns but largely goes unnoticed.
• When you travel and stay in a hostel, it helps to know a bit of etiquette.  Like don't do a full-blown packing job the morning you are leaving if you are departing early.  Don't use something like a plastic Walmart bag that crackles insanely loud.  Don't leave a huge mess just because you don't have to clean it up.
• Above all, don't pack early in the morning using a Walmart bag that crackles insanely loud and take 90 minutes to do it, and then leave a huge mess behind like a convenience store unloaded its trash all around your beds when you are finished.  Anna, Louise, and I did not need to be told these things, but we were in our room listening to the Argentinian guys early yesterday morning before we were up and out the door ourselves.  I imagine all three of us wanted to just grab them and toss them out the door to speed it along.

I'm sure there are things I've inadvertently left out.  There are things I advertently left out, too.  But I've provided the gist of the trip over the past two weeks.  At the dawn of the day, I went where I set out to go and by dusk I had always found more than I ever expected.  If you think that sounds like a pretty good thing, then go somewhere.


Start by walking around your block or your city.  Get in your car and drive around your state or the one next door.  Close your eyes, point to a spot on a globe, and board a plane to cross an international border.  Just go.


But remember to Mind the Gap and take your towel.