Goodbye to Europe...

Well, for those of you who have been following me along for the past 4 months, this will be my final post since I am leaving to come home in 2 days. I am in England right now, about 30 minutes outside of Londond staying with a friend from High School. I am just enjoying a relaxing day today at her flat, which is just what I need! Tomorrow, I am heading into London for the day for one last time.

Overall this has been an amazing 4 months. I have seen so much and experienced so much. I have meet some great people along the way, both travelers and locals, who have enhanced the experience and added so much to it! I have learned tons about myself and other countries as well and am so glad that I did this. This was by far, the best decision I have ever made and I encourage everyone to travel. For those of you who are not sure about doing it on their own, you could do it! Here is a quick overview of the final count on some things:

Countries I visited: 19
Cities I visited: 73
Currencies used: 9 (thank goodness for the Euro or it would have been tons more!)
Languages I can say "Thank You" in: 16 (if you want to hear them all you can ask me at home)
Number of Books read: Way too many to count

Not a bad total if I do say so myself. Here were a few of my favorites:

Favorite countries overall: Portugal, Croatia, and Italy
Favorite Cities: Krakow (Poland), Rothenburg (Germany), and I really liked the islands of
Santorini and Naxos (Greece) These are very small islands so I clasify them as a city
Favorite food: Greece (no questions asked!)

There are uch to many favorite experiences to recount. Here are a few things I learned along the way:

No matter what country you are in, there is always a McDonalds.
People really do want to try and help you for the most part.
ALWAYS ask for directions if unsure, then ask again ( I can't stress that enough).
Also ALWAYS ask where the bus/train goes.
If things don't go according to plan (when there is one), Oh well.
Have numerous back up plans.
There is always somewhere to sleep, maybe not where you intended, but somewhere.
The longest I can go without a shower is 3 days before I start feeling incrediably icky.
Flip flops were one of the best things that I could have brought with me.
It is alright to be completely clueless sometimes, there are always others who are feeling and
looking the same way.
I am much more outgoing at times than I think I can be.
It is definately alright to yell at guys in public for no apparent reason if they are bugging you.

The list could go on, but that is jsut a few of the things I learned. It has been great here. Exciting, thrilling, amazing and wonderful. Thanks to all of you who followed along and hopefully I was able to keep you entertained a bit. Look for more travels to come in the future!